Spoilers: Frozen, obviously. Just the first movie for now.

A/N: For anyone coming here from my SPN stories fear not, I have not abandoned them, I'm just playing in more worlds now, cept with sisters now instead of brothers.

This is not a Frozen retelling. This story is a series of one shots, missing scenes, and anything that strikes my fancy, but mostly, it's the story of Anna and Elsa and the rebuilding of their lives after everything that has happened. I hope y'all enjoy and don't forget to tip you snowman on the way out!

No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear.

C.S. Lewis

"Do you have to go?" Elsa asked. She tried not to look as nervous as she felt but couldn't help wringing her hands. They would be gone for two weeks this time. It wasn't the first time the King and Queen had to travel, but it had been years since the last time they set sail, and this was the first time they would be leaving her as Keeper of the Kingdom until their return. She would be expected to carry out her father's duties in his absence, despite the fact she was not technically yet of age.

"You'll be fine, Elsa," the King said softly, offering her a reassuring smile. "Just remember what I taught you. And think about what we talked about last night, yes?"

Elsa nodded solemnly, but she was remained unsure of the right thing to do. Her powers had grown stronger over the past thirteen years, to the point that any spark of emotion within her brought them to the surface, good or bad. Her powers felt so different when they were evoked by love or joy, but the mere sight of ice spreading from her, like a frigid infection, quickly squashed any positive feelings, turned them instead to panic and fear. "I will, Papa."

Agnarr gave a small nod of encouragement then gestured to Kai, the royal household's steward who'd been with them since before Elsa's birth. He was one of only four people other than her parents who knew of Elsa's powers. "Kai." He held out a sealed document. "See to it that Bishop Davynn gets this."

"Of course, your Majesty." Kai bowed as he took the paper.

A heavy weight sat in Elsa's stomach. She knew what instructions the parchment contained; she'd watched her father draft the order. He had taken great care that she knew and understood the words written there.

I, Agnarr, King of Arendelle,

do hereby proclaim Elsa, Crowned Princess

and heir apparent of Arendelle, Keeper

of the kingdom to act with all the authority

of the crown in my absence and until either my

return or I no longer reside on this earth.

"I know it's a bit unorthodox," her father had said the night before, as she stood in his study and read over the royal decree. "Technically, you are still a few years too young to act with the crown's authority while I'm away. But you have worked hard in your studies, and there's only so much I can teach you, Elsa. I think it's time you get firsthand experience. I trust you to do good while your mother and I are gone."

Elsa's head snapped up and her gaze locked on the King's. A smile pulled at her lips, happiness swelling within her chest from the thought of making her father proud. A frost tingled at her fingertips and she quickly tamped down her emotions, forcing the magic to retreat.

"I do, however," he started as he took the parchment back from his daughter, "expect a full report when I get back. What you learned and any questions you have about your experience." He folded the paper and dripped wax from a candle onto the fold before pressing his seal into the wax.

"I understand, Papa."

He smiled at his daughter. "Don't let those old windbags on the council push you around." He winked, drawing a chuckle from her.

"Elsa." Her mother's soft voice pulled the princess from her thoughts and back to the present. "Just remember to breathe, you'll do fine."

Elsa attempted to smile, but she didn't quite feel it. Her parents were her rock, her only support, and she was nervous – scared, even – to not have them close by. But it was only two weeks. She could do this, for them.

Elsa took a deep breath, standing just inside the door of her father's study. It had been four weeks since her parents set out for her cousin's wedding in Corona. They were now two weeks overdue to return. Sea travel was unpredictable, and there were a number of reasons that could account for their delay, but as the days dragged on and no news came, fear dug its claws in deeper and deeper.

They were okay; they had to be. There wasn't any other option.

Elsa wrapped her arms around her middle as a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature rocked through her. The council had obviously been concerned, wanting to know what she intended, what she was doing to find her parents. She assured them that a ship had been sent to look for them, and a messenger dispatched to Corona, but there had not yet been a response from either.

But that didn't mean anything. Her parents were fine.

"Your Highness?"

Elsa jumped at the sound of Kai's voice, a thin veil of frost immediately covering her gloved hands.

He retreated a step, into the hall. "My apologies, ma'am, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's fine, Kai." She swiped her hands against the fabric of her skirt, getting rid of the evidence. Thankfully, no one else was around.

