Chapter 1: The Prologue

Elsa was only five when she lost her mother.

Before this, Elsa could only remember happy times. Her family lived in a beautiful and massive house in a town called Arendelle which was in Norway. Elsa had been born into the privilege Winters' family. The Winters came from the Arendelle family – the family who had founded Arendelle when Olaf Arendelle decided to construct a town. So Elsa's life was planned out from the moment she was born; prestigious schools, Oxford admittance and then joining her family's business before becoming CEO. Elsa's family sold sports gear, specialising in winter gear. Elsa knew that she had a difficult life ahead of her.

Little did she realise just how difficult it was going to be.

Losing her mother at a young age hadn't been easy. In fact, it hadn't been easy on anyone. Elsa had been playing on the lawn in front. She had a blue, bouncy ball in her hand and she was happy bouncing it up and down. Her mother, Idun Winters, was laughing as she held Elsa's baby sister, Anna, on her lap. Anna was only two but she was quite the handful and loved to play with her older sister who also loved to play with her younger sister. Elsa's had been bouncing her ball against the grass, laughing as she did, when she bounced it a little hard. The ball travelled along the ground, bouncing as it did. The ball bounced across the yard and through the open gate till it rested in the middle of the road.

Elsa got up to go get her ball but her mother told her to stay where she was. Elsa's mother told her to look after Anna while she went to get the ball. Her mother raced across the street and picked up the ball.

She never even saw the car coming.

Elsa's mother had bent down and the car slammed right into the back. There had been a mess on the road. Elsa remembered crying and crying, screaming for her mother who would never be able to hear her again. Elsa's father, Adgar, had run out when he heard his daughter's distress. He had cradled his wife before shouting at Elsa to call for an ambulance.

"Emergency services , how can I help?"

"My mummy's hurt."

Elsa remembered a lot of people turning up. There had been neighbours racing about in a panic. The driver, who turned out to be drunk, was being arrested by a police officer. Sirens hurt Elsa's ears. Elsa's mother had been placed in a black and placed into an ambulance before being driven away. Elsa had raced after the ambulance but a neighbour grabbed her and held her back. Her father was crying as a police officer told him what was going on. He collapsed in his grief and the police officer took hold of his shoulder. Elsa remembered Anna crying as she sat on the lawn. Her father went over and scooped up his crying daughter. He gestured for Elsa to come over. Elsa did as she was told. She didn't really know what was going on but she could tell by the looks on everyone's faces that something bad had happened to her mother.

The funeral had taken place the next week. Everyone was dressed in black and grouped around a grave in the middle of a field. The rain was pounding on everyone's umbrellas. Elsa clung to her father's hand while her sister clung to the other. When the funeral was over, everyone headed over to Elsa's house. Elsa stayed in the corner of the living room clutching a small plate of food. Her sister had been taken upstairs to rest in her room by her uncle. Anna had collapsed in his arms and was completely asleep. The whole ordeal had been too much for her.

Elsa nibbled at a biscuit as she watched what was happening before her. She could see her grandmother, Ingrid Winters, chatting to Elsa's cousin Astrid – daughter of her Uncle Klaus – and Astrid's mother, Greta. Astrid was a little younger than Elsa; she was about four years old. Elsa had no idea what they were discussing. Elsa heard something about a miscarriage that her Aunt Greta was talking about. Elsa's grandmother seemed quite concerned about Aunt Greta. Elsa stared at them for several seconds before she decided to look for her father. Her eyes scanned the room looking for him. She soon found him.

Elsa's mother's sister, Irena, was chatting to her father. Her dad seemed to be looking upset while Aunt Irena was patting him on the back and offering him kind words. She wasn't the only one though; several family members that Elsa didn't even recognise all did the same thing. It was all that Elsa had heard today; "sorry for your loss". People have been saying the same thing to her. She didn't know how to reply to that.

Elsa didn't really know what to do until her father scooped her up and told her that she should go to bed. Elsa had been feeling sleepy so she was grateful for the suggestion. She had nearly fallen asleep in that corner that she had stayed in for the entire time. As a child, Elsa didn't quite fully comprehend what was going on.

"Daddy," she had asked him, all tucked up in bed with her sheets pulled up to her chin. "When is mummy coming home?"

