#frozenausweek

The door bursts open and suddenly Anna's in my arms again. She crying and clutching tightly at my dress, burying her face into the space between my neck and shoulders. I do my best to sooth her, rubbing her back and rocking back and forth humming a soft lullaby our mother used to sing to us when we were small.

"Elsa," she whimpers. "Elsa, please you can't leave. If you go… I'll truly be alone."

The words tear at me, the room grows colder and I begin to feel the prickle of tears behind my eyes again. But I push them down, I can't afford to leave here with puffy eyes and a red nose. There will be more camera's waiting at the train station.

I look up to find the widow that lives just down the road from us standing nearby stone faced and quiet. After the accident she took it upon herself to help Anna and I as best she could; buying my squirrels, providing us with medicine from her small apothecary business, and she even gave Anna one of her goats so that we could sell milk and cheese. Gerda is the sole reason we were able to stay out of the community home.

"I'll keep her with me. Make sure she is eating," she says gravely.

An enormous weight lifts off my chest at her words and my breath hitches in my throat. People in our district have never really paid me much attention but many of them seem to truly care for my sweet little Anna. It gives me hope - Anna will be cared for when I'm gone.

"I'll leave you two alone now," the older woman says walking to the door. Just as she makes to close the door we lock eyes, hers are sad and tired, but there is comfort there too. She nods and closes the door.

Anna I sit together for a time simply holding each other. She is curled up in my lap while I stroke her hair like I do when she's had a nightmare. I wish I could just put her to bed and tell her it wasn't real, that the fear will be forgotten by the morning. But I can't.

"Anna I need you to listen to me, there are things you are going to have to do when I am gone."

She leans back and nods but I can see the tears pooling in her eyes.

"You are going to stay with Gerda, and Kristoff will bring you game." We'd made a pact a while ago for if either one of us was called. "You are never to trade for tesserae no matter what, understand. You can get by with selling the milk and cheese from your goat and Kristoff will get both of you herbs from the forest. Help Gerda with her work and keep doing well in school." I take her small face in my hands, using my thumbs to wipe away the tears that start to fall. "You won't be alone, snowflake… I will always be watching over you."

Anna lets out a small choking sound and clings to me again. "You'll try though won't you, Elsa? You are so smart, and brave, and fast… maybe you can win and then you can come home."

I can't help look down at one of my gloved hands. I may not be like the children from the richer districts who have trained their whole lives to compete in the games, who know fifteen different ways to murder you with a knife, but I am not completely defenseless. Or at least, that's the lie I am telling myself.

"Yes snowflake, I will try," I promise, maybe my death will be easier for her if she knows that I didn't go down easily.

"I brought you this," Anna's says with a sniff, pulling something small out of her pocket. "I traded for it yesterday."

I'm surprised when she hands me a little circular pin. It's a little gold bird in flight, Anna must have traded well for something this pretty.

"They let you wear one thing from your district in the arena, will you wear this? It's a mockingjay, Gerda told me they're good luck." I can hear the desperation in her voice.

"Of course, snowflake," I say softly.

Then the Peacekeepers are back and telling us that our time is up and Anna has to leave. I hug her small body to me and she holds on so tight that it hurts.

I take her face in my hands for what I know will be the last time and pepper kisses all over it, trying to memorize every inch. "I love you. I love you so much, Anna. It will be okay. I love you. I love you."

She is trying to say it back but her sobs prevent her from doing it properly.

In the end I have to pull her off because I can feel my control slipping and my gloves are stiff with frost. When the door closes something in me breaks and I slam my fists against the wood in anguish. When I pull away the door is covered in ice, and snow is slowly falling from the ceiling.

I close my eyes and breath in slow and deep willing myself not to feel anything, to go numb. When I open my eyes the snow and ice are gone and Kristoff is standing in front of me. I didn't even hear the door open.

Before I register that I'm moving I find myself in his strong arms. There has never been anything romantic between us, he is like the older brother I'd never had, but I cling to him regardless. Everything about him is soothing, the feeling of his warm body against mine, his scent of pine and earth, even the sound of his heart under my ear.

He takes me firmly by the shoulders and holds me still so that I am forced to look at him.

"You have to use them."

I stare at him as if I have only just realized he was there. He can't be talking about what I think he is, he can't know.

"Use your powers, Elsa. I know what you can do."

The floor suddenly seems to be tilting to one side.

"H-how do you-?"

"It doesn't matter," he cuts me off abruptly. "If you use them, you might have a chance."

I shake my head, he thinks he knows but he doesn't. "Kristoff I can't control it and it only gets worse when I'm afraid."

He face is hard and his lips are a pulled tight like he's fighting to not start yelling at me. "Well you are going to have to learn quickly then. Practice whenever you are alone. Kai will tell you how use this to your advantage and if he doesn't then force him, Elsa!" He flexes his jaw. "C'mon, Elsa it's just hunting, you're one of the best hunters I know."

"This is different, Kristoff they're people not rabbits." I swallow hard. "I've spent my whole life trying not to hurt people with my powers… what if- what if I can't do it?" My voice is small now as the reality of what I might be – what I will be – forced to do sinks in.

His face softens a bit but there his voice is still stern. "I know, Elsa but you have to forget all that, you must. For Anna."

