Full Summary: This is a story where Anna never ran after Elsa at the ballroom; she never grabbed the glove off of Elsa's hand. This is the story of where Hans was given the chance to become an even stronger villain, capable of hiding who he truly is. This is the story where Kristoff continues life as an ice harvester, unknowing of his future destiny with the princess of Arendelle. Life goes on for Elsa and Anna as they live in their castle, Arendelle's gates opened for the first time in years. Elsa struggles to hide her powers as more people enter her kingdom; worse, she can't seem to protect Anna from a possible suitor. Facing pressure to strengthen their alliances with other countries, Elsa must learn on who to trust, and harder yet, she must learn to trust herself.

Chapter 1

Elsa

Breathe.

Inhale.

Exhale.

It was all Elsa could do when she saw the duke's grim face as she opened the door to her room. Not only was it him, but her personal lady in waiting Rosa was there, her grey eyes clouded and downcast. She stood with her hands clasped tightly in front of her, her knuckles white. The two of them were dressed as if they were in a hurry; one of the Duke's buttons was undone, and Rosa's apron wasn't tied as tightly.

The sun had barely come up and already it was proving to be a trying day. Elsa's heart thumped and she took a final deep breath before she spoke. "What is it, Duke Goran?"

Duke Goran bowed his head slightly, his graying brown hair falling in front of his face. He pushed it back as he said, voice low, "Lady Elsa, I regret to inform you your parents never made it to Denmark. There was a storm… and they never made it to their destination. We just now received word."

Elsa flicked her eyes back and forth between the two, finally noting the red eyes as the both of them struggled to hold back tears. She stared at them a few moments as the words sunk in.

Then time seemed to stop.

Memories of her mother playfully chasing her down the hall. Her father picking her up, laughing and twirling her around. The look on their faces when they realized what she was turning into. The door slamming in her face as she was left alone in a room without her sister. Memories of love. Memories of fear. Abandonment.

She bit her lip, feeling numb as she wordlessly closed the door to block the two of them out, protests on their lips as she shut them out. She felt the stillness and loneliness of the room creep up around her, like it was an old friend whom she never failed to get rid of. It was always there.

And it didn't fail to make itself known.

She slunk to the floor as the occasional numbness set in, reminding her she was alone as always, only to be replaced tenfold.

Her parents were lost at sea.

The only two who truly knew who she was and what she was capable of. Worse, what she wasn't capable of. Control. She had no control.

She lacked control in that exact moment as her eyes fogged, unbidden tears creeping on. She bit her lip harder to hold back a sob, not noticing the drip of blood as her teeth dug into her lip.

In her state she had pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms tightly around her knees, holding them with all her strength. She couldn't give in, not here, not now.

But she couldn't help it.

Snow began to fall around her, mirroring the tears falling down her face. With each tear the snow fell down harder, surrounding her in clumps of white.

It was difficult to tell how much time did pass, as the sun had been replaced by the moon several times, and it was only the morning rays that broke her out of her reverie, caressing her cheek with a warm touch. People had knocked on her door, had tried to open it to no avail. She must have locked her door at some point. She didn't remember it.

Food was slid underneath the door every now and then, instantly covered with old snow, with several kind and soothing words from Rosa. Elsa would move the piles of snow and eat whatever was on the plate. She knew she must eat.

If only for Anna.

Anna. How Elsa would love to see her face again. How she would love to open the doors and laugh and run down the halls as they once did as children. Instead she lay in her blanket of never melting snow, and ate her food in small bites. She couldn't remember the last time she had had a full conversation with Anna. All it has been the past few years was the occasional glance. Elsa couldn't always keep to her room, for her legs needed exercise, but she had always done it late at night, where she could roam with ease.

She continued to survive so she might see her sister's face someday.

"Elsa?" There was a quiet knock on the door and she knew Anna had finally come to visit. "Please. I know you're in there."

Silence. The plate in Elsa's hands started to freeze from her fingertips and she tried to quell it, closing her eyes tightly. Breathing. In. Out.

Don't feel it. Conceal it.

"People are asking where you've been." Anna kept her voice low, pain apparent in her voice. It wasn't uncommon for Anna to speak to her through the door, though throughout the years, the attempts have been less and less. Every single time it was the same: a plea for her to come out.

But it wouldn't happen.

"They're speaking of courage. And I'm trying to. Please Elsa. It's just you and me." There was a thump on the door as she heard Anna slide down the door; she prayed Anna wouldn't think differently of the cold door. There was a muffled sob as she heard her sister cry and sniffle.

"What are we going to do?"

