In Arendelle's fair kingdom, a ruler did appear
Born with a power so great, alone she stayed in fear
Although the force was hidden, one day she let it go
And all the land was covered

In Eternal Ice and Snow

Chapter One

The normal clop of the horse's hooves was softened by the snow coating the ground. With only a thin cloak covering her shoulders, Anna wondered if she would ever feel warm again. A thin layer of frost even coated the skin of her hands-bare to the cold air as she held the reins. Her head was bowed, tired, exhausted… ashamed.

Trying to get through the forests of Arendelle had proved an impossible task, with storms raging down upon her from the mountains in the north. The princess had seen no sign of life other than her horse and herself, even the animals hiding away from the winds, and soon the snow became too thick for the poor creature to walk through. With tears freezing on her face before they could roll down her cheeks, Anna had finally turned her back on her sister, and returned to Arendelle.

At the edge of the forest, the reins finally slipped from her hands. At the edge of town, she finally fell from the saddle, too cold to keep herself there any longer. It took another half an hour for someone to find her, sending for the Prince of the Southern Isles, and getting her beside the fire, wrapping her in as many blankets as could be found. And yet her eyes remained closed. Shivers rattling the princess's body were the only sign of life they had. It would be a wonder if she didn't have frostbite or hypothermia, going out in such weather so woefully underdressed.

But when she awoke, Anna was back in her room. With a groan, she rolled over, curling up in her blankets and burying her face in the pillows. She was warm and cozy, and the air outside seemed chilled. Her first thoughts were wondering why her dream about Elsa's coronation had seemed so real. Hans? Ice powers? Winter in July? Her sister talking to her? It was all so ridiculous. Something only her unconscious mind could come up with, surely. But when her eyes squinted open, she saw snowflakes being whipped past the glass of her window, a blizzard.

Confused, Anna sat up, still clutching her blankets around herself, rubbing one eye with a fist. Climbing out of bed, she shivered as her bare feet hit the ice cold floorboards. Even with a fire roaring, the wood was freezing, and she quickly made her way over to the window seat, pulling her sheets along beside her, curling up her feet away from the wood.

"Snow?" she whispered. "But… but's it's July, it was Elsa's birthday last… last week…" and her voice trailed off as she realised her dream hadn't been a dream at all. Her sister had magic. She had ran away and now it was winter in the middle of the summer. Elsa had kept this from her, Anna could tell from the look on her face, the panic and fear in her sister's eyes.

It was a look she'd seen a few times. Previously, Anna had shrugged it off as contempt, or annoyance, or pity. But now she had seen what happened, she was certain it had been fear rooted deep in her sister's eyes. And gazing at the swirling storm outside, Anna could see why. The gloves had been keeping all of this back?

With shaking fingers, she rested her palm against the glass, wondering what would happen if this was a different hand, a paler hand. A hand she had only ever seen covered by gloves, even in the middle of summer. Gloves, and heavy skirts, and jackets with long sleeves and high collars, all the middle of summer. It was no wonder she had seen Elsa having to be revived from many a fainting spell, even spying her slump to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut once or twice. Was it all to keep this winter back?

After a few minutes, she stood from the window seat, standing in the middle of her room, cold floorboards be damned. Carefully, she drew up an image in her head. Elsa's bed had been there. Her shelves there. A doll's house, beautiful and intricate had stood against that wall. A baby doll and cot, a stuffed horse, puzzles and books and toys that could be played with alone. All had disappeared that day when she was five. That day when she had awoken with a pounding headache and her big sister gone, Mama at her bedside.

Her wardrobe now stood where that black and blue bed once had. Brushing past her light summer dresses, she eventually found her darker winter things, pulling down shirts and skirts and bodices. Without the help of a maid, she dressed, finding the normalcy of such a thing comforting. Buttons and clasps, they made sense. They were not an elusive elder sister with ice powers. Once all was done up and in place, Anna pulled down a shawl from her shelves, wrapping it around her shoulders before sneaking out of her room.

Technically, she didn't have to sneak. But her main reason for doing so was that she really wasn't in the mood for company. Not even Hans. This was something she had to do alone.

Years of playing in the castle meant she had knowledge of every creaky floorboard, every place where she could be caught between her room and Elsa's. And soon enough she was stood before that white door, the purple rosemaling almost taunting her, as it always did. And suddenly, her resolve faltered. There was no one inside any longer, but for a moment, she could pretend there was. Could pretend that Elsa sat on her bed, or at her desk inside. That she was looking out of her window. Could pretend she was home, not alone in the wilderness, with only the snow and wind for company. Could pretend that while they were both alone on either side of that door, at least they were alone together.