I look up at Kristoff. "You'll watch over her won't you… if I don't come back? Make sure she stays in school and has enough to eat?"

He nods.

"Don't let her watch," I say with pleading eyes. "Kristoff please make sure she doesn't see when I – if I - " I can't finish, the thought of my beautiful, innocent baby sister watching her last remaining family member being murdered makes me want to gag. Worse than that, I know what the Games does to people, seen what it turns them into. I don't want her to see what I know I will become in that arena… the monster I will become.

He takes me into his arms again and it takes all my strength not to come undone right then, I'm so close to breaking.

The Peacekeeper is back and ordering Kristoff to leave. I start to panic and cling to his hand. "Take care of her! Don't let her starve, keep her safe!" I cry.

"I will, you know I will! Elsa you can do this, let them see! Do it for Anna!" And he's gone.

That's it that's all it takes to pull me down from my fear. Resolve sets in as I stare down at my hands, and I stand a little straighter. I will do my best to come back to you Anna. I swear it.

When they take me away the only evidence that shows I'd been there is a wrinkled cushion and two worn leather gloves.

Notes

Back at the castle King Hans descended further into darkness, consumed by paranoia and a thirst for vengeance. When his men told him of the hundred-foot wall of thorns Elsa had created with her magic, and how it now protected the Wood, he commanded them to demolish it. The barrier was only made of ice after all, and ice could be melted.

The next day his guard captain rode back to the castle injured and empty-handed after the catapults and fire had failed. He claimed that the wall had fought back, that it was indestructible. Hans had been beside himself with fury, striking the captain and knocking things to the floor when he stabbed his hunting knife into his desk. As Hans stared down at the knife, wild-eyed and panting, he recalled the first time he had tried to kiss the back of Elsa’s hand. Remembering how she had flinched away when his ring had touched her flesh.

“Bring me the iron-workers.”

As the years passed princess Anna did grow, in grace and in beauty, just as Elsa had said she would. She could often be found dancing through the trees of the forest behind her aunts’ cottage, or singing in the garden, or playing chase with the oddly coloured ‘little kitten’ that liked to sit on her window frame and purr contentedly when she scratched behind its cold ears. And throughout all those years Elsa always remained close by, watching, waiting… and occasionally rescuing the girl whenever her caregivers’ stupidity turned potentially fatal.

Anna lived a happy life with her three aunts away from the castle she remembered nothing about, but secretly she longed for more. Anna dreamed of adventure, of meeting new people, and of love.

As the seasons changed and the flowers grew, Anna matured into a lovely young woman. She wondered at the world about her, and at what lay beyond the icy wall of thorns that glittered menacingly at her whenever she walked the path at its edge. And on a cold winter’s day that found her once again gazing up at the wall in wonder, she got her answer.

Anna wasn’t really sure how she’d made it through the ice, only that she had been startled by some palace soldiers who had been working on the path before blacking out. When she awoke, Anna was amazed to find herself lying in a clearing the likes of which she could only have imagined in her dreams, and yet it was so much more than that. For there was no way even her wandering mind could ever have come up with something this wonderful.

Despite it being the middle of the night Anna had no trouble seeing the landscape around her. Every inch of this strange new world seemed to glow with its own supernatural aura, and Anna could feel the thrum of magic all around her. Every colour imaginable and even a few Anna couldn’t name, illuminated the clearing; it was as if the northern lights had fallen from the sky to dance along the forest floor. A large pool of water sprawled out in front of her, the surface of which was littered with twinkling lights that further revealed themselves to be little creatures that looked just like what she’d pictured the mermaids from her storybooks to look like, only much smaller.

Anna laughed as five of the tiny mermaids flew around her, chirping excitedly and tickling her ears with their fish-like tails. One of the fae stopped its circling to hover a few inches from Anna’s face, studying the girl curiously. She reached towards it just as it reached for her, and right before their hands could meet the creature seemed to catch sight of something in the bushes because it quickly darted away, its sisters close behind. 

The princess peered into the shadows, looking for whatever had frightened her new friends. Just as she thought that maybe there hadn’t actually been anything there at all, Anna caught a glimpse of movement and a flash of two brilliantly blue eyes.

“I know you’re there,” Anna called to the eyes. “Don’t be afraid.”

 A distinctly feminine voice chuckled from its hiding place. “I’m not afraid.”

“Then come out,” Anna challenged.

The eye’s widened a little at the girl’s boldness. “Then you will be afraid,” the voice replied, but it was stated more as a fact rather than a threat.

Anna quickly shook her head and stood up a little taller. “No I won’t.” The redhead watched as the eyes considered her for a moment, starring at her unblinking. Their owner seemed to make a decision and slowly she stepped into the light.

Anna watched in fascination as a beautiful woman who looked to be in her late twenties emerged from the bushes. She had hair the colour of newly fallen snow, which was pulled back and woven into an intricate knot at the base of her skull. Her skin was so pale it seemed to reflect the moonlight, or at least the skin that Anna could see. Most of it was covered up, and even the woman’s neatly folded hands were concealed by gloves. When the woman turned her head slightly Anna saw that her ears were pointed and her neck as well as the lower half of her jaw was covered in what Anna first thought to be scars, but instead were raised patterns of swirling snowflakes.

