"Do you have to go," eighteen year old Elsa said rising from her shallow curtsey, anxiety pulling at her from all angles and making her entire body tense and palms itch. She could feel the frost starting to form at her fingertips, gloves or no gloves.

"You'll be fine, Elsa," the king said with a warm smile. "We'll only be gone two weeks."

Two weeks? Elsa thought, fighting to keep her panic hidden, concealing her emotions behind a mask of cool neutrality. So much could happen in two weeks. What if Anna succeeds in kicking down my door like I know she wants to, what if someone finds out, what if I ice something in public, what if I lose control…

"Elsa," the queen said breaking her daughter's frantic thoughts and stepping close to the young queen-to-be. Apparently Elsa's mask wasn't as firmly in place as she believed, but then again her mother could always see right through her façade. The queen was careful not to invade her daughter's personal space knowing it would only further her agitation and could bring on the ice. Still, she placed a gentle hand on her daughter's cheek and smiled. "Just breathe, darling. Remember to breathe. Two weeks isn't that long, and we'll be back before you know it."

Elsa relaxed fractionally under her mother's warm touch, clenched, knuckle white hands loosening. She knew her mother and father were right, two weeks wasn't very long at all, but knowing they wouldn't be in the castle within easy reach or earshot was nerve wracking. Still, the young queen-to-be knew she could keep herself busy. There were hundreds of things her tutors could come up with, or she could spend hours in the library simply devouring book after book. That was perhaps Elsa's favorite pastime until Anna found her. Then any hope of study went out the window until the young queen-to-be retreated back to the safe quiet of her room.

The thought of Anna seemed to summon the young princess, and she came bounding into the sun brightened great hall, all smiles and happy laughing. Elsa instinctively stepped away when her younger sister approached, a movement that wasn't lost on the princess. Anna glanced at Elsa out of the corner of her eye but kept her distance knowing any attempt at approaching her older sister would result in a cold rebuke. It was an awkward dance they'd partaken in for years and one Anna had quickly learned to avoid.

"Are you leaving already," Anna giggled pulling the king and queen into a tight hug. Elsa felt a sharp pang of longing work through her as she watched the embrace but kept her face a smooth mask, hands folded neatly in front of her.

"The last of our bags are being loaded onto the ship as we speak," the king replied pulling his daughter into a crushing hug and planting a kiss on her cheek. Anna giggled and pulled away, rubbing her cheek where the hairs of her father's mustache had tickled her.

"I still don't know why I can't go with you," Anna said trying to feign a serious pout but failing miserably.

I, thought Elsa sadly and winced, not we.

"Because you two are needed here," the king said flicking his eyes over to his eldest daughter who returned his gaze coolly. "Elsa has to remain Acting Majesty while I'm gone, and in the event something should happen to her, you need to be here as well."

"That's a horrible excuse," Anna said with a snort. "Elsa will be fine on her own, she always is. She doesn't need me. You just want to be able to dance at Rapunzel's wedding without the fear of having two left feet here embarrass you. And this is all totally unfair, mind you. It's been years since we visited Corona kingdom, and I want to actually meet my cousin!"

The king chuckled and put an arm around his youngest daughter's shoulders, squeezing gently. "I know my spring flower, I know, and I promise we'll make plans to visit Corona in the summer." Leaning in close he whispered into Anna's ear with a sly smile, "But it's your mother really who doesn't want you two to go. I can't get her to dance if her daughters are upstaging her on the ballroom floor."

Anna giggled behind her hand while her mother gave her husband a firm but loving push. "See if I even give you a single dance now at my nieces wedding!"

The royal family shared in a few more laughs before Kai appeared to tell the king and queen that the vessel was ready for boarding. Straightening, the king beckoned the manservant forward and instructed him to scribe. Kai produced a wooden writing tablet and a pressed piece of parchment from seemingly thin air, quill already dipped in ink and nodded for the king to begin.

"I, Andrew Frosberg, ruling monarch of Arendelle Kingdom and King of the Northern Realms, hereby decree that Princess Elsa Frosberg, my heir, will be henceforth titled Acting Majesty until my return. In the event I should fail to return to my kingdom, her Majesty will take the title of Ruling Majesty upon her twenty first year. So decrees the king of Arendelle."

Kai finished scribing at about the same time the king finished speaking, and produced a small silver box with the Arendelle crest etched into the lid. The king opened the tiny box and pressed his signet ring into the dark ink saturated wool before pressing the ring to the smooth parchment. Kai gently blew on the wet ink before neatly folding it and bowing at the waist.

"I will place this decree in the hands of the bishop and council immediately," Kai said still doubled in half.

