"Again! Again!" Anna giggled as she jumped from one pillar of snow to another, clapping her hands in delight.

"Wait! Slow down!" Elsa cried as she hesitantly shot out pillars of snow from her hands.

She seemed to struggle to make each pillar smaller, but for some reason she couldn't control it. More and more came out, and she couldn't seem to hold it back. Each pillar brought Anna higher, and at the worst possible time, Elsa slipped on the ice, and wasn't able to make the next pillar. Anna gasped as she began to fall.

"Anna!"

Elsa waved her arms, trying desperately to catch Anna, but in her hurry she instead struck Anna's eyes with her magic. The image became blurry and faded to black.

"Anna!"

Anna startled out of bed, the dream already slipping from her mind. She rubbed her head as though it would make the dream come back. She thought it might have had something to do with her sister's magic and their childhood, but Elsa had told her that those memories had been modified by the trolls. Anyway, why would she be dreaming about it now? Was she starting to get those memories back? She shrugged to herself. Oh well, if it was going to come back to her then she'd remember eventually. In the meantime, she had plans for lunch.

It had been three weeks since the Great Thaw, but Elsa's problems had only just begun. Her desk was covered with piles of documents. No matter how hard she tried to organize, the papers just ended up everywhere as she had to reference two or three at a time while working on another report. The only way to reduce the clutter was to work through them, and even then the papers would just be replaced by new ones. Before her coronation, the councilmen had taken care of the majority of the work traditionally covered by the King or Queen, but now that Elsa had been crowned Queen and had had time to get used to her role, she was fully responsible for it. The paperwork and meetings with officials were boring, but Elsa had more than enough discipline and training to handle it. What really weighed on her mind was the responsibility she held for her people. She didn't feel worthy or capable of it, and the recovery work following the Great Thaw did not help to distract her from her inadequacies. After all, she was the reason those measures were necessary in the first place. Sometimes she wished her parents hadn't been royalty and hadn't left her Queen, or even that she could be back in her ice palace at North Mountain.

"Elsa, come out and eat lunch with me! I have to show you that spot on the castle roof, I've never been able to until now!" Anna bounced into Elsa's office. Her eyes were darting back and forth in barely-suppressed glee.

"I can't." Elsa sighed, putting the document she was holding down. She never did like to see Anna's face when she was disappointed, even when they were children. She did an excellent job of mimicking a wounded gazelle. "I have too much work to do right now."

"Elsa? Are you alright? You've seemed a bit down lately." Anna said, putting a hand on Elsa's shoulder.

Elsa appreciated Anna's concern, she really did, but sometimes it was inconvenient how Anna never let these things go. Anyone else, even her parents, would have just accepted her explanation, but Anna was too stubborn for that. Then again, that was how Elsa was never allowed to forget that Anna truly loved her.

"Don't worry about it, Anna. Go enjoy your picnic." Elsa said, still looking down. It made it easier to lie.

"I thought we agreed you weren't going to shut me out anymore." Anna pouted.

Elsa made the mistake of looking up, and Anna held her pout for an impressive thirty seconds while Elsa managed the even more impressive feat of resisting it for thirty seconds.

"I'm just a bit stressed by work lately. There is still a lot of recovery work to do." Elsa sighed again, looking over the papers forlornly.

"You aren't still blaming yourself for that, are you? I keep telling you it wasn't your fault!" Anna said, crossing her arms.

"Yes, yes. Don't you have a picnic to go to? I promise I'll spend some more time with you after I finish this." Elsa looked up and held Anna's gaze, willing her to accept the concession.

"Oh, right, I can't keep Olaf waiting. See you later!" Anna rushed out, waving goodbye.

Elsa returned to her paperwork, and then looked up again a few seconds later.

"Wait, did you say the roof? Anna, don't climb onto the roof!"

It was probably too late. Elsa rubbed her forehead. She'd get a guard to check on Anna when the next patrol passed by her office.

Anna's climb was uneventful. Unlike certain mountains, she knew where all the footholds on the palace walls were. Olaf was waiting for her on the roof.

"Hi, Anna! A picnic was such a great idea! It's the perfect summer activity; it's just what I wanted to do! The only thing that would make this better would be if Kristoff and Elsa were here. " Olaf stretched his arms towards the sky as he said this, as though hugging the warm summer air.

"I wish they could be too, but Elsa is busy with her work and Kristoff is gathering ice. He has to go a pretty long way this time of year, and for some reason he didn't like my idea of taking apart Elsa's ice palace." Anna grinned playfully at Olaf, who stared at her in horror.

"You can't!"

"Hee hee, I was just kidding." Anna laughed.