She wore a shimmering blue dress trimmed in fur as white as her hair, as a well as a long cloak that appeared to be made from the same pelt, draped around her shoulders. The hood of the cloak sat upright behind her head, giving the dress the appearance of having a very high collar and Anna wondered how the snowflake pendant that held it in place could support something that looked so heavy. Anna also wondered why someone would be wearing an outfit like that in the middle of summer, wasn’t she hot?

Anna released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and swallowed. “I know who you are.”

The strange woman raised a single perfect eyebrow. “Do you?” she asked sounding amused.

“You’re my fairy godmother!” Anna gushed, giggling excitedly and bringing her hands together, twin red plaits bouncing on her shoulders.

Her godmother looked mildly scandalized. “What?”

If Anna hadn’t been so enthralled with the person she’d dreamed of meeting her entire life, she would have noticed the slight dip in temperature.

 Anna rolled her eyes a little at the fairy’s obviously pretend disbelief. “Godmother,” she said pointedly. “All my books say that fairy godmothers are always with you and take care of you even if you cant see them. You’ve been watching over me my whole life. I’ve always known you were close by.”

 Elsa began to move closer, eyeing the girl with a renewed sense of curiosity, her cape trailing behind her. “How?”

“Your shadow,” Anna said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s been following me ever since I was small. Wherever I go, your shadow is always with me.”

They studied one another for a time, Anna smiling gleefully and Elsa looking somewhat impressed.

Anna was the first to break their staring match when the sudden rustle of leaves behind her godmother caught the girl’s attention. Her grin grew wider as she recognized the feral cat that lived near her home as it trotted into the clearing and leaped up onto a nearby tree branch. It sat down watching her with eyes that shone with intelligence.

“I remember you… little kitten,” she teased. The cat meowed at her in response.

“This is Beskytter,” Elsa said nodding toward the feline who began to purr loudly. The winter fairy then waved her hand, releasing a flash of white that erupted into a small cloud of snow, which spiraled gently through her fingers. Suddenly the ‘little kitten’ wasn’t so little anymore.

Anna had to take a step back when the cat, in a flurry of yet more snow – Anna was starting to see this was a theme with her godmother – transformed into an impressive snow leopard. She might have been frightened if Beskytter wasn’t still purring happily, though the pitch was decidedly much lower than before.

Hello, Anna.

The princess started and gave a little gasp of surprise when the voice filled her head. She couldn’t say why, but somehow Anna knew it had come from the big cat even though its muzzle hadn’t so much as twitched. “Oh – um – hello,” she said timidly. “I guess I can’t call you little kitten anymore.”

The cat made a rumbling noise that resonated from deep within her chest and it sounded almost like a laugh. Could cats laugh? Though Anna supposed the notion that cats could laugh was pretty low on her list of strange things that had happened today.

I’ve known you since you were just a cub. You may call me whatever you wish.

Beskytter padded up to Anna and bumped her head against the girl’s hand. Anna beamed as she scratched the leopard in that special spot behind her ear before looking back up at Elsa who was watching the pair with an expression that could almost be mistaken for affection.

Anna couldn’t hold it back anymore and she began to pace around the clearing, practically buzzing with excitement. “Oh it’s everything I imagined it would be!” she exclaimed before turning and skipping back to her fairy godmother. Elsa jerked back in alarm at the girl’s enthusiasm. “It’s just so beautiful! Can we-”

It was suddenly too much for Elsa and she blew a handful of magic into the girl’s face, effectively silencing her as the redhead fell into unconsciousness. “High-strung little beast isn’t she?” Elsa said to Beskytter. “And rather noisy too.”

The servant made her low sound of amusement again.

Anna couldn’t stay away after that. Every evening she would tell her aunts that she was going for a walk and every evening she would meet Elsa at the place in the wall where they had first met, to be escorted into the Wood.

Elsa taught her all about the fae and their laws. She taught Anna how properly greet a tree spirit and how gain the respect of the water nymphs so that she would be permitted to drink from their pools. Anna learned to tell which berries were safe to eat and which would make her sick. She had mud fights with the toad fae and rode Beskytter through the meadows, racing the other fae. Her laughter filled the Wood and all the fae grew to love her… and much to her dismay so did Elsa.

The young girl had woken the part of Elsa that she’d locked away ever since Hans’ betrayal. She actually enjoyed sharing her magic with others again; conjuring snow for Anna to make angels in, allowing herself to be dragged onto a frozen pond so that she could teach the human girl to skate, and taking Anna to her ice palace. When she was with Anna it felt like the fog had lifted and Elsa was seeing the sun for the first time in forever. She found herself laughing again, it had been so long Elsa had worried she’d forgotten how, but Anna had coaxed it out of her regardless.

The two of them were sitting under a tree when Anna presented her godmother with a special gift.

“What is it?” Elsa asked eyeing the box apprehensively.

“It’s chocolate,” Anna announced, lifting the lid in a flourish to reveal rows of neat little brown squares.

Elsa tilted her head to one side; an action that Anna decided was absolutely adorable. “It’s what?”

Anna looked at the winter fairy in complete shock, her mouth hanging open slightly.

“What? Have I offended you?”

Anna snapped her mouth shut with an audible click and shook her head. “No no, it’s just, you’ve really never had chocolate before?”

Elsa shrugged. “No, nothing like that grows here in the Wood and we fae do not trade with humans for such things.”

