"Do you want to build a snowman?" Anna asked, her voice wavering and breaking. Elsa's brow furrowed as tears burned her eyes, but she just leaned her head against the door as she hugged her knees her to chest.

"Of course I want to build a snowman." She whispered softly, but Anna was already gone. She closed her eyes as the wind whipped against her window. She sobbed silently before pushing it down, stifling it and wiping her eyes as she leaned her forehead against her knees.

A figured zipped by her window, stopping instantly when he realized what he'd just seen: a girl at the center of an enormous sheet of ice that had spread out like a snowflake from where she was sitting. Her platinum blonde hair was tied up tightly, and her shoulders were shaking from soft sobs. He stopped, perching on the windowsill and studying the ice that had spread and the lonely girl who seemed to have created it. He tapped on her window, but she didn't look up. Can she see me?

Disappointment seeped through his veins, and he sighed as he crouched to take off. As the wind carried him away, Elsa looked up, frowning slightly. Had she just heard someone at the window? No…that's ridiculous.

The next day, Elsa's things were moved to her parents' old chambers. Private tutors were hired by the regent to teach her what she needed to know to rule Arendelle. They came to her chambers every morning and afternoon, teaching her how to behave at social functions, how to manage trade, and how to oversee political dealings with other kingdoms as well as within Arendelle. While she studied, she listened to Anna running through the halls, laughing and gigging as she entertained herself.

However, sometimes, between lessons, she heard Anna walk slowly down the hall, pausing before her door for a moment before continuing on. And every time, she yearned to run out to greet her sister, to at least open the door and see her face, but every time she reprimanded herself. Conceal it—can't let her know.

Years passed as Elsa readied herself for the coronation. Finally, the day arrived, and Elsa stood in front of the portrait of her deceased father on his coronation day. Taking a deep breath, she took off her gloves and repeated her mantra: "Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the good girl you always have to be."

Steeling herself, she picked up the candle and ball, struggling to control the cold creeping down her arms and through her fingertips. Gritting her teeth, she tensed her arms as she tried to stop the frost from spreading across the metal. Panicking, she turned around and set them down as she reminded herself, "It's only for today."

Pulling on her gloves, she went to open her doors and gave the order to open the gates. She walked majestically, her chin up and shoulders back, past the line of guards and opened the doors to the balcony. She watched people filing into the courtyard, frowning slightly when she saw a young man perched above the gate. The sun glinted off his snow-white hair, and he carried a crooked wooden staff. He turned his head towards her, and for a moment, she thought he was staring directly at her. No one else seemed to notice him, and her breath caught in her throat as he jumped. But instead of tumbling to his death, the wind carried him away as though he was some kind of god.