Taking in a deep breath, Anna grasped the silver handle and turned it.

And then Elsa's room was open before her. If the corridors felt cold, than this room was like the Arctic. No one had bothered to build a fire in here, not with its owner currently missing out in the wildness, fleeing her own country.

The first thing that struck Anna was that even though it was neat, it looked lived in. There were trinkets littered about the place, flowers in the vase on her sister's bedside table. Two books joined it, a slip of paper sticking out of the top one as a bookmark. A hairbrush and pins lay abandoned on the vanity, as did several pots and brushes, and what appeared to be a small jewellery box. Her sister had been here, had lived in here.

Anna shivered. It was like being in a haunted house, with her sister's ghost surely about to jump out and scold her for invading her territory. Not that Elsa ever scolded. Elsa was never anything but calm and collected and-and… perfect. Except, Anna thought, biting her lip, last night.

But she had come in here to look for clues. Clues to why there was a secret, clues as to what had happened that made her sister turn her away all those years ago. Clues as to where she had gone. Closing the door behind her, she looked around, making mental notes of where to look, and in what order. But first, she drifted to the bed, sitting on its edge. Noticing a lump against her right thigh, she lifted the sheets to investigate. Just under the blankets and pillows, hidden by them, there was a small, well loved doll poking out. It was the baby doll she had remembered, the blue of the nightdress and blonde of the yarn hair both faded over time. But she held it as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

Glancing at the books on the table, her eyes widened to see a pen next to them. Carefully replacing the doll, she lifted the top book to see it was just a Biology text of some sort. But the bottom… it was a diary.

Teeth biting into her lip, the princess debated over opening the thing. Dare she invade her sister's privacy in such a way? But she had come to find answers, and this might be one way. Steeling her nerves, she made her decision.

Flipping open the front cover, she saw this one began a few months previous. Most of the things in it were to do with daily running of the castle, preparations for the coronation. For a moment, she felt a little crestfallen. Before her name began to crop up.

Anna knocked today.

Spoke to Anna. Will try again tomorrow.

Anna's tutors said she did well today. I had Gerda send her up some chocolates as a surprise. Didn't say they were from me though.

And it went on and on. Official duties interspaced with little tidbits about her sister. Anna drank it in, hungry for these glimpses of the elder's day to day life. And before long, she reached the last page.

18th July 1847

It's tomorrow. After all this time, it's tomorrow. And I'm terrified. What if they don't let me wear my gloves? I know it's against protocol, but I can't do it without them. I've been trying to practice, and as long as I don't think about things too much, it's not too bad. But I've never managed in front of an audience. Kai says it's barely noticeable. But what if someone sees? Part of me wants to call the whole thing off, just have the coronation in private. Bishop Kolstad said I could do such a thing.

But I know Anna's been looking forward to this. For so long. I've heard her chatting about it to herself, or the staff. I can't take this from her, not now. And not since most of the guests have already arrived. It would cause a bigger scandal than anything I could do, surely? (Perhaps answering that is not the best option, given my affliction).

My stomach's doing flips even now. I promised I'd get to sleep hours ago, but I've just been tossing and turning. Perhaps I should worry about the dark circles under my eyes from a lack of sleep rather than… well. Gerda may come in and scold me if she sees this candle still burning, Queen or not.

I hope I do Papa proud.

And there was no more.

Letting the little black book fall closed in her lap, Anna just stared at it for a moment. Elsa had been so scared. The younger had assumed the nerves were simply for a perfectly normal reason-a coronation was a big thing, and Elsa had never seemed the type to enjoy being the centre of attention. Now she knew what her sister truly feared.

A thought came to her. This diary began as if it were a continuation. What if there were others? Replacing it back on the nightstand, she looked around, trying to figure out where a Crown Princess would keep old, filled in journals. She checked the drawers of the vanity, the old chest in the corner. Not even her writing desk gave her a clue. Until she remembered that hidden section in her own wardrobe, right at the bottom. A panel that could slide out, and anything could be hidden inside. She'd placed old trinkets in her own, things the maids would throw out otherwise. Glancing at the dominating wooden structure, Anna could see they had the same one, just with different paint.

Scrambling on her hands and knees, she pulled the thing open, ignoring the dresses and gloves and shoes and hats and all those things. Sliding her fingers over the wood of the bottom, she quickly found the place her finger could hook in. And when she lifted it, her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open.