Anna flushed a little with embarrassment. Of course her fairy godmother wouldn’t have ever seen chocolates before. It was a man-made sweet and humans weren’t permitted to enter the Wood, well except for her, a realization that made Anna warm inside. It had just surprised her so much because it was chocolate and how could anyone survive without it.

“Oh right, sorry,” she said bashfully. But her embarrassment faded into excitement at they idea of seeing her godmother’s reaction to her first taste of the delectable treat. “Here, try one,” she said thrusting the box out in front of her. “You’ll love it.”

Tentatively Elsa reached out and picked up one of the strange foods that Anna seemed so keen on sharing with her. She held it up close to her face, its surface was smooth and when she sniffed it, it smelled sweet with a hint of cream. Still not seeing what all the fuss was about, Elsa popped the thing into her mouth.

Anna held her breath as she watched her godmother chew watching her expression carefully for any hint of enjoyment. “Well?” Anna prompted. The fairy chewed once, twice, three more times before she finally swallowed, smacking her lips together thoughtfully.

A wide grin split the older woman’s face and a faint blush painted her cheeks. “Oh these are lovely,” she exclaimed happily, eyeing the remaining chocolates sitting in the box Anna still held in her hands. “May I try another?”

The next thing Anna knew her entire stash had been decimated, but it been completely worth it just to see joy on the winter fairy’s face as she ate. The only evidence the chocolates had existed at all were the dark smudges on her godmother’s gloves.

“Godmother?” Anna said sounding shy.

“Mhmm,” Elsa hummed, running her fingers through the grass to clean off any residual chocolate stains.

“Can I ask you something?”

Something in the girl’s voice made Elsa stop what she was doing and look up. “Of course, Anna. What is it?”

“Why do you wear gloves all the time?” Anna expelled in a rush.

Elsa went absolutely still.

Anna could see about fifty different emotions flash across he face and the patterns along her jaw and throat seemed to be glowing a little.

She squirmed a little under her godmother’s intense gaze. “It’s just, I’ve never seen you take them off. Not that that’s a bad thing. I guess I always figured you had a thing about dirt or something. You don’t have to take them off, I was just wondering. You know what don’t worry about it, forget I asked.”

Elsa continued to stare at the girl for a few moments desperately trying to think of how to respond. Unable to come up with the right words, Elsa decided that sometimes it made more sense to let your actions speak for you.

The winter fairy raised one of her hands between them, palm facing in and slowly released the spell that held her ice in place. Starting at her forearm the ice began to climb up towards her hand, revealing the skin of her arm, then her wrist, then… the rest dissolved away.

Anna couldn’t tear her gaze away, blue eyes gawking at the stump in disbelief.

“Both?” she breathed.

Elsa nodded, her expression pained.

“Were they always…”

“No,” Elsa said, knowing what she was trying to ask. “I had hands once… they were strong.”

“How?”

The marks on her neck glowed a little brighter. “I placed my trust in the wrong people, and they were stolen from me,” she explained, voice tight. “That is all I wish to say on the matter,” Elsa said in a tone that forbade argument as she re-conjured her phantom limb, flexing her fingers experimentally.

Before she had time to process what was happening, Elsa felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her and attempt to crush her ribcage. Eyes wide with surprise and arms held up and to the side, Elsa looked down to find Anna clinging to her waist.

 “I’m sorry,” the girl whispered against her chest, and Elsa felt all her anger, regret, and despair melt away. Elsa gratefully returned the embrace as a warmth the likes of which she had never felt before fill her entire body from the tips of her toes, to the top of her head.

And on cue the first slide, entitled “The Problem,” flew in spinning and flipping like a wounded sparrow. Elsa felt motion sick.

“Last week a batch of secret serum was stolen from a hidden lab in the Antarctic.” The words 'Hidden Lab' tumbled onto the screen.

“What was the serum?”

“That's on a need to know basis,” Anna said. “That's why they call it 'Secret Serum.”

“Actually that means 'Upstairs' didn't think she needed to know,” Kristoff whispered to Elsa.

“If you're not going to be helpful, you can go get lunch,” Anna growled at Kristoff before turning back to her presentation. “Anyhow this serum has been implicated in a number of “Princess” incidents.”  A slide entitled 'Princess Incidents' took the same convoluted path onto the screen.

“Princess Incidents?” Elsa asked.

“Yes, Princess Incidents. It's easier to show than explain. I've got some eyewitness video.” Anna clicked a button on her laser pointer.

The image on the screen changed to what was obviously a home video. The camera weaved drunkenly around a children's birthday party, finally bobbing over to where a costumed 'princess' was greeting excited preschoolers.  The princess was tossing small party favors to the crowd when suddenly a dart flew out from a bush and stuck in her neck. The reaction to the dart was instantaneous, the Princess transformed into a large purple, slathering, monster -- sort of a cross between Snow White and a raptor -- and started attacking the party goers. Elsa winced as the bloody stump of an arm flew across the screen, and closed her eyes when the Princess leaped on the person behind the camera and the image spun, revealing something that might have once been someone's mother, or maybe a spilled pot of spaghetti sauce.

“Uck.”

“No kidding,” Anna replied, quickly flipping back to a slide.

“But why Princesses?”