Kai held out a letter. "This just arrived, ma'am." Even from a distance, she could see the seal of Corona pressed into the wax.

Elsa reached out to take the letter, both hopeful and dreading what was written inside. She broke the seal slowly, with a snap that seemed to echo in the study. She unfolded the letter and read the message twice, not comprehending. She looked up at Kai, brows drawn together in confusion. "This doesn't . . ." she began, before dropping her gaze to read the letter a third time.

"Ma'am?" Kai prompted softly.

"It's from Queen Arianna. She says that Mama and Papa sent their regrets months ago, that they'd not be able to attend the wedding. Corona was never expecting them." That couldn't be right; she clearly remembered her parents preparing for a journey to Corona for this wedding. But the Queen was her father's sister, and she'd have no reason to lie. Elsa turned her attention to Kai, frowning fiercely. "Did they say anything about going somewhere else?"

Kai shook his head. "No, ma'am."

Elsa looked down once more at the letter in her hands. Queen Arianna stated that despite not expecting her parents, guards had been sent to check the dock, and a scout ship to survey the surrounding ocean. Both searches had turned up nothing. The letter went on to offer well wishes and reassurances. It all rang hollow. Her parents were missing, and if Corona was to be believed – and there was no reason they shouldn't be – Elsa couldn't even be sure what direction they may have sailed in.

"Your Highness." Kai's voice broke her spiraling thoughts. He was staring at the piece of parchment clutched in her hands.

Elsa followed his gaze and saw the paper was coated in a thick layer of ice. She gasped and dropped the letter, watched as it shattered against the floor. She brought her hands to her chest, covering one with the other.

"Your orders, ma'am?" Kai pressed, as though nothing had happened.

Orders? She wasn't supposed to giving orders. That was her father's job, one he was supposed to hold for another forty or fifty years. Conceal, don't feel. Elsa took a deep breath, mentally repeating her father's words. She had to keep it under control. She could cry when alone, when there was no one around to hurt or bear witness. "Tell Admiral Mikael to expand the search, check with the neighboring kingdoms," she said, surprising herself with the steadiness of her tone. "Tell him to keep it discreet." If other kingdoms found out they were without their monarchy, it would leave Arendelle at the mercy of others looking to expand their empire.

Elsa waited until Kai shut the door behind him before collapsing to the ground. "Mama, Papa," she whispered in a broken voice. "Where are you?" She drew her legs up to her chest as tendrils of frost leached across the floor.

Elsa sat at the table with her father's council of advisors, not really listening to the heated argument taking place between two of the members. It'd been six months since the King and Queen set sail. Six months since she'd last seen them. An exhaustive search had turned up nothing. Every small isle on the maps had been searched, and she'd even gone as far as looking through her father's books and notes for some hint of where they had gone, if not to Corona. But the ocean was vast, and it was growing more and more unlikely they would ever find out what had happened to her parents. Storms at sea could be sudden and devastating, and they rarely left survivors or evidence behind.

Elsa twisted her hands where they were clasped safely on her lap below the table, for fear of freezing something. She looked up when she realized the room had fallen quiet. Everyone at the table was looking at her expectantly. She cursed herself, knowing she should have been paying attention.

"Your Highness," Gregar spoke, breaking the thick silence. Gregar was in his late forties, slightly plump, with gray hairs spreading through his otherwise light brown hair. Gregar had been on the council for many years, serving to advise the King on International Affairs. "Your Highness, it's been six months with no news of the King and Queen."

Elsa gripped her hands tightly. "Thank you, I am aware of the passage of time." Her tone was harsher than it should have been, given her station, but anger was easier to control than despair, and she couldn't allow herself to sink into that dark pit. Not here.

Bishop Davynn cleared his throat and looked apologetically to the Princess. "Forgive me, your Highness, but what I believe Gregar is getting at is . . ."

Elsa had known the Bishop all her life, and he had never been a hesitant man. The fact that he was acting so now raised the hairs on the back of her neck and filled her with dread.

"After six months with no evidence or word from someone who has set sail, they are usually . . . declared lost at sea," the Bishop said, his voice thick with regret. "Since it is the King and Queen . . . it must be done by the current regent."