"Thank you, Kai. Please watch over the girls while we're gone," the king said with a warm nod. Kai straightened and slid the decree into his inner coat pocket where it would be safe.

"I will do my best, Majesty."

"I know that's all you can do with these two," the queen said stepping next to her husband and giving his arm a gentle squeeze. "Come dear, we cannot keep the captain waiting."

"Agreed," the king sighed. Turning to the two royal sisters he said, "Take care while we're gone. Anna, continue your studies and etiquette training. I know from your tutor you need refinement in certain place, so I expect them to be polished by the time we get back."

"Yes, father," Anna said sheepishly, her face flushing slightly.

"Elsa," the king turned towards his eldest daughter and felt his stomach turn a summer sault. This would be the first time the king and queen would be absent from the castle at the same time, and he worried just as much as his daughter did about her icy powers and the gravity of her secret. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his nerves and smiled as warmly as he could. "You'll be fine, just remember to breathe and don't let it show. We'll be back before you know it."

Elsa swallowed the rising lump of fear and embraced both her father and mother, tears starting to well in her eyes. She quickly concealed them, mask slipping back in place.

"I will, father."

"We know you will, darling," the queen said kissing her daughter once on the head and once on the nose. Elsa giggled slightly, a strange sound even to her ears, and the queen seemed to shine from within with warmth and love for her daughter. "I love you."

"We both do," the king seconded. The queen took her husband by the arm and gently led him from the great hall, daughters in toe. Anna followed her father and mother to the docks, bouncing like a puppy running after its master, while Elsa remained behind at the castle gates watching them go. She gazed up at the massive three masted ship, white sails slowly being unfurled by scuttling sailors climbing the rigging like ants, and sent a silent prayer skyward.

Two weeks, I can do it. It'll only be two weeks.

Indeed, two weeks went by at its normal pace, some days dragging on while others sped past at blinding speed. On August 21st the harbor master set a watch for the royal ship, but the day slipped by without any sign of the three masted vessel. It wasn't unusual for a ship to be a day or two late, sailing had its hazards, so no one thought anything of it and returned to their duties. When the third day came and went with no sign the harbor master sent word to the towers overlooking the sea that they were to expressly watch for the royal ship and nothing else. Three days late was one thing, but three days late with no word, no hawk sent from the captain detailing the delay was something to take note of, but all Arendelle could do was watch and wait.

Elsa woke with a start and sat bolt upright in bed, the boom of thunder that had awoken her slowly echoing out of existence. A few seconds later a brilliant flash of bluish white light illuminated her room and the creeping frost slowly climbing the young princess's walls and ceiling. Startled, Elsa jumped out of bed and felt the familiar crunch of frost under her bare feet. Another flash of lightning gave her a glimpse of her quickly icing room, and Elsa scrambled over her bed to the nightstand on the other side, throwing pillows aside as she went. She slipped on a pair soft suede gloves and felt only marginally better until another crack of thunder shook the castle.

Where is this storm coming from? Elsa thought as she slid into a dark colored robe and padded over to her triangular window. Despite the world outside her room being black as pitch, flashes of lightning allowed her fractional glimpses of a turbulent sky alive with wind and rolling clouds. The young queen-to-be jumped back from her window when a particularly bright arm of sky fire arched down from the clouds above and struck a tree not too far from the castle. The resounding boom of thunder half a heartbeat later was strong enough to rattle the glass in Elsa's window as well as her perfume bottles and the wash basin on the dresser.

Suddenly the young queen-to-be was overcome with the uncontrollable urge to see exactly what was happening outside and raced from her room, making it to the library just as another clap of thunder rattled the books on their shelves. Stumbling in the dark, Elsa found one of the small table lamps and lit it, raising the wick so that the flame burned a bright orange and illuminated the room. Piles of books still littered the floor from where she'd stacked them earlier that week, forbidding Kia or any of the castle staff from returning them to their proper shelves. When Elsa studied something she studied hard and didn't want her material moved until she was finished.

More strobes of white blue light flickered from behind the drawn curtain covering the balcony doors, and Elsa carefully worked her way across the room, stepping over her neat piles as nimbly as a dancer. Reaching for the handle, the door shuddered as a strong gust of wind pushed against it and the young queen-to-be hesitated. It was just a storm. She'd seen hundreds roll in off the sea over the years, so why had this one had the power to drag her out of bed in the early predawn hours? What was she expecting to see when she opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony? Heart in her throat, Elsa pushed the brass handle down and stepped into the maelstrom.