“Don't really know. But what I do know is that if you can turn a party princess into that, it's a small step before you transform the entire UN … or you know, the Congress.”

“How would you even tell?” Elsa asked.

Anna looked confused.

“I mean about the Congress.”

“Oh yeah, well … anyway, the UN threat is real.” Anna moved on to the next slide entitled 'Suspects.' “We think that one of these women is the culprit.” Four pictures appeared on the screen, each looking like they had been taken with a hidden camera. “They all have shops in the mall, so we'll be going under cover there. We've arranged for you to open an ice-cream --”

“Who's that guy in the third picture?”

“What?”  Anna looked closely at the image of an elderly woman fitting a jacket on a tall handsome red-head with awesome sideburns. “Oh he's just a client of Edna's. Ham … Hank … I forget, but he is a looker.” She giggled. “I mean if you're into that tall handsome Prince sort of thing.”

“Hans!” Elsa said with a scowl. “I'd know that bastard anywhere. Have you checked him out?”

“No, Upstairs is sure it's a woman, the Princess angle you know. They figure jealousy or something.”

Elsa shook her head. “Well I'd put money on Hans. He's an evil, slimy bastard – perfectly capable of making monsters – and he has this thing for royalty.”

“Oh really?” Anna asked. “And you know this, how?”

“OK, yeah.” Elsa shrugged and rolled her eyes. “We did date. Once. You know back in my other life. And he was a real creep.”

“A broken heart shouldn't influence your judgment on this.”

“My heart was certainly NOT broken! Nothing is influencing my judgment except for the fact that Hans is a lying, evil, villain with a real chip on his shoulder about Princesses.”

“Whatever, we're investigating the women,” said Anna, barely containing her smirk.

“But Hans --”

“Listen, if you can't focus on what's important then – Hey, what's that smell?”

“What?”

“Sandwiches!” Anna cried dropping the laser pointer back onto the desk. “Kristoff, is that you? More importantly is that lunch?”

Kristoff managed to kick open the door and hop in on one foot while carrying a large bag of sandwiches and a little cardboard carrier of drinks. “Yeah, I got lunch.” He turned to Elsa. “I hope you like sandwiches. It's pretty much all we have around here.”

As Kristoff entered the room, Elsa took a step back, wrinkled her nose and stifled a sneeze. “What are you wearing?”

“Oh this, it's just a t-shirt --” He put the lunch containers on the desk.

“No, your … odor. Whatever that smell is?”

“It's great isn't it?” Kristoff smiled and tucked his thumbs into his belt. “It's custom made just for me, I call it “Mountainman Musk.”

“Oh god, I think I'm allergic,” Elsa gasped.  “Get away.”

“OK.”

“No, further, further – much further away.” Elsa gave him a panicky push toward the wall and then began her own frantic backpedal.

“Hey.”

“Further,” Elsa continued as her whole face contorted into a mighty sneeze. “Achoo!”

Both Anna and Kristoff looked on in amazement as a small snowman, not more than a foot tall, popped out of the air and landed in front of them. Elsa wiped her nose on her sleeve and then took another step back as another sneeze started.

“They come in threes.”

Anna spat out her mouthful of cornflakes, flipping her spoon onto the laptop, soggy cereal and drops of milk splattering keyboard and screen.

Ariel? As in Ariel from school?

“Elsa!” Anna yells in the kitchen’s direction, “Come quick!”

Elsa rushes in from the kitchen, still bare-footed, even despite the cold floor of the kitchen. Then again, the cold never bothered her. She could walk in knee-deep snow and not turn blue from cold, let alone acquire frostbite. Elsa paced over to the chair next to Anna across from the laptop, leaning on it, watching Belle talking onscreen.

“Ariel has been hospitalised with serious burns to her feet and legs. We go over—”

“Why’s there cornflakes on my laptop?”

Anna shakes her head, waving a fervent hand at Elsa to shush her, quickly grabbing the spoon again. But she still mouthed a silent “sorry!” nevertheless.

“—manager, Li Shang.”

A Chinese man, likely in his thirties, appeared onscreen.

“Can you tell us a bit more about what happened, Monsieur Li Shang?”

“First, I wish emphasis that this is a terrible accident, and we have cordoned off Odysseus’s legend until further notice and investigation is made. According to the young man with her, she had chose to be a Siren.”

“Can you tell me how it happened?”

“Apparently, Ariel had waded into the virtual water. Both feet sustained serious contact burns from this unfortunate malfunction. We are concerned for safety and have chose to cordon away the Odysseus legend. No-one is to play with it for the foreseeable future. I will let you speak to our technician, Jasmine.”

The camera moved and now an Arab woman with a soft face and large brown eyes came into focus. Belle’s French accent drifted from wherever she was reporting on air.

“Jasmine, can you—”

Low battery—five percent—shutting down, informed the laptop in a bored, toneless voice.

The screen blacks out, leaving the two sisters sitting in stunned silence. Anna had clean forgotten her cereal, letting the cornflakes become even soggier as they float in the milk.

“Ariel?” Anna breathed, “That Ariel? The same girl who won all those singing awards this year?”

Elsa bites her lip. “Seems to be.”

Then she was all business, straightening up to toss her tea towel into Anna’s lap.

“Clean up my laptop, will you?” Elsa asks, “That thing cost a couple thousand bucks.”