Her dad had smiled at her. He sat down on her bed next to her and stroked her cheek.
"Sweetie, mummy has gone to join Grandad."

"Oh," Elsa had said. She knew what that meant. Her mother wasn't coming back.

Her father gave her a kiss goodnight before turning off the light. He said goodnight to Elsa before he shut the door slowly behind him. Elsa's dressing gown, hanging on a hook that was attached to her door, swung as he did. Elsa turned on her side and rested her head on her pillow. Elsa stared at her little clock that was on her bedside table. It was square shaped clock that had a digital time on it. A little doll sat on the top of it and the doll's legs draped down the sides of the clock. Elsa watched as the time ticked by. A small tear rolled down her face. She was never going to see her mother again and that made her sad.

Life went downhill after that.

After her mother's death, her father entered a state of depression, a severe state of depression. He had seen doctors, they had prescribed medications but nothing had worked for him. Nothing seemed to be working. Well, all but one thing didn't' worked. Her father started to drink. At first it was only an extra drink in the evening. Then he started going by the local bar after work on some days before he started to go every day. It wasn't long before he started coming home drunk. Elsa could hear him banging around in the kitchen which was below her room. Elsa shut her eyes and cried even more. Elsa had been forced to help her little sister get ready. Her father had done his best to keep going but Elsa took it upon herself to do as much as she could for him. She knew that he was going through a difficult time but for a five year old to try and take on the responsibilities of an adult was something that should never be asked. Elsa got Anna dressed, fed and put her to bed before sorting herself out while her father was in the bar getting hammered. There had been help initially but it wasn't much use. Kai and Gerda, who had normally helped out around the house, had been fired because they had been hired by Elsa's mother. Her father didn't want anything to remind him of her. That was the reason why he lied to his sister-in-law, Irena, about needing her help. She was just a younger version of Idun.

It had only been a few months after her mother's funeral when he first yelled at her.

Elsa had been playing outside with Anna. They were in the garden running about and making some noise. Their father had come out already two times to tell them to be quiet. Naturally, the two girls didn't listen. While running, Elsa fell down and messed up her legs pretty badly. Elsa walked to the house to get help from her father. She had walked into the living room and found him sitting in his usual chair. He had a bottle of beer in his hand and he looked very tired. Elsa had approached him and asked him for his help. He had told her to go away and deal with it herself. Elsa had begged for his help.

"Elsa, I had told you to sort it yourself! Now leave me alone!" Elsa had never heard her father shout like that. He had yelled before but this was different. His anger was hitting his limits. Elsa had flinched when he yelled. His father's angry face had softened when he saw Elsa's scared face.

"I'm sorry sweetie, daddy is just tired. Let's go sort out those knees."

Elsa smiled widely. She took his hand and walked to find the first aid kit. Little did she realise that it was only going to get worse for her.

Elsa had only been six when he first hit her.

It had happened on the one year anniversary of her mother's death. Her father hadn't taken it very well. He came home drunker than usual. Elsa had tried getting Anna to bed as usual but Anna was upset. She was crying over not being able to stay up and watch her favourite show which had been taped for her. Elsa had cast a nervous look at her father. It didn't take much to set her father off.

"Elsa, sort out your sister!" That had been the warning.

Elsa had somehow manage to get Anna off to bed but her father was still angry when she came back down the stairs to the kitchen to grab her things so that she could also go to bed. She found her father draining probably what was his tenth beer that night. He dropped the beer bottle and it shattered all over the floor. Elsa hurried to pick it up. She avoided eye contact with her father as she did this. As Elsa picked it all up, she dropped it back over the floor. She had tripped over one of her father's shoes that were strewn across the floor. All the broken shards of glass were thrown all over her father. He then exploded.

"Did you do that on purpose?" he had yelled so hard that Elsa flinched. "You did, didn't you?" His hand flew across Elsa's cheek and the force of it knocked her to the ground. Elsa threw out her hands to break her fall. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. Let me help you clean up this mess." Her father had bent down and helped Elsa clean up the mess. The next day, there was a bruise on her cheek. Her father had tried to make it up to her by buying her gifts such as a dollhouse.