Elsa had no answer for her. She would never have an answer, though she was sure the Duke or the royal advisors had answers. They would have to take care of Arendelle for now as she and Anna were too young to do anything. The only problem which broke her heart was: who was going to take care of Anna? Who was going to comfort her throughout this time?

Elsa couldn't.

Snow fell once again around her, draping everything in a thick, heavy blanket of snow. She cried silently along with her sister, stopping her sobs so her sister could mourn in silence. If anyone could pull through this, it was her sister. There was nobody as strong as her.

If Anna had been the one with powers, they probably wouldn't have been put in this mess. Elsa wasn't strong enough, nor was she wise enough.

She heard Anna pick herself up and walk off, her footsteps fading away, leaving Elsa once again alone with her pile of snow. Her dinner plate was now completely frozen, her leftover food covered in a thin layer of ice. In an angry outburst she tossed aside the plate, which broke in half upon impact. She stood, her thick dress covered in an icy gleam.

Her room was half covered in six inches of snow, which would more or less soak the rug. She closed her eyes and concentrated, attempted to lift the snow into the large basin before the fire place. Sweat beaded down her face as she tried to use her magic. It was a simple task, but there was so much anger and pain in her that she couldn't keep control.

The snow fell, slopping to the floor. Elsa huffed and began to peel off her frozen clothes, tossing them aside. She would deal with the wet things later. Her favorite white robe hung on the post by her bed and she slipped it on. Her bed was one of the things in the room which managed to stay free of snow, so without further thought she clamored into bed and tucked herself tightly into the warm and fuzzy sheets.

Tomorrow she would face the day without her parents.

When she woke, the sun once again waking her, she found the snow had melted overnight, a large puddle now where it was. Her rug was half soaked as well, so she moved to light the fireplace, working in her silence. Silence was the one thing she would need today; nothing could distract her. She would have to meet with the Duke and find out the plans for Arendelle, and then she could return to her room in peace.

For now, she had to clean up first. She moved to her closet where she kept a safe stash of towels for this very occasionally. Rosa, who had never been personally told of Elsa's powers, could be trusted to keep her mouth shut and ask no questions. Elsa didn't know if Rosa suspected of sorcerery or not, but she had never tried to make a mention of it.

Elsa moved with quick ease, wringing out the water in the basin as she went. She built the fire more and pulled the rug closer, hoping the heat would be sufficient in drying it. Once everything else was dried and put away, she took a moment to glance at herself in the mirror.

Her white hair hung in loose tendrils around her face, long having escaped the hair tie. It was messy and unkempt. Her face was pale with bags underneath her eyes. She looked horrid and knew she would need a bath before she faced the board of advisors and nobility.

There were several long ropes by her bed, and she pulled on the first one, summoning Rosa. Rosa would help her get ready.

Rosa – always having the option of coming through the door that connected to the servant halls but chose not to – made a silent appearance through the servant door, her face screwed up in worry. "My lady Elsa," she said. "I wish you had summoned me earlier."

"I had to deal with it on my own," Elsa muttered. "Please, have one of the serving girls draw my bath water. I must get ready to meet with the nobility."

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"If not now, I may never be ready. I must know what to prepare for."

"I have prepared your gown, my lady. I shall return."

An hour or two passed as Elsa prepared herself, lingering in the bath as she wiped away the grime from the past few days. Her ice magic never left a trace of evidence on her body; she had heard of frost bite and had never experienced it. She thought of Anna and the time her ice magic had damaged Anna's head when they were younger.

Magic was dangerous to all but her.

She had to remember that.

Her gown was pitch black, cut in the latest style. It was a simplistic dress with a second overlay, which clasped in the front and had a long train in the back. She accepted Rosa's assistance with dressing without complaint. The two of them worked marvelously together, knowing when to speak and when to not. Rosa knew to keep silent when Elsa needed it. That's what she liked about Rosa.

With her hair pinned and braided on top of her head, Elsa was ready. "Where is Anna today?" she asked curtly.

"Oh, around. You know Anna. She'll be roaming the halls or bothering the guards again."

Elsa nodded, pulling on the final black glove. "You have alerted them that I am ready to speak to them?"

"They await in the council room, my lady."

Elsa opened her door and took a step out into the hallway, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Then let us get this over with."

Written for NaNoWriMo 2014, will be posting as I write.

I do love Frozen, but I wish it had gone a different angle! This is my version where it's a bit darker and focuses on developing the characters a bit more. There will be a lot of OC's because I'm trying to be historically accurate, and I can't exactly world-build only with the given characters.

This will most likely be updated daily, if I keep up with NaNoWriMo. I would love to see reviews as the story goes on. Thank you for reading!