Anna pretends to grumble, but takes the towel and proceeds to wipe down the keyboard, removing globs of milk and soggy cereal.

“Hey, at least it got its serving of dairy and cereal for the day.” Anna jokes as she wipes Elsa’s laptop.

Elsa pulls out the chair next to Anna, sitting down with a little wriggle to make herself comfortable.

“You’ve met Ariel before, haven’t you?” Anna asks as she mops off the spacebar.

Elsa nods. “Once. You introduced her to me a while ago.”

“Oh yeah, I did. I think she had her boyfriend, Eric, with her at the time. Heard he writes poems and odes just for her.” Anna slumped back in her seat, dumping the towel on the table next to her, on the other side away from Elsa. “I just hope he’s there for her right now. I mean, electrocution—that can’t be fun at all.”

“Have you got her number?”

“Nah, guess we’re not close enough for that. Still…wish I did now. Everyone’ll be talking about it at school after the holidays.”

But Elsa doesn’t appear to be listening, leaning her chin on a hand, expression troubled.

“Hey, Elsa…” Anna doesn’t get a response. “Elsa!”

“Huh?” Elsa straightens up in the chair, blinking at Anna as though just realising where she was.

“You okay? I mean…”

“You’ve been there, haven’t you?”

Anna tilted her head, puzzled. “Been where?”

Elsa closes her eyes, breathing deep. A paper-thin layer of frost coats the table surface between her fingers. Concerned, Anna reaches over to take her hand, knowing how her powers responded to her emotions, especially after the deaths of their parents two years ago.

“Elsa?”

Elsa’s fingers close over Anna’s. “Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Anna soothes, squeezing her sister’s hand, “did the news upset you?”

Anna can feel Elsa’s fingers clenched tight over hers, and though the elder sister doesn’t say a word to confirm or deny, it is clear that she is upset.

“I’m here, Elsa. Not pleasant news, huh?”

Elsa’s breathing calmed and she slowly opens her eyes. The frost slowly retreats back under her hand.

“Promise me, Anna, promise me that you’ll be careful if you go back to that arcade.”

“Of course I will be, Elsa,” Anna says, smiling to show Elsa she meant it, “but accidents happen.”

Elsa exhales, running a hand through her hair. “This was a serious accident.”

“Accidents have happened before, but they turned out alright in the end.”

Elsa shakes her head, pulling her hand from under Anna’s. “This girl was electrocuted, Anna!” she nearly snaps, “I don’t want anything like that happening to you, what if…”

She doesn’t finish the sentence, instead standing up, hands still pressed against the surface of the table.

“Sorry, Anna, I guess I’m just upset by the news.”

“Hey, hey, we both are,” Anna reassures, “bet everyone’ll be talking about it at school once the holidays are over. Kristoff’s got Eric’s number—I can always text him and ask if he’s heard anything about Ariel.”

Elsa nods, “Tell me if you hear anything, Anna, won’t you?”

“I will, don’t worry.”

“Will you…”

“Will I what?”

“Still go to the arcade, even after the accident?”

Anna shrugs, “I’ve never let anything stop me before. I mean, most things have a risk, don’t they? I mean, even stepping out the door is risky in some way. In the end, it’ s no-one’s fault that Ariel got hurt. I’m sure she’ll bounce back in no time.”

The spoon clinks against the bottom of the bowl, clattering against the side as Anna finishes the last of her cereal, sitting back with her hands behind her head, leaning the chair backwards.

“I don’t think it would be good to go back at least for the next few days,” Elsa advises, “There’ll be news and media crawling all over the place.”

Anna winks up at her, a grin quirking at one side of her mouth. “I’ve always wanted to be on TV, you know.”

“Anna, this is serious.”

“It’ll be okay, Elsa, you’ll see.” Anna now lets her hands fall back down, pressing against her legs as she scoots the chair back, standing up to give Elsa a big hug. “Don’t worry about me, Elsa.”

Elsa leans her head on Anna’s shoulder, her arms tight around the younger girl’s waist.

“You’re my little sister,” she tells her, “I’m going to worry no matter what.”

“I know,” Anna agrees, pulling back to look into Elsa’s eyes, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, “And that’s why I love you, sis.”

“You’re meeting up with Kristoff today, right?” Elsa asks, glancing at the clock—it’s almost eleven now. “He’s probably here at any minute now.”

Anna looks down at herself—she’s still in her pyjamas and her hair is still a bird’s nest. She groans, head in hands.

“Just great. I’m going to be late.”

Elsa grins, “Better hurry then, you’ve got about a minute. Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight…”

“Stinker,” Anna grumbles, glaring up at Elsa, but she can’t hide the glint of amusement in her blue eyes.

“Fifty-seven, fifty-six…”

Anna, by some miracle, is ready in under five minutes, her hair brushed, teeth cleaned, and a dress with high heels donned. She can hear Elsa downstairs talking with Kristoff—probably conversing on how Anna is always running late because she loves to sleep in. But why not? Sleep was mother nature’s greatest invention since shady trees. Okay, she’s not that great at metaphors or similes. Still not great at them. Little wonder she doesn’t do so well in English. For that matter, she isn’t so terrific at maths either, unlike Elsa. Elsa was brilliant at everything, and had won several national and international mathematics competitions in her senior years at high school.