The wind caught her first, strong arms pushing her back towards the library as if the storm wanted nothing to do with her. Steeling herself against the gale, Elsa pressed forward until her gloved hands found the railing and she clung tightly, head down as the wind continued its assault, platinum blond hair pulled from its loose bun and whipping around behind her. Then just as quickly as it had come, the gale died to a barely audible whisper, allowing the young queen-to-be her first glimpse of the fjord and the sea beyond.

It was a chaotic mess of turbulent white capped waves, some swells reaching as high as ten feet. Along the lower half of the perimeter wall running the length of the kingdom, wave after wave crashed against the slate gray rocks and raced up the wall. Even at a distance the young queen-to-be could hear the throaty roar as the water assaulted the shore. Mouth slightly agape, she watched transfixed as lances of brilliant blue and purple lightning dove from the sky and struck the sea beyond the fjord, earth and sky becoming one for a fraction of a second, bound by ropes of living fire. The distant rumble of thunder punctuated each strike like heavenly drummers beating a tempo of war. It was breathtaking and terrifying at the same time, and Elsa watch in stunned silence until the wind returned.

This time it came from her left, driving the young queen-to-be into the far corner of the balcony and pinning her there. Struggling to stand, Elsa grabbed hold of the railing and pulled herself along until she was back at the library doors. Feet planted, a giddy laugh bubbling in her throat, she barely noticed the frost spreading under her bare feet and covering the balcony in a layer of jagged ice crystals. The thrill of being at the head of this storm, of feeling its power slam against her like the waves crashing against the perimeter wall, filled the young queen-to-be with such wild abandon she momentarily forgot her place, forgot her fears, forgot to conceal, and became one with the storm.

So this is what freedom feels like.

Elsa clutched the railing with knuckle white hands and leaned as far over as she could without toppling over the edge. The wind seemed to sense the interloper in its presence and swirled around her, bring with it the scent of turbulent sea, wet earth, and electricity, and for once there was a storm raging around the young queen-to-be that drowned out her own inner storm. Laughter rolled from her, stolen by the wind the second it left her mouth, but still Elsa laughed, laughed in the face of the storm, laughed in the face of God, laughed in the face of her curse and for once felt the touch of true power. It wasn't until she stepped back and heard the telltale crunch and felt the slick cold underfoot that reality crashed into her as hard as the storm had. Panic replaced wild thrill and she stumbled away from the ice, tripping when her foot caught on a particularly spiny shard and nearly going down. Hands out, Elsa caught herself on the railing, back to the storm that was quickly overtaking the fjord. The raging tempest seemed to sense her growing fear because it was at that moment a bolt of lightning snaked out of the sky and struck the fjord not two hundred yards from where Elsa stood. Back to the strike, she was only able to catch a glimpse of the sky fire in the reflection of the window before the concussion of the strike sent her spinning around, ice consuming all the rest of the balcony in a blast of arctic air.

"No," Elsa gasped looking in horror at the sheets of translucent blue. Her worst fears quickly coming to light, she scrambled for the door desperate to escape her magic and the knowledge she'd unwittingly unleashed it. Hand on the handle, Elsa felt the first few drops of rain tap against her head seconds before the full force of the gale hit. Sheets of lukewarm water pelted the kingdom, the noise akin to standing next to a waterfall, and with the rain returned the wind.

Elsa fought to open the door but the maelstrom was to strong and her footing to unsure as the warm rain melted her ice and made the ground increasingly slick. After a few tries she was able to turn the handle and slide in through the slender gap, but just as she was almost through the wind switched directions and nearly wrenched the handle from her hand. Elsa was dragged back into the storm as if she were holding onto a kite. She knew if she let go the door would swing back into the castle wall and shatter the glass, probably waking half the castle in the process. Digging her heals into the ice she summoned all her strength and pulled the door back towards its lock one grunting step at a time. Half way there the wind shifted one last time. Unbalanced and soaked through, Elsa had no time to jump out of the way. The door struck her in the forehead, throwing her backwards into the library, before slamming shut with a resounding crack.

The young queen-to-be woke a few minutes later sprawled out on a pile of books, the skin above her left eyebrow on fire. Blinking back tears, she touched her forehead and hissed through clenched teeth. A sizeable goose-egg was quickly forming, but luckily there was no blood. Leaning back against the once neat stacks of books under her, Elsa tasted salt on her lips and frowned. Had she been crying? A quick rub down of her face told her she was completely soaked through with rain water, but why was it salty.

It's almost like the sky was crying.

Confused, aching from her fall and from the books jammed into her back at awkward angles, robe and nightgown soaked through and tired beyond reason, Elsa pulled herself up off the floor and staggered back to her room. She had enough strength to pull off her wet clothes before flopping back into bed and sinking into a restless sleep filled with cryptic and disturbing dreams.