"Oh." Elsa's chest tightened. She was the current regent, ruling in the King's absence despite her age, because her father had wanted her to get her feet wet. It was only supposed to be two weeks. That's all. A thick silence filled the room. She had spent every passing day clinging to the tiniest bit of hope that her parents would still walk through the doors. That they'd be found alive and well. If she did this, that meant she was giving up that hope and admitting – to herself, to all of Arendelle – that they were gone. She would be making her fear real. She would be taking hope away from an entire kingdom, and from her younger sister, only fifteen years old.

She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. She simply stared at the men in front of her, feeling lost and alone.

"Your Highness?" Admiral Mikael, the Commander of Arendelle's Royal Navy, laid a light hand on the table in front of her.

Elsa startled, she opened her mouth to speak but found she couldn't. She took a breath, working to steady the anxious pounding in her chest, the cold tingling at her fingertips, and tried again. "In the absence of any news or evidence of the King and Queen in the six months since they set sail, I . . ." she stopped, swallowing thickly. "I declare King Agnarr and Queen Iduna . . . lost at sea. May God rest their souls."

She wasn't sure whether she was going to throw up or pass out, and closed her eyes for a long moment as found the last dregs of strength within her to force out the rest of the words. "There will be a ten-day mourning period followed by a . . . funeral. Admiral Mikael, please have you men . . . return to their normal patrols." Elsa balled her hands into fists, struggling to maintain control. "If you'll excuse me, gentleman. . ."

She pushed up from her chair, the council members standing with her, the Bishop bowed his head toward her. "The King is dead. Long live Queen Elsa."

Queen Elsa. Something inside her snapped as the council members echoed his words. She couldn't breathe, growing more lightheaded, with an odd ringing in her ears. Holding herself together with the barest of threads, she walked out of the council chambers.

Once outside the room she all but ran through the hallway toward her own chambers. She turned the corner and crashed into someone, knocking them both to the floor.

"Elsa?"

Elsa looked at her little sister, Anna. Sprawled helplessly on the floor, the younger girl appeared ghostly, her face drained of color. Elsa's own heart broke even more.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna attempted to move closer, but Elsa immediately pushed herself to her feet and backed away. She wanted to say something to her sister, to offer her some reassurance or sign of love in their shared grief but didn't trust herself to do so without breaking down. If she lost it here, now, she knew Anna would get hurt. So instead she averted her gaze and skirted around her sister without a word and escaped to the solitude of her room, her sanctuary and her prison.

"Elsa!"

She closed the door behind her and swiftly locked it, then made it halfway across the room before she crumpled to the floor. "Mama. Papa." She sobbed, folding in on herself as branches of ice frosted the floor and ran up the walls, snowflakes hung in the air, suspended by grief.

Now, she was truly alone.

Anna walked robotically through the halls of the castle. Her normally joyful demeanor had been subdued over the last six months, but she still held out hope that her parents were out there. Stranded maybe, on an island. The Admiral's men would find them and bring them home, and they would have wild stories to share. She was sure of it.

She was lost in these thoughts when a sudden coldness rushed over her, right before something ran into her hard enough to knock her down. "Hey!" She looked up at the offender only to realize it was her sister. The sister she barely saw and talked to even less. "Elsa?"

Anna didn't know her sister all that well anymore, but what she did know was Elsa had always been the picture of poise and grace. Her own tutors had remarked on this fact to Anna many times. Right now, Elsa was anything but poised. In fact, she looked as though a slight breeze would shatter her to pieces.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna feared the answer. With their parents missing and no word of them as far as she was aware, she knew something must have happened. She pushed up to her knees, trying to scoot closer to her sister, but Elsa wordlessly shoved up from the floor and bolted toward her room. "Elsa!"

Anna jumped to her feet with the intention of following her sister and demanding to know what could have shattered the woman's composure so thoroughly but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Anna turned to find Gerda standing behind her, profound sadness etched into the motherly face of the matron.

"Princess, the King and Queen . . . they've been declared lost at sea."

Anna brought her hands up to her mouth, barely hearing the words the woman was saying, the news she had been tasked with delivering. "I don't understand, what does that mean?" She knew what it meant, but not what it meant.

Gerda didn't say anything though, she didn't have to, Anna could read it on her face. It meant they were no longer looking for her parents. They'd given up the search, given up hope. She would never see her parents again. Anna's knees buckle as she slid to the floor, Gerda wrapped her arms around the young princess. "Mama, Papa," she sobbed into Gerda's shoulder.

Now, she was truly alone.