Why she hasn’t joined Mensa yet, I have no idea, Anna muses as she hops on the stair railings and slides down to the bottom and rushes out to meet Kristoff, barrelling into him with a glomp hug.

“Kristoff! You’re early!”

Kristoff stumbles backwards in the force of her attack hug, his large hands cupping her back. He still hadn’t quite got the hang of hugs, patting her on the back in that awkward way some boys did when hugging a girl.

“Slept in again, I bet,” Kristoff teases, now ruffling her hair as she leans back to gaze up at him. “Need to get you an alarm clock for Christmas.”

“Already got her one last Christmas,” Elsa interjects dryly, “Still hits the snooze button.”

“I do not!” Anna protests, “Tell her I don’t, Kristoff.”

With a chuckle, Kristoff gives Anna a peck on the forehead. “I believe your sister.”

Anna pushes him away, pretending to be highly affronted, pouting up at her boyfriend. “Traitor.” She whirls around to squint her eyes at Elsa when the latter snorts, giggling behind a hand. “And you too, Elsa.”

“Two against one, Anna,” Elsa says lightly, “You’re outnumbered.”

“Oh, shut up,” Anna grumbles, turning to take Kristoff’s hand in hers, interlacing her thin fingers between his, “We’re going. I’m leaving you.”

Elsa raises an eyebrow. “I hope you’ll be coming back.”

“Of course!” Anna waves merrily at Elsa, “See you soon, sis!”

“Hey.”

Anna stops just outside the door, as does Kristoff, turning her head to look back at her sister still hanging back in the doorway.

“If you’re going to the arcade, just…take care, okay?”

Kristoff’s hand tensed, just for a second, on Anna’s, but long enough for her to take note somewhere in the back of her mind.

“We’ll be fine, Miss Worry-wart. See you later, alligator.”

Elsa nods, and unclasps her hands, but her shoulders still look tense. “In a while, crocodile.”

Anna shuts the door behind her, smiling quietly to herself. How long had it been since they had said that to each other as a farewell? Certainly not since their parents had died in a car accident that had killed them instantly.

Kristoff and Anna sit and make small talk for the first few minutes of the car ride into town. It runs on electricity, which means it is completely silent as he drives steadily into the city centre. The car stereo is turned on to some soft music, and the driver’s window is partially down, letting in a bouquet of the scents of oil, petrol, sewage, and the faintest whiffs of cooking wafting from vendor stalls on the paths. Anna leans back in the passenger seat, closing her eyes, drumming her fingers on the leather to the beat of the music. Her eyes fly open when Kristoff says something after a few minutes of silence.

“I take it you know about Ariel already,” he states.

Anna stares over at him, “How’d you know?”

“Elsa.”

“She told you what we heard?”

“No, well, in a way,” Kristoff trips over his words, “well, okay, just the way she sounded when warning you to be careful at the arcade.”

“She worries a lot,” Anna points out, still idly drumming her fingers on the seat, “but then again, after losing our parents, I guess she has a right to be. I’m her…” she bites back a sigh, “I’m her only family left.”

Kristoff reaches a hand to Anna’s, his large fingers enveloping hers. “I know. And you’re the best sister she could have. I know you worry a bit about her too.”

“Do I?”

Kristoff swears as a car pulls out from a parking space, narrowly missing them by inches. Anna’s heart stops in her chest for a second, and begins to pound. For a fleeting moment, she sees the still bodies of her parents, hidden by starchy white blankets on two hospital beds. The sterile smell of a hospital burns in her nostrils, its taste bitter in her mouth. The murmurs of hollow consolations from the doctors hovering over the bodies. And Elsa’s hand so tight on hers she had felt the feeling leave her fingers.

No! Don’t think of them, don’t think of them.

“You okay, Anna?”

“Huh?” Anna quickly studies herself in the rear view mirror. She does look several shades paler than usual. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a little fright, that’s all.”

“Sorry,” Kristoff apologises, “Dunno how that idiot got his license.”

Anna wants to get her mind off the narrow escape from a road accident, wants to get the memory of hospital odours out of her nose. Pressing a button to open the passenger window, she inhales until she can no longer fill her lungs. The smells of the city chase away the nasty scents of her two-year-old memory.

“So, where are we going?”

Kristoff comes to a stop at a red light, drumming his thumbs absent-mindedly against the brown steering wheel. Ahead of them snakes a long line of cars. They’ll be lucky to get past the lights when it does turn green, even though there are just a couple cars in front of them. Kristoff commands the sun shade to pull down, a small, rectangular flap that effectively blocks out excess sunshine.

“Well, I was thinking the arcade, but after what happened…”

“It was an accident,” Anna reminds him, “It was likely a freak malfunction.”

“The place will be swarming with media or devoid of gamers,” Kristoff predicts, “or even swarming with angry protestors.”

“I kind of want to see that last one,” Anna remarks, craning her neck to look past the cars in front of them, as though she might spot some picketers marching toward the arcade several blocks away, “I’ve always wanted to see actual picketers.”

“I don’t know—they can get rather…violent sometimes.”

“Still…”

“You like danger, don’t you?”

“Hey, I’m still sensible about it.”

“You mean planking was sensible?”

Anna cringes. “Okay, so maybe that wasn’t such a great idea. Don’t fancy having my leg in a cast for another twelve weeks.”

