This is my first fanfic, kinda curious how it's going to wind up both quality-wise and plot-wise. Please review, favorite, etc. Don't own Frozen, any characters, etc. Let's get the show on the road.

Flash

"Again!" Anna cried out in glee, jumping from magic snow pile to magic snow pile. At the apex of each jump, Elsa conjured a tower of snow, catching her sister before she fell. Anna began jumping faster and faster in her excitement, causing Elsa to create higher and higher pillars. This is getting dangerous!

"Wait!" She cried out, not wanting her sister to get hurt, "Slow down!"

Anna continued on, heedless of her sister's warning. As she continued jumping, Elsa slowly rotated to keep Anna in sight. She was casting the ice faster and faster now, trying to keep up with her sister. Suddenly, her foot slipped on the slick ice created minutes before. As she tried to regain her balance, her slippers failed to find any traction on the ground, and she fell over backwards. She watched in horror as Anna, oblivious to what had just happened, jumped again into the air, trusting her sister to catch her.

"Anna!" She shouted, realizing what was about to occur. In desperation, Elsa cast a beam of snow at her sister, trying to once again catch her. She misjudged Anna's jump, however, and struck her sister in the head with her magic. She cried out briefly, then tumbled to the floor, laying still at the bottom. Elsa gasped. What have I done? She rushed over to her sister, gently holding her head in her arms, noticing the white streak of hair that had appeared. Anna was growing cold, and still unmoving. What have I done?

Flash

Was that – no, it couldn't have been.

Elsa had just seen a flash of red disappear around the corner that looked suspiciously like a pigtail attached to her sister's head. She hadn't seen her sister for years, not since the Accident. Despite her doubts, she paused in what she had been doing, which was eating a slice of chocolate cake. It was late in the evening, just after sundown, and she had snuck downstairs from the confines of her room to the kitchens. Her parents didn't want her downstairs after dark – for whatever reason – but she frequently disobeyed and made her way down regardless. She put her fork down, then picked up a napkin to remove the last vestiges of chocolate icing from her lips. Elsa stood up and quietly walked towards the turn, peeking around it when she reached it. It led to a long hallway with large wooden doors at the end.

Her sister – it was her! – was at that end, just reaching the doors. Anna opened them and slipped through. Elsa followed behind, her slippers making faint noises on the ground as she padded down the hall. She cracked the door open to see beyond, then opened it wider when she realized no one was in sight. Where could she have gone?

Elsa spent a few more minutes wandering that part of the castle looking for her sister, but eventually gave up. She sighed. As much as she wanted to talk to Anna, just be there for her, she knew she couldn't. Conceal, don't feel. Her father had begun to teach her the mantra to help control her powers. She knew that seeing her sister again after all this time would trigger the magic. Elsa shuddered at the thought of what would happen if she lost control; she couldn't bear the thought of losing her sister. Sometimes, nightmares crept up on her: Anna and Elsa playing when a block of ice suddenly surrounded Anna, Elsa crying out for her sister when Anna was trapped behind a wall of her magic and her not being able to cut off the flow, a sudden blizzard kicking up in the castle during dinner and Anna becoming ice cold, Anna freezing stiff, Anna being consumed in an icy maelstrom, Anna becoming ice. Elsa let out a sob, unable to contain the emotions within her. Frost began to spread on the ground beneath her; she had slumped to the floor but hadn't noticed. Through watery eyes, she noticed the contrast of the white ice against the dark stone of the wall. Gasping, Elsa stood up and ran back to her room, where she huddled beneath her sheets. The next morning, the window was covered with an inch of ice, and the rest of the room was enveloped in snow.

Flash

"Give me my glove!" Elsa demanded, simultaneously combating the surge of magic within her and the equally powerful surge of emotion that rushed over her. Just a minute ago, she had been introduced to a complete stranger by having him and her precious sister, her Anna, ask for a royal and familial blessing of their marriage.

Anna didn't even know he existed yesterday! She mentally seethed, and now she wants my blessing? Like hell! As much as Elsa wanted her sister to be happy, especially after all she herself had done to Anna, that was no excuse to allow reason to be let out the window. After her parents had died in the shipwreck three years ago, Elsa had shrunk within herself even more, if such a thing was possible. The only brightness she ever saw was when she occasionally left the confines of her icy room and caught glimpses of red hair or the cloth of a skirt moving around a corner. She knew, almost as instinct, that it was her sister. As agonizing as it was to reject Anna's pleading, her demanding, to be let in not only to Elsa's room but to her heart as well, she refused. It is for her protection, Elsa kept repeating to herself. It is to keep her safe, for I know what will happen if we grow too close, even if she doesn't. Which made this current tirade all the harder to bear.

"Elsa, please – please, I can't live like this anymore!" Anna pleaded. The agony in her face was heartbreaking. What was sure to come would be worse, though.