There was book after book. Some looked much, much older than others, with the pages she could see starting to yellow. These were the ones she carefully lifted out first, flicking through the pages and finding dates from over a decade before.

Crossing her legs, Anna settled in for the long haul.

The handwriting in these first few was still most definitely her sister's, but it was younger, messier. She hunted through until she found the earliest date she could, when Elsa would have been just eight years old.

27th October 1834

Papa gave me this diary to write in now I don't have Anna. It's only been two days since the accident, and I really miss her already. I don't think I like my new room very much, but Mama says it's just because it's different. Everything is too tidy in here. Anna would make it feel more like home.

I still feel really bad about what happened. I mean I apologised to Anna, but she was asleep, so I don't think she heard. The streak of white in her hair didn't go away when that troll messed with her memories, and it just makes my tummy feel tight when I see it.

I saw her out in the hall earlier. She looked really, really upset. And I felt really bad closing the door on her. But I didn't know what to do. We've always been together, and now Papa says we can't. Not until I have control. Whatever that means. But he did promise I could be with her again after that, so that's good, I guess.

Just in case though, I left my big doll behind. It's the one with the blonde hair and blue dress and it kind of looks like me. It's so Anna can have that to hug and talk to and play with until she has the real me again. I thought it was a good idea.

Anna's heart ached a little as she read through. There was a bright hope behind Elsa's early words, even with a giant dose of guilt too. She'd recount her lessons, her chats with her father, reading stories with her mother. And every day, there's be a bit dedicated to her little sister. Her knock, what she talked about, how long she was there. Elsa had kept it well documented.

The princess spent a fair few hours on her sister's floor, leaning against her sister's wall, reading her sister's diaries. She didn't even care about the cold that permeated the floor and wall, seeping into her skin, even through her clothing. Her mind was too busy being fixated on the words before her. There was one entry when Elsa was twelve, tear stained and scruffy. It was hard to make the words out, but it was something about how she was too dangerous to be touched. It made Anna's eyebrows draw ever tighter together.

And Anna noticed that, before long, she began to fade out of them. For a moment, she wondered if her sister had simply neglected to write about it, but soon she realised it was when she'd started to give up. When a few days would pass between knocks, then a few weeks. Then the few months between her fifteenth birthday and their parents' funeral.

25th August 1844

Mama and Papa's funeral. Didn't go. Powers out of control. Not even gloves help.

Anna knocked again today.

The next diaries became more and more unfeeling, more and more about protocol and duty. Less of Elsa had shone through for some time, but now it was totally emotionless. Up until that final entry. The one moment Elsa had allowed herself to be a little bit human again-she'd even cracked a joke. Sort of.

Anna wanted the ground to swallow her up. All this time, she'd assumed her sister simply didn't like her, didn't want her around, when really all of this had been going on. She didn't know all of the details, because Elsa hadn't written them all down. But from what she could guess, there had been an accident when they were little, something she now couldn't remember. And it had started thirteen years of closed doors.

And she wondered, not the for the first time while she had been reading, why she hadn't just been told. Even after Mama and Papa had died, Elsa still hadn't told her. And if she had known, she wouldn't have pushed Elsa at the party. She wouldn't have pulled her glove off.

Or would she?

Anna was not petty, was not vindictive, but had she known the real damage a lack of those gloves would do, would she still have pulled one off? Elsa was being totally unreasonable, and her comments still cut Anna deep. What, just because she hadn't hidden behind a door for thirteen years keeping a deep, dark secret, she didn't know what true love was? The way she'd said it too, it was so… condescending. Like Elsa still thought she was that five year old she'd left in their room when she'd moved out.

But as to where the Queen had gone, Anna didn't know.

She had hoped these journals would provide some sort of answer as to where her sister had run to, but there was nothing. No indication of anywhere she might have gone. And that made the ball worry in Anna's stomach grow. If Elsa had just been running a panic, who could say where she was now? What if she had collapsed somewhere? What if some wild animal had gotten her, or she was just all alone in these storms she didn't seem to be able to control?

About to begin packing the things away again, Anna realised she had missed one. Pulling it out of the hole, she dusted off the cover. It had been under all of the others, and when she read the first date she realised it was from when Elsa had been fifteen. She'd assumed this one had just been thrown away-there were a few months when there wasn't a diary.

For the most part the thing was uneventful, following the same structure as the rest. Until she found one hastily written entry, another piece of paper falling out with it. But on that one was the familiar scrawl of her father's handwriting, not Elsa's. Eyes widening, Anna began to read the entry.

