"Anna...I don't think that this is a good idea." I fidget outside of the large, empty ballroom. I haven't been in there since the night I ran away.

"Come now, Elsa." Anna pushes me forward. "No more stalling."

I inch towards the door, as nervous as I was the day I had to take off my gloves during the coronation ceremony. "We-we barely know him. How can we trust him?"

"He's one of the guardians!" Anna holds her hands out. "They have all been working hard to help us. You should be grateful that Jack even agreed to train you."

I sigh. This is one argument Anna won't let me win. "I guess I have no choice. You can have my crown if I don't survive"

Anna ignores my comment and throws open the doors. She pulls me in for a quick hug and whispers, "Have fun!"

Have fun? I roll my eyes then flinch when the doors slam shut. This is not a good idea at all.

"Sir Frost? I know you are in here." I fold my arms at the silence and look around the spacious ballroom. If I close my eyes I can almost see the overflowing buffet tables and the colorful, swirling dresses.

And my ice-jagged and frozen around me.

Smack!

A snowball bounces off the back of my head.

"Hey!" I cry out.

The tall boy drops onto the ground in front of me. He grins at me and tosses his staff from hand to hand. "I just wanted to break the ice."

My fingers itch like crazy, threatening to blast him with real ice in retaliation, but I refuse to let this boy get to me-the queen of Arendelle.

I take a deep breath and fold my gloved hands in front of me. "I am very busy. If you do not plan on taking this time seriously, then please feel free to leave. Go on." I wave my hand at him. "Goodbye."

Jack shakes his head. "I promise I will be good. Besides, you aren't getting rid of me that easily. Where else am I going to have servants waiting on me?"

Pitch told me that Jack agreed to train me so that he could figure out my weaknesses. But I am starting to think that Jack only agreed so he could extend his stay in our castle.

If it wasn't for Anna, I would have sent those guardians on their way the moment they stepped into Arendelle.

I don't know who they think they are, but in my world, rules are not bent, they are obeyed.

Jack leans his staff against the wall. "Before we begin, you have to take off your gloves."

Panic surges inside me. "What? No! Are you crazy?" I snap my composer back into place. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be difficult, but my gloves are the only thing stopping me from blasting you right now!"

Jack laughs and steps toward me. His blue eyes sparkle, the color vivid against his shock of white hair. "I have no doubt that you want to 'blast' me as you put it so eloquently." Mirth clears from his face. "But if you truly want to control your gift, you cannot rely on anything else. These gloves are a weakness. You should be able to control your powers on your own, not by using something that can be lost or stolen."

"My father  taught me to control it this way."

"I am sure that your parents meant well, but the gloves were a mistake. You rely on them instead of relying on yourself. There is nothing magical about them, they simply remind you to keep your power hidden."

I nod. "And what is wrong with that?"

"Elsa... I know what happened here." He runs his hand through his hair and looks around the ballroom. "You lost one of your gloves, just for a second, and you almost killed your sister and destroyed your entire kingdom."

I step back. "I didn't-" I didn't mean to. Why did I even agree to this? This isn't helping at all. I should have never left my ice castle in the mountains.

Anna can take over here. She may be naïve, but she has a good, kind heart. The kingdom already loves her. Perhaps Hans can help her with the political side of things.

I should just leave.

All these thoughts jumble inside me, but they are interrupted by Jack's hand on my shoulder.

"I didn't mean to upset you. Forget what I said."

"But you are right." I tug at my gloves. "I should be strong enough to do this alone. If I am not then I have no right to be queen."

"I never said that." Jack drops his eyes to my hands.

My fingers shake as I pull off my gloves one by one. I can feel the cool air whistle between my fingers. The fine hairs stand up on the back of my hand.

I unclench my fingers and my gloves fall to the floor.

"All right." Jack pulls out the words slowly, carefully, as if I am about to break apart.

I don't say anything, I just stare down at my pale, trembling hands.

"Let's start with something simple. Make a snowball."

I covered my kingdom in snow, I created an ice castle within minutes. I should be able to make one snowball without falling apart.

I grit my teeth and focus on my hands. I go over the motions in my mind. I need to lift my left hand and swirl it above my right.

I look back down at my hands and realize that I haven't actually done any of those actions, just played them over in my mind.

Why am I so scared? I can barely breathe! My heart hammers in my throat.

"Come on, Elsa!" Jack creates a snowball and holds it out towards me. "It's easy!"

Do it.

I command my hands, but all I can think of are my gloves, my safety net, my promise to my father-lying on the floor.

I can't do it. Jack's wrong. He'll just have to train me with the gloves. I almost bend down to grab them, but then I remember what happened in this same room only a few nights before.

What if something like that happens again? I can't be depend on these gloves.

I strain against the voices screaming in my head. The words "conceal, don't feel" chants through my mind. I lift my left hand and hang it over my outstretched right palm. Ice tingles inside my fingertips and I instinctively yank my hands back toward me.

I forget Jack, I forget my promise to Anna, I forget my resolve to be a perfect queen.

I fall to the floor and pick up my gloves. My hands shake so badly that I can barely slide my fingers inside the soft fabric. But I have to-I have to-I have to put them back on.

I have to conceal and never feel.