"Then leave," Elsa said with tears welling up in her blue eyes. Her sister's look of shock, pain, sorrow, and incredulity was like a dagger to her. With no way to possibly comfort her sister now, but knowing it was the only way to keep her safe, she turned away and began to walk off. People were beginning to look at the two of them, Hans trailing behind, but she didn't care. The one person she loved she had shut out, again. It was for her sake, didn't she see?

"What did I ever do to you?" The question struck hard, since it held so much truth.

"Enough, Anna." She was beginning to become agitated, the emotions rising within her causing her to begin to lose her grasp on her power. Please, just go away, Anna – I can't bear to hurt you again.

"No, why? Why do you shut me out – why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?" With every word coming out of her sister's mouth, Elsa felt her exasperation rising, boiling over from the entire situation. This ball was a mistake. All these people are in danger, don't they see that? Especially – Anna. That thought, that name, tipped her over the edge. All the pent-up frustration, rage even, of the past years, having to keep her powers hidden from everyone out of fear, fear of what they would do but more importantly for fear she would cause harm – irreparable by the trolls this time – to her beloved sister, let loose.

The magic began from her heart, as all such magic does. An icy ball inside her chest began to pulsate spreading rapidly to her extremities. Focusing with what rationale remained, she directed the cold into her left arm. Whirling, she directed scores of needles of ice into the ground, forming a semicircle around her, which in turn implanted themselves in the wooden floor. The ice formed a palisade around the queen, guarding her from them, and them from her.

As soon as the magic was released, Elsa knew she had made a horrific mistake. The crowd jumped back in fear, but Elsa only saw Anna. There was terror on her face at first, but that slowly disappeared. What took its place was concern, and a fear – not of what she had done, but what she feared Elsa was going to do.

"Elsa?" She whispered, begging almost. Elsa knew without thinking that it was a plea for her to stay, to simply be with her sister, at the least make up for years of absence. Elsa made the heart-wrenching decision. How does she not realize all this, all I am doing, is for her!? She fumbled for the doorknob, unable to break her gaze upon Anna, then found it. Goodbye. She swept out the door, rushing out of the building, her sister's gaze haunting her, her final plea echoing in the confines of her mind.

Flash

She had heard their voices outside, even before they knocked. Please, no. You can't be here – it isn't safe. At the dull thud that resonated through her icy domain, though, the doors opened. Elsa's eyes widened. I must learn to control my power more! Even though she had willed the entrance to remain shut, her sub conscience was mightier than she had thought.

Now they were in her inner sanctum, the image of a massive snowflake etched into the icy floor. Anna's last words had rocked her to the core: "Arendelle's in deep, deep, deep, deep snow."

"What?" Elsa's first thought was how? She had only frozen the fountain, and the fjord while running across it. Had it come to this, that after years and years of concealment, I can't control them STILL? She began panicking, retreating into herself, feeling her power spiraling out of control which began to manifest in the room.

"You kinda set off an eternal winter – everywhere."

"Everywhere?" Even in her shocked state, a small part of her found this impressive, even if it was a bit of an exaggeration.

"Well it's okay – you can just unfreeze it." She stated this so simply, as if with a wave of her arm Elsa could return the weather to normal. What had been merely cold air as a result of her inner turmoil began to coalesce into falling snow, which began to swirl around her.

"No I can't! I – I don't know how!" The snow was falling harder now, the wind picking up in the room. She dimly heard footfalls downstairs, a male voice calling out for her sister, but it didn't register. All that concerned her was a single thought: nowhere is safe. The awful realization began to come upon Elsa that no matter where she ran to, however far she travelled from Anna, her sister would still be in danger. The intensity of the storm inside was reflected in the room, snow compacting into ice, forming a veritable hurricane of freezing particles whipping around her. She became so agitated that, hearing Anna repeat for the umpteenth time that they could fix this together – as if – she drew the cold within herself and let it out in a ring of ice shooting out from her. Please, Anna, just leave. Stay safe. As she tried to deal with the new reality she found herself in, that her sister would never be safe, Elsa heard a quiet moan accompanying a thud. She gasped and whipped around to find Anna in a heap on the ground. What have I done?

A man – where does she keep finding them? – accompanied by Olaf hurried into the room, grabbing Anna's arm and pulling her up. "Anna!" he cried, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she responded, panting. "I'm fine." The look she gave Elsa hurt like nothing had before. Elsa knew in that moment that she had lost her sister, perhaps forever.

"Who's this? Wait – i-i-it doesn't matter. Just – you have to go." Please, leave now! The ice in her sanctum began to darken, reflecting the turmoil inside of the queen. Don't make me have to force you to leave.

Anna refused. In response, Elsa created a golem of snow that was terrifying even to her. Anna, for your safety, please don't come back, and stay away. The creature grabbed the trio and took them downstairs. Elsa collapsed.

Flash

These thoughts rushed through the queen's head as she watched the band of soldiers approach her castle. Why are they here? Is it because of Anna? Slowly the dark features of their heads began to resolve into faces. Her eyes narrowed as Elsa recognized the one in the lead being the man who – Christ – had asked to marry Anna. Immediately she disliked this squad of men, if for no other reason than because he was with them. What was his name? Ansel? Hans? Ah, what the hell does it matter.