13th March 1846

I know I shouldn't sneak around in Papa's office, and he'd be furious if he knew I had, but I needed to get to that book. The one he had used to find the trolls that night. And I did find it-but the entire thing is written in Old Norse. I thought the trail was up, but a slip of paper fell out, with Papa's writing on it. He must have translated the passage at some point and tucked it back into the book.

But when I read it… my blood ran cold. I genuinely felt a shiver run down my spine.

How can Papa know about this and still keep me as his heir? Did he know about it before the accident, or after? Why has he never told me before?

Can I ever take position as Queen now I know this?

Wondering what it was had Elsa so scared, the princess cast a glance at the page. A hand had to cover her mouth to keep any noise from slipping out.

Your future is bleak, your kingdom will splinter

Your land shall be cursed with eternal winter

With blasts of cold will come dark art

And a ruler with a frozen heart

Then all shall perish in snow and ice

Unless they are freed with a sword sacrifice

Was this some sort of prophecy? From some book about the trolls? Anna could see now why Elsa was questioning herself, was questioning her father. It was pretty easy to connect the dots with what had happened since her sister's coronation. Eyes drifting to the window, snowflakes still flying past, Anna's mind was filled with one thought.

Eternal winter?

Is that what Elsa had done? No. No, she'd just been scared, she wouldn't have done this on purpose. … Would she? Anna had been shut out for so long, had not truly known Elsa since she was just a child. Who was to say what her sister would and wouldn't do? But that look on her face, at the party. The look of abject horror that crossed her features. That wasn't the face of someone who wanted to cause harm.

Hands shaking, she stuffed the prophecy into her pocket, before replacing the diary in it's place, curling up into a ball. The words felt as if they were seared into her memory. A ruler with a frozen heart. Is that what Elsa was? Is that what people would fear her to be? For several minutes she sat there, debating with herself over what the words could mean, if there could be any wiggle room in them. But she was drawing up blank.

With a sigh, she began to replace the diaries. After lowering in the final one, narrowly avoiding a splinter, and pressing down on the wood panel to keep it in place, she nearly jumped out of her skin when there was a knock on the door.

Huh, she thought. So that's what it sounds like from this side.

And for a few seconds, she debated over whether she was allowed to give permission to enter. This was Elsa's room, not hers. But Elsa wasn't here. So… could she?

Before she could come to answer, the door handle turned, and a familiar head of red hair appeared from behind the white wood.

"Hans," she said, a little bit of guilt in her tone. They were engaged (even if Elsa hadn't given her blessing), and she hadn't even wanted to see him yet that day, hadn't thought to seek him out yet, share this burden she'd discovered. But mostly there was relief. Elsa may be gone, but Anna wasn't alone. Not any more.

"There you are," he said, a bit of relief in his voice too. Glancing around the room, he let out a 'huh'. "Is this Her Majesty's room?"

"Is she still the Queen if she ran away?" Anna asked, ignoring the question. There was a slight bit of bitterness in her tone. She knew, of course, that Elsa was Queen, she had been born to be Queen, had been raised to be Queen. With a sigh, her shoulders dropped and she nodded. With stiff limbs, she began to climb to her feet.

"She's had this room for thirteen years and this is the first time I've ever been inside," she told him, crossing one arm over her chest to hold the other, the corners of her lips turning down into a frown.

"Any hints?" he asked quietly, walking in to enfold her in his arms. "About where she's gone, I mean. Some scouts say the storms are coming from the North Mountain, but there's nothing there but… well, mountain."

"Nothing," Anna replied softly, sinking into his hold. It had been so long since anyone had held her. Since her parents were alive, surely. Maybe Gerda. "But I did find out why she shut me out. There was… an accident. When we were kids. She must have done something."

"What happened?" Hans asked, his voice full of concern. "I thought you said she'd never hurt you?"

The fact that all Anna would do was shrug made her anger rise again. "I don't know. I don't know why I was never told about… any of this. Why I was left in the dark. Mama and Papa must have known, and Elsa did. Why was I left out?" After a sigh, she turned in his hold so she could rest her cheek against his chest. "I was wrong. She's hurt me before and now she's hurting me again by running away."

Hot, stinging tears were gathering behind her eyelids as Anna buried her face in the prince's jacket.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered, clinging to him desperately.

For a few moments, Hans just stroked Anna's hair as she cried in the middle of the room Elsa had left behind. The kingdom she had left behind. And she was the sister she had left behind.