Olaf was just too easy to tease; it made her feel a bit guilty sometimes. Still, Anna did wish that Kristoff was there with her. She was trying to be a bit less needy after it got her into trouble with Hans, but she still wanted to spend time with Kristoff now that they'd started officially going out, which was hard when he had to spend days at a time gathering ice. But perhaps it was better that Kristoff wasn't there, because if he had been, he might have blocked her view of Arendelle. Since he wasn't there, she was the first to notice the danger.

"Olaf, I'm not just seeing things, am I?" Anna pointed at the horizon, where unnaturally enormous, dark clouds were sweeping over Arendelle. Despite their distance, they seemed to moving rapidly.

"I don't think so. Do you think something's wrong with Elsa?" Olaf rubbed his chin in confusion.

"She seemed alright a few minutes ago, but I'm going to find out."

Dread gripped Anna's heart. She really didn't know whether Elsa was alright. It was at times like this that she was reminded of how little she knew her own sister. If only they hadn't been separated for so long. Anna didn't like holding a grudge, but she couldn't deny that on some level she resented their parents for putting them through that. This was just like when the eternal winter struck Arendelle, but this time she wasn't going to let Elsa get away.

Anna rushed climbing down, almost breaking skin scraping her elbows on the way. She ran through the halls of the palace, dodging the occasional servant, until she finally reached Elsa's office.

"Elsa! Are you alright?" Anna panted, steadying herself on the doorframe.

"Anna, what's wrong?" Elsa looked up from her papers, an eyebrow raised.

"There's a huge blizzard headed this way! Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, but what's going on?"

A shadow passed over the room as the light from the window dimmed. They looked outside. There wasn't much light, but what little there was showed only thick snowfall.

"It's not me." Elsa said, stunned.

She got up from her chair to get a better view through the window.

"You can melt it anyway, right?" Anna pleaded with wide eyes, as though she knew it wouldn't be that simple.

Elsa looked back out the window, closed her eyes, and concentrated.

"It's no good. I don't know why, but it's not melting." Elsa frowned and her face looked pained.

Anna took her hands and forced herself to smile.

"I'm right here with you. You can do this."

Elsa flashed a smile at her and closed her eyes again, but shook her head a few seconds later.

"It's still not working! This snow, maybe it's magical, but it's not mine. We need to find out what's going on."

At that moment, the head servant, Kai, came into Elsa's office, not even bothering to knock.

"Your majesty! Something came through the gates just now. You're not safe here; you must leave at once!" Kai could not control his shaking, despite his usual professionalism.

"What is it?" Elsa demanded.

"It's, it's-"

To the people of Arendelle, it was as though the rules of reality had broken down. The summer blizzard might be explained by Elsa's powers, but this was just not right. The thick snowfall prevented anyone from seeing further than a few feet, but those who were on the streets when it began could barely see the royal carriage pass by them as it traveled towards the castle, even though no horses were attached. From that carriage came two voices that shouldn't have still existed in this world, and as it passed by the onlookers were struck by a chill that reached far deeper than the snow.

As the carriage approached the castle, the guards panicked and struggled to close the gates, but the joints were stuck and the carriage passed through unimpeded. They stood in frozen shock. All their training had not prepared them for the dead King and Queen stepping out of the carriage. The King graciously offered his hand in letting the Queen down, and as they walked arm in arm into the castle, all the torches inside flickered and died.

"If what you say is true, then I can't leave. If there's even a small chance that it's really them…" Elsa said, still in a haze, not focusing her gaze as she spoke to the others.

She didn't know how to feel. She tried to ignore the spark of hope Kai's message had ignited. There was no way it could be true. Bitter experience wishing her powers gone and her parents back had taught her not to hope. Miracles like the Great Thaw didn't happen every day. And on top of that was a sense of dread. Something unnatural was going on, and this time Elsa didn't have any control over it at all.

"That's right! I have to know!" Anna said, slamming her fist into her palm.

Elsa startled. She'd been spoken too soon; she hadn't meant to encourage Anna to risk her life.

"Your highnesses, please!" Kai pleaded, biting his lip. "Think of the kingdom! It was bad enough when your parents died. I promised them I would take care of you!"

Elsa felt bad for him. Kai had always been loyal to her family and had been one of the only people she could consider an almost-friend during the years the gates were closed. She knew her decision would worry him.

"No, I have to check. If they pose a threat to the kingdom, we have to know who or what they are. Especially if it could be them. But Anna, you should go with Kai. There's no reason for both of us to be in danger." Elsa covered Anna's hands with hers, hoping that Anna would allow her to protect her like an older sister for once.

"What!? Elsa, I have as much right to know as you do. And I'm not going to let you face whatever it is by yourself!" Anna's eyebrows were narrowed.

Elsa almost smiled. Over the past three weeks she'd learned to know better than to try to argue with Anna when she made that face.

"Fine, let's go. But stay right next to me."