People asked about the bruise and her father covered it up by saying that Elsa had been a little clumsy and whacked her face into a door handle by mistake. People bought this story. Of course they would believe Agdar Winters; a high ranking member of the Arendelle society and beyond all suspicion. This continued onwards. No one doubted his story, every. No one would ever believe that he was taking out his anger on his own daughter.

Elsa had once thought that her father wouldn't do that anymore. She was very wrong. The next time didn't happen for a few days. Then her father got angry again. This time it was over Elsa coming home late without calling first. Elsa hadn't called because she was in the middle of a netball game and her messages went unanswered. This time Elsa had been thrown against the pantry door. Her head hit it hard and she went dizzy for a moment. Her father looked very concerned and helped her to her room to lie down. All through this, he was apologising and saying that he didn't mean it. The next day, Elsa got more Lego sets. Her father didn't stop apologising the entirely of the next day. He kept saying that he would never do it again.

She thought that he was telling the truth; that it really was the last time. Then again, he would always say that.

As the days passed, the angrier her father got. It went from a small hit every few days to a beating every once in a while. Elsa couldn't do anything to protect herself. She felt powerless in the struggle. Her father stopped apologising for his actions after only after six months. He stopped trying to make it up to her after three months. Elsa ended up having to dress to hide after her father left bruises on her stomach, arms, back and sometimes neck.

It only took her father a few months to blame her for her mother's death. Elsa had thought the same after her mother had died. Normally, people would tell children that it wasn't their fault but this was different. Her father had said that if Elsa hadn't let her ball run out onto the road, her mother would still be alive. Elsa had come to believe that she was at fault for her mother's death. No one ever told her otherwise because no one knew that Elsa blamed herself.

Elsa had hoped that her bruises were the extent of it. She was wrong, yet again.

Her father broke her arm for the first time in the seventh month after her mother's death. Her father had gotten really mad about Elsa's bad grade in class. Recently her grades had started to slip because of what her father was doing. She never dared to tell anyone for fear out of what her father would do. Besides, Elsa didn't want to get her father into trouble. Her father had yelled at her, thrown her around about her bad grades. He then grabbed her arm and twisted it so hard behind her back until she heard a snap. Elsa had let out a scream in pain as he did this. She was then taken to the ER right afterwards it to see a doctor friend of her father where she got a shiny cast put on . Elsa had been crying the entire car ride there. Anna had been left with a neighbour so that she wouldn't see what was going on. Elsa had agreed with this decision. She didn't want her sister to see her like this. Elsa had gone back home only a few hours later. When she was at school, students were asking to sign her cast. They all bought her story about what happened.

When people asked about her injury, she said she fell off her bike. That wasn't the end of it. When he broke her leg, she said she fell out of her treehouse. Elsa was in and out of the ER on a regular basis. Elsa had thought that maybe her doctor, Doctor Lewis, would maybe see through hers and her father's stories but he agreed with whatever her father said. As Elsa got older, she knew why. He was paying him off. Elsa always shook her head in disgust. But as a child, Elsa just went with the flow. She felt like that was all she could do.

Everything then changed when Elsa was seven. Elsa had been in the kitchen with Anna. She had gotten her latest broken arm fixed and the cast had been taken off. Anna, who was four, was searching the kitchen for the cookies that Elsa had baked the previous week. The last time that Elsa saw them, there weren't many left. Anna had managed to find the jar and there was just one cookie left. Anna's face had lit up when she saw this. Elsa managed a small smile when she saw Anna's reaction.

"Look Elsa! There's one left!"

Anna had been so glad to find that there had been one left. She had enjoyed munching of those cookies. They had gone down quite well with her family. It had even put her father in a decent mood for a small time so no new bruises had appeared on her body.

"So there is!"

Anna had grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth. Elsa grinned when she saw Anna's expression she saw what her little sister did. Her father then stormed into the room. Elsa could smell the strong smell of alcohol on him. He stomped into the room without a second glance at either of his two girls. He then stopped and gave them both a small pat on the head. He started going towards the pantry. Elsa saw his eyes then slide over to the two girls sitting at the kitchen table.

"You took the last cookie!" that was what her father had screamed at Anna.