The last of Anna's family was gone.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Hans whispered, rubbing her back. "Come on, let's get out of here. You missed breakfast. How about some lunch? The kitchens smelt good when I passed by…"

And so he went on, guiding her from the room, trying to keep her mind occupied with other things. And Anna let him think he was helping, nodding and trying to smile. Trying not to remember the girl whose seat would be empty as normal. Trying not to let the weight of an expectant kingdom crush her. It was difficult, but Anna had gotten good at putting on a smile. It was what she had always done over the years. Her parents had always seemed more concerned with Elsa than anything else, and the younger princess had felt guilty adding to their worry. So she had placated them many a time with a false smile.

As they walked down the halls together, she tried not to notice the blizzard still rushing past every window, nor the shake in everyone's shoulders. She also tried not to notice the amount of people giving her a wide berth, and for a while she wondered what that was all about. The staff had always been polite with her-she was a princess, after all-but they'd never avoided her outright before.

And then those words of the Duke's came back.

'Are you a monster too?'

Curling further into Hans' side, she sincerely hoped she wasn't. Could giving up on her sister be called monstrous? Leaving out there alone? Biting on her lip, Anna couldn't help but still feel guilty for giving up. For leaving Elsa to fend for herself. It wasn't like she'd had much choice, what with the storms and everything. Yet that information didn't help lessen the rock in her stomach any.

The corridors were still cold as they passed through them, and there was a fire roaring in the grate of the dining room, sending light flicking over the walls. Normally the thing was only lit in winter, since the room held heat well anyway. Anna couldn't bear to watch the flames for too long, turning her attention to the hearty soup being set at both her normal place and the one next to her. No one had sat in that chair for as long as she could remember. Even when they were kids, Elsa had sat opposite her, and that had never changed. It was one of the only things that hadn't. Even if Elsa tended to look anywhere but at her, Anna could stare at that blonde head, imagining a conversation they might be having had they led other lives. And once or twice, Elsa had caught her, causing a blush to rise up in the redhead's cheeks, and her head to duck down, shovelling food in her mouth.

After letting Hans tuck in her chair for her, Anna realised just how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten anything since a light lunch the day before, the excitement of the party getting to her before she could have any of the food available. And so it was with a gusto she attacked the bowl of soup and bread rolls before her. All thoughts of acting like a lady for the man beside her were gone-after all they'd done the day before, it seemed a little late now. And when she glanced Hans' way, just out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a smile on his face, and her worries dispelled. For the time being.

On his part, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles had had a rather interesting morning. He had been given one of the spare rooms-of which there was plenty-a little further away from the Princess than he might have liked. But, nevertheless, he could work with what he had been given.

The staff had been weary of the foreign royal, but the maids at least were charmed by a quick flash of a nervous smile. The men, on the other hand, would be harder to win over. His first port of call, after a quick cup of coffee and an enquiry on Anna's whereabouts, had been the library. In Arendelle's castle, it was one of their finer rooms, even if a bit smaller than the one he was used to. Even after scouring the titles, he had found nothing of us, and he knew that the royal office would be barred to him until there was more trust of him.

And so a game of hide and seek began.

After checking Anna's chambers, the sitting rooms, the dining room, the kitchens, the Great Hall and even the stables, Hans was running out of places one girl could hide. But a few times he had passed a nondescript white door, decorated nicely enough he supposed, and a thought came to him. All of the guest room doors were decorated the same. He could quite quickly guess that the grand double doors at the end of the corridor led to the royal chambers, and he'd already seen Anna's green and pink rosemaling covering her own door. Which would leave this one as…

Queen Elsa's.

Hans tucked away this piece of information for later. Settling his face into a mask of concern, he rapped lightly on the door, waiting a few second before opening it. A small part of him was surprised no one had bothered to lock it. Perhaps whomever would be in charge of such a thing was preoccupied with warming up the castle, rather than protecting a missing sovereign's privacy.

But Anna was there, curled up next to the wardrobe, with a flash of guilt across her face. What the guilt was for, Hans didn't know, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't figure it out. However, first there was a Princess to deal with, and he did, calming her with words he knew she'd want to hear, and leading her from the room. Anna hadn't just been curled up in that spot for no reason. And he would find out.

It might be vital to ensuring his plan's success.

A/N: And thus starts my first foray into the world of multichaptered fanfics for Frozen. As of yet, I've only written one shots, and I'm kind of excited. It's all outlined and now only needs writing.

Reviews would be absolutely lovely, whether here or you can come bug me on Tumblr (my url is the same as my username here, how simple). I don't know how regular my updating will be, since I run an RP blog as well, and I'm starting uni later this month, but having the outline should help immensely.

I hope you enjoyed!