Elsa was wringing her hands as she waited in the throne room, standing just in front of the throne next to Anna. Kai had said that they seemed to be headed here, but she could feel the blizzard intensifying sequentially over different areas of the castle, as if it was being thoroughly searched. She had a terrible feeling that it was her, or worse, Anna, that they were looking for. She glanced at her sister, who didn't seem to be letting the cold or the fear affect her.

In truth, Anna was terrified, but she couldn't let that show, not when Elsa had let her help for once. This time would not be like the last. The two of them together could overcome anything. She moved closer to her sister and gave her a thumbs up, feeling lame even before she put her hand down. Couldn't she have been cooler about it for once? But Elsa smiled gratefully at her, so it was worth it.

Just as Elsa began to hope that perhaps whatever it was would just leave, the doors to the throne room blew open and the sky darkened even further, letting in very little light even through the enormous stained-glass windows. A chill so deep that even Elsa was stung by it filled the room. Elsa could just barely see two silhouettes step through the doors, and her breath caught in her throat. It was hard to tell in this light, but they looked exactly as she had remembered her parents. They moved closer, staying in the shadows. Step by step by step, Elsa grew more panicked. What should she do? She didn't feel safe, and she didn't feel that Anna was safe, but what if they really were who they seemed to be? Then her father spoke, and her fear grew even greater.

"Elsa, I'm very disappointed in you. You've put yourself and this kingdom in grave danger. That's why we're here today, why we couldn't rest in peace. Did you forget what I told you? Conceal, don't feel, put on a show. And now everyone knows. Did you think your father is a fool, that you could just ignore me and everything would be fine? It's only a matter of time." As their "father" spoke, he walked closer, from one shadow to the next.

"I, I don't think-" Elsa trembled as she spoke, her reasons slipping from her grasp.

The niggling doubt that she'd felt after leaving the gates open was back in full force. Her father sighed.

"No, you didn't think. But you can still fix this, Elsa." Her father held a hand out to her beseechingly.

"You're wrong!" Anna yelled, grabbing Elsa's shoulder. "No one is afraid of Elsa, and we're doing much better now that she's not shutting everyone out. It was a bad idea from the beginning; don't try to make us go back to that. Elsa, don't listen to him! He's not real!"

Anna glared at their father, not noticing her mother stepping behind her. When she spoke, Anna let out a small shriek, and quickly turned around.

"Maybe no one is afraid of Elsa for now, but that would never have lasted. We're only showing you a glimpse of that future now. Elsa, dear, your curse isn't safe for the people or for you. You will see that soon, if you don't close the gates again. And Anna, don't tempt your sister. It's hard enough for her as it is, don't make it harder for her. It's the least you can do." Their mother said, holding her cheek as she always did when she was worried.

It was cruel, Elsa thought. They spoke just like her parents would, from their voices to their words, but their actions were completely different. It wasn't right. Anna shifted her scowl to her mother, trying desperately to keep her eyes from tearing up. She wasn't a burden to Elsa. She wasn't.

"I won't do it! The gates will stay open." Elsa said, straightening her back and mustering all of her courage to match Anna's glare, doing her best to ignore her doubt. She startled as she felt a cold hand grip her arm. She looked up in horror as her father leaned over her, as he had done many times when she was a child. But this time it was dread instead of comfort that she felt. "Get away from me!" she yelled, waving her hand and instinctively striking out with ice.

But her father merely took a step back and the ice warped around him. He took another step forward.

"Stay away from her!" Anna yelled, lunging forward with a fist pulled back.

"Anna, stay back!" Elsa cried, but it was too late.

She froze in horror, but Anna merely slipped on newly-formed ice and fell to the floor, her face twisted in pain. "Anna!"

"Anna, I'm disappointed in you too. Didn't I tell you that, as queen, Elsa needs to put the kingdom before her family?" Her father said. Elsa could barely make out a frown in the dim light. It really was just the same way that he used to frown. Her heart ached. "Make the right choice, children."

A harsh wind blew, blinding Elsa, and their parents disappeared. The sunlight returned to the room and the cold left nearly instantly. Elsa rushed to Anna's side, kneeling on the floor.

"Anna, are you alright?" Elsa said, helping her up. "I can't believe you did that!"

"I'm fine. Just a bit bruised. Elsa, what are we going to do?" Anna dusted off her knees and looked up at her big sister as if she had all of the answers in the world, but Elsa looked away.

She didn't have any answers. She hated feeling so inadequate. It was bad enough when it came to ruling the kingdom, but she couldn't even protect Anna.

"I don't know, Anna. I just don't know." Elsa said, hugging herself before finally breaking down and crying.

It was just too much, and the worst part was that in her mind those twisted mockeries of their parents were still in front of her, disappointed in her, after all these years of trying to live up to their expectations.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay…" Anna repeated, hugging Elsa and beginning to cry too.

The two sisters held each other for the brief moment they had in peace, in the calm after the storm.