It was just a cookie but he always made a big deal out of everything. It didn't take a lot to set him off. If it wasn't a cookie, it was the way the washing was folded or the way Elsa stacked the dishwasher. Elsa felt like her father was always breathing down her neck. If she did something wrong, she would pay for it. Elsa was just thankful that Anna hadn't yet felt their father's anger.

Her father approached Anna. He had seen the biscuit tin in front of her and assumed, correctly, that she had taken the last cookie. He had raised his hand and Elsa saw her sister flinch. Elsa stepped in at that moment. She confessed that it was her who had eaten the last cookie. Her father stopped and then told Anna to leave the room. His hand came down across her face. Elsa fell onto the floor in a heap. She was growing used to this by now. Her father told her to ask next time.

Elsa had waited until her father had left the room before she headed up to her own room. She carefully got onto her bed. Elsa lay on her bed, sideways. Some tears rolled down her eyes. Elsa heard a knock on her door and she quickly wiped her tears. Anna had come into her room, flushed with excitement. She was telling Elsa about something that had happened in her TV show. Elsa hadn't been listening. She was just glad that Anna's innocence was still in tack. Elsa's had been robbed along with her childhood.

That night, Elsa didn't sleep a wink despite it was a school night and she needed all the sleep she could get. Elsa had been thinking about what happened with Anna. If she hadn't stepped in, her father could have seriously hurt Anna and that was the last thing she ever wanted. It may be too late for her but it wasn't too late for Anna. Elsa had so far managed to draw all of her father's anger onto her and away from her sister; she needed to keep that a reality. But how could Elsa do that? It seemed impossible.

Elsa had thought of a solution all night. If she didn't do something and quickly, then her sister will be like her; in and out of ERs, crying herself to sleep every night, feeling helpless and powerless, nursing herself practically every night, stepping on eggshells every night. It wasn't a life that she wanted for her sister.

Elsa had come up with the solution when she told herself that she needed to go to sleep since it was a school night. Elsa thought of sending Anna away to boarding school. That way, she would be out of the house and away from their father. Elsa snuck out of her bed and into her father's house where his laptop was sitting on the desk. Elsa had known the password to the laptop ever since her father came home drunk one night and told her to log into his laptop for who knows what. All that mattered was the password. She logged into the laptop and started a Google search.

Elsa kept a close eye on the door in case she heard her father moving about. She didn't want to be disturbed. She knew what would happen to her if she was. Elsa searched through a dozen schools and found one in Switzerland; Julian Kiebler Memorial College. The school was one of the top schools listed in Switzerland and in Europe. It took in students from Year 1 to Year 13. Elsa had a look through the school's website. It looked pretty good. It had everything that a student would need to find what they wanted to do in life and offer practically every subject that was available. Elsa started to scribble down some information about the school on a pad that her father always kept near his laptop. Elsa ripped off the piece of paper and tucked it into her pyjama pocket.

The next day at school, Elsa printed off some flyers. She soon left them in full sight of her father when she got home from school. As expected, her father asked her about it. Elsa lied and said that a representative from the school gave them to her. Elsa thought that it would be a good fit for Anna. Her father thought about it for a while before agreeing. He rang the school and soon got Anna admitted.

Little did she realise that her sister had been listening in the entire time. Anna had wondered why Elsa wanted her to leave Arendelle. This wonderment soon turned into Anna thinking that her sister didn't want her around anymore. This then turned into hatred for her sister. However, Elsa didn't mind. As long Anna was safe, Elsa was more than happy for Anna to think whatever she wanted about her.

A/N: So this was an idea I had for a Jelsa story, gracialoveme, as soon as I told her about the story, requested that I write it and so I decided I should. This chapter was more of a flashback and some backstory. This story will deal with the topic of child abuse, I hope I write it correctly. Quick note, I will be writing this alongside my other story, Thirst, which will be given main priority in terms of updates. I also have another story coming out soon that I have been working on for the last couple of days. I may not be able to update this quickly as I will be focusing on Thirst and it's prequel that I shall be writing as soon as that story is finished. However, I will still probably be able to get updates out at a reasonably fast pace, I hope, I all goes to plan. Anyway, I hope that everyone liked the chapter. Continue or not continue? Please tell me your thoughts on this chapter. I like hearing all feedback that you guys have. I do have few ideas planned for this story which I hope you guys will enjoy reading. Please review =)