After Anna had been thrown out earlier that day, Elsa had retreated farther within herself than she had at any point since she had struck her sister that night all those years ago. She remembered the words of the troll that night. "You're lucky it wasn't her heart. The heart isn't so easily changed." A bolt of fear shot through her chest. Did I – She couldn't even finish the thought. She screamed in frustration, her anger reflecting into the castle, forming spikes on the walls, darkening the color of the ice to a dull red. Those words, the mantra taught by her father in her childhood to conceal, not feel, were useless in the face of such fear and fury. Years I spent apart from her, and this, this is what she receives? A wound not even the trolls can heal? Elsa wanted to smash something, everything, and still she knew it would not bring her sister back. Her rage was so great that the roof of her construct shook, a tower breaking off at a jagged angle, falling to the rocks far below to be dashed to pieces. At the mighty crack that resonated through the rooms, Elsa came back to herself. Feeling helpless yet again, she simply sank to her knees and cried.

Hans approached the castle slowly, looking for any sign of the queen. He dismounted near the base of the bridge, saying "We are here for Queen Elsa. No harm is to come to her; bring her to me when you find her." The men nodded in understanding, two looking especially eager. Suddenly, the pile of snow-covered rocks by the bridge stood up, revealing itself as a huge golem. A fusillade of spears and bolts was shot at the monster, without effect save to piss the thing off. Icy spikes arose on every surface of the beast accompanied by claws and fangs, and an unearthly blue glow in its eyes. The two men dashed under the golem, rushing up to the doors above. Goddammit! They better not fuck this up! Hans knew he had to act quickly if he wanted the queen alive. He rushed towards the icy beast and sliced its leg off. Unbalanced, it roared and fell into the chasm below. That ought to slow the fucker down. He sprinted up the stairs, hoping to still reach and capture the queen.

Elsa had slipped inside the entrance as the soldiers approached. When the two men broke off from the rest, her eyes widened and she closed the door, making the way up to her sanctum. She reached it, panting from having run all the way up those stairs. There's gotta be a better way. Hearing footsteps nearing her, she turned. One had already drawn a bead on her with his crossbow. She had little time. She threw up her arms in a defensive gesture, unwittingly creating a shield of ice in front of her as the bolt was loosed. She looked up to find a bolt stopped mere inches from her face, and the two assassins circling around to get a clear shot. In that instant, something snapped within the queen. First he seeks to marry my sister, then sends men to kill me? Elsa wasn't stupid. She knew what that man wanted, the same as all men want: power. Well somebody is going to fucking die today! Even thinking that word shocked her; she never cursed, only hearing profanities when a serving boy dropped a tray of food or other chance mishaps around the castle. Her gaze hardened, her eyes beginning to faintly give off an icy blue tinge, much like her golem. She shut the doors to the room with a flick of her wrist, not even looking, keeping her gaze on the crossbowmen. Elsa proceeded to replace the doors with a wall of ice, thereby preventing any others from reaching the two men.

As the crossbows were aimed at her again, Elsa decided they were going to die. Perhaps they had family back home. Perhaps this was the only job they could find, and needed the money. She didn't care. They had tried to kill her, tried and failed. She wouldn't. Kill or be killed. It was as simple as that. These men would not stop trying to end her life, and she was the only one preventing them from doing so. Elsa felt almost detached from her body now, feeling the ice surge through her. The man who had shouldered his weapon first was the first to feel her wrath, the culmination of the rage within her at the situation she was in. She flung her arm at him, and he was instantly impaled with spikes. Arms and legs were pinned to the wall by the icicles, with more piercing his abdomen and lungs. One had torn through his throat, producing a fist-sized hole in it that his labored breathing wheezed through. She heard bones break at the impact; the man hadn't even had time to scream before his vocal cords had been torn out. His eyes displayed sheer terror for an instant before they glazed over and his head fell against the icicle in his neck with a clink, a decidedly cheery sound for the blood that coated it. Blood was already smearing the icicles and floor beneath him, freezing almost instantaneously only to be covered by more. Flecks had flown against the wall, creating a gruesome display on the wall behind him that reflected the tremendous pain he had surely felt in his last moment on the earth.

As she turned her fearsome gaze to the second man, he began to back up, beginning to realize his monstrous mistake. Too late. She grimly smiled, or rather bared her teeth in a feral snarl, as a wolf does with a gore-soaked muzzle from a kill. She cast her arms up again, forming walls of ice around the man, enclosing him completely. She then filled in all the empty space with ice, entombing him with the frozen matter. She saw absolute horror on the man's face when he realized his fate, but that was all he could do. Elsa turned away from the man in disgust before compacting the ice into a space the size of a coffin and sending it off the balcony into the abyss below. Straight into hell, with any sort of luck.