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She must have been distracted, going through the wrong door when she'd meant to go back to her room. This door has led to somewhere else entirely. For all its cool air, it's not her hotel room and it's definitely not her ice palace back in Arendelle. Instead, there's a long expanse of white ice all around her. Looking around, Elsa realizes that not only is she in a small booth, her clothes have also changed. While it still has the blues and glitter of her normal dress, it leaves her bare and vulnerable.

There's no way she's staying here! Elsa spins around only to see the door she entered is locked and she's being called to the ice to perform.

Only now does Elsa realize how many figures are up in the stands. All of them are staring down at her and her stomach drops out as she feels the pressure tightening in her chest.

Conceal. Don't feel. Conceal. Don't feel.

She's never felt so uncertain of herself on the ice as the music starts to play.

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Legolas had been called to perform too and while it seemed a little strange, he had done similar on ice before. Elsa was already on the ice so he skated closer to her, giving her a soft smile.

"It appears I have arrived late. I wonder what they intend for us to perform?"

"But I can't..." Elsa says, her throat tight and the words strangled. "Everyone's looking at me!"

"Focus on me," Legolas said soothingly. "Focus on traveling the ice with me and do not think about those who watch. Look how far away and tiny they are? How minuscule? They do not matter. Only we matter."

He did not know if this would calm her but he had to try.

"But how can I?" she feels ten years old again and on the verge of tears, for all that her friend is trying to sooth her.

"What if I forget myself..spike up the ice or hurt someone."

"I am nimble and as light on these blades as air," Legolas assured her quietly.

"There is no way you could call enough ice to hurt me and look at all the distance between this stage and those people? There is enough room that you can simply be yourself for a little while and not have to worry. How can I soothe your fears?"

The more anxious she feels, the more Elsa's powers spike and light flakes of snow began falling around them.

"Be myself?" The music seems to have stopped, waiting for them, and Elsa looks out onto the ice. When was the last time she got to skate with someone? She missed gliding along, feeling free.

"If...if anything goes wrong. You have to get me out of here. Okay?"

"You have my word," Legolas promised. "There is nothing to worry about right now except enjoying yourself and looking beautiful in front of all these people. Just be yourself."

Legolas was not afraid of her particular gifts. They were unusual, yes, but he had seen plenty of unusual things over his long life and a woman who could conjure ice and snow was remarkable but not terrifying or singular. In a way, she seemed like a wizard herself even if she wasn't a wizened old man.

It charms her a little, the idea that she's beautiful. For a second she closes her eyes and remembers skating across the ballroom with Anna. Their conversation at the coronation ball. It makes her sigh, smile a bit, and Elsa nods, pushing open the gate.

"Ready?"

"If you are, my lady," Legolas promised. He followed her out onto the ice, smooth and confident on his skates. He could not imagine anything going wrong this night, not with Elsa by his side.

"Do not think of them there. Just focus on the performance."

Elsa nods, gliding forward as if she was born to it. The music starts anew and she feels a little braver.

"I've always had to perform," she whispers. "This isn't so different."

"But it is for a better reason," Legolas whispered back. "Because this is to show how talented you are to everyone, not to hide what you are."

He could not imagine having to conceal his very nature from those who sought to harm him. How could he be anything but an Elf?

"You make it sound like a gift."

She glides along the ice, anticipating a swell in the music and jumping into a spin.

"It is," Legolas said, then thought better of it.

"It can be a gift, if you let it. I think it is a matter of simply letting go of all that anxiety and just being yourself. I think, anyway. I do not know if I am experienced enough to give such advice."

"I wish I knew how," she glides back to him, cheeks flushing a little. Even with all the nerves, Elsa can hear the applause and knows she's performed a good trick.

"I've never known."

"Just let go and try, I would say. It is art, what you do, and art should be shared with the world and not hidden away."

Legolas felt that way about all beautiful things, for all that elves liked to seclude themselves.

"Let it go?" Elsa laughs a little. She'd tried to when she tried to run, but how did she do it now in this way?

She'd always loved to skate.

Legolas spun and stretched out the space between them, reaching his hands out for hers. He did not know the rules for this sport nor did he care; this was something between he and Elsa alone and the crowd was merely observing it. They had no part in it, not in this.

"Let it go."

Let it go.

Elsa leaned out to match Legolas' stretch before grasping his hands as he spun closer. She felt that same freedom she had before, practically wind and sky and so much bigger than one small woman.

"You're good at this."

"It is something I have done before, long ago. Elves can actually walk on snow, if you can imagine that. We do not feel the effects of cold or heat."

It had been an easy trek up Caradhras for Legolas, though not for the rest of his party.

"I'd say it sounds magical, impossible, but I can create ice castles." She's smiling now, breathless from exertion and repressed laughter.

As the music winds down, she becomes aware of the applause from the audience. Glancing around, Elsa realizes that her snow has stopped and the only ice here is in the rink. Breathing hard, her smile widens. "Wow...look at that."

"No harm was done and everyone thinks the snow was part of our act," Legolas said proudly. "And it was beautiful, if I say so myself. I suppose that is conceited of me since I contributed to that beauty but I will say it anyway."

Elsa laughs, honest to goodness laughs, and shakes her head. "You really did play a part. That was wonderful. I...I'm going to have to remember this door."

How could she ever have been afraid? This is, after all, her element.

"I would not mind coming back to this one," Legolas agreed. "I have heard that some of the doors lead to nightmarish places but this, this is something I am fond of."

He beamed at her, glad to have eased her concerns if only for a little while. "Someday, I will have to take you to Middle Earth. There is a mountain called Caradhras, the red peak, that is covered in ice and snow as far as the eye can see."

"We should come here again," Elsa suggests. Her smile is fixed in place and she can't remember feeling this happy since she was a little girl.

"That sounds beautiful. Powerful, but also beautiful."

"I would be happy to accompany you anywhere you like, Queen Elsa," Legolas said softly, meant only for her ears.

"So long as my company is welcome, you shall have it."

"Just...knock on my door," Elsa says. She bows deeply for the audience and hurries back to the booth so that she can breathe.

If only she could have said the same to Anna.

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