A car honks behind them, Kristoff twitching a little, his attention diverted back to the lights. The car in front had already driven off, leaving a big space before them. With an apologetic little wave back at the driver behind, Kristoff carefully drives past the green lights, which turn yellow just as they pass them.

“So,” Anna diverts the topic at hand back to Ariel, “you hear anything on Ariel from Eric?”

“She’s in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital,” Kristoff informs, “Her family are with her. Her two elder sisters are even flying—or driving—in to be with their family as well.”

“And what about Eric?”

“Intensive Care Unit only allows family members, but I for one know he’ll be running to the hospital when Ariel is moved to a ward open to visitors outside of her family.”

“Is she badly hurt?”

“Feet and legs,” Kristoff confirms what news anchor Belle had reported, “Eric heard that it is likely she’ll need to go under the knife.”

Anna gasps, bringing a hand to her mouth. “What? Does she need her legs…”

“I dunno,” Kristoff shrugs, eyes still intent on the road ahead, “Hopefully she won’t need amputation, but from what I hear…”

“Oh no…”

“She’ll get therapy and everything if they need to do the worst. But I think it will be skin grafts at worst. I hope. I mean…I dunno. I heard it all from Eric, who heard it from Ariel’s sister, Marina. You know, the flutist.”

“She’s her next younger sister, right?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Gee, hope Ariel’ll be alright,” Anna folds her arms, leaning her head back into the headrest, “Elsa and I’ll have to visit her as soon as she gets into a general ward. Of course, you can come along too when we do go.”

“We’ll see.”

Turning on to a freeway, Kristoff leans back into his driver’s seat, relaxing as he speeds up a little, now that the traffic has eased off enough to do so. Trying to take their minds off Ariel, they talk about what they’re doing for their holidays. Kristoff jokes that every weekend is his holiday, as he worked as a grocery packer at a local grocery store. He is just a few months past twenty-one, to Anna’s eighteen, and both had already been dating for about four or five months. Elsa had at first raised an eyebrow at this—but once Anna persuaded her that there was no way Kristoff was going to do anything with her—if Elsa caught her drift—not until she was out of high-school and starting university. Or maybe going on an around-the-world O.E., whichever happened first. Probably the last one. And anyway, she had already learnt her lesson with Hans, whom she had fallen for at the age of fourteen, when he was nineteen. He had been charming and said he hadn’t minded the age gap. Then her parents—and Elsa—had put their feet down and said “no” to her dating him, and later proceeded to remind her about the birds and the bees.

Good call stopping me dating him, she thanked her parents in spirit, I know you’d approve of Kristoff, though.

Finally, Kristoff turns into the block where the Legends and Fables Virtual Reality Arcade takes up residence in a large building that looks very much like an apartment block. Just as expected, the place is swarming with people and traffic.

“Well then,” Kristoff comments, and says nothing more.

“Looks a little packed, doesn’t it?”

Understatement of the century. Old people with sticks or walkers are easily passing cars, while others walk confidently between vehicles, knowing that there was no way they were about to get run over. A sloth could overtake them without breaking a sweat.

“You know, we could check out that new Ancient Egypt myth another time,” Kristoff suggests, “it’s not going to go away anytime soon.”

Anna considers, squinting her eyes out at the endless lanes of cars ahead, beside, and behind them.

“I dunno,” she debates, “I still want to go in and check it out.”

“You sure? I mean, we can come back another day, like I said. This place is absolutely crawling with people. And everyone’s probably already taken up all the parking spaces.”

“We can always walk, you know.”

Kristoff sighs, “I really don’t feel I could do this, not after what happened to Ariel. Give it a few days, shall we?”

Anna frowns as she stares out of the window, over the lanes of cars, to the arcade building. The news channels stalk the entertainment centre’s employees, spectators have stopped to discuss and gesture at the buildings, and lo and behold there’s at least one picketer holding a sign that reads “Games Kill Our Future! Think Of Our Children’s Future!” He looks rather peeved to see that no-one appears to be paying attention to him. People seem to be far more interested in the news channel, ganging up on the reporters in an attempt to impart their own personal opinions and thoughts on the most recent accident, landing a teenage girl, the top singer in the country, in an Intensive Care Unit with severe electrocution burns to her feet and legs. Even Anna can see that even if they did find a park, it would probably be Christmas by the time they found one. Resigning herself to having to wait a little while longer to play the newest Ancient Egyptian myth, Isis and Osiris, she slumps back in her seat.

“Yeah, you’re right,” she admits, “Let’s go somewhere else today, and come back another day.”

She will play that new game one day, and perhaps the day she and Kristoff return to experience Isis and Osiris, she might convince Elsa to come along too, to show that even despite the very rare accident, all was otherwise safe and harmless.

Anna stared back at her reflection in the mirror after having just put in her lenses that would allow her to see the demon's true form on the higher planes. Although she looked a little paler than usual - something that hadn't escaped Gerda's attention that morning at breakfast – she thought she looked relatively confident. Hopefully the demon wouldn't see just how frightened she actually was.

“C’mon Anna you can do this,” she said jumping up and down on the spot and stretching her neck like she’d seen wrestler’s do when preparing for a big fight. “Don’t think about what might happen if things go wrong... oh god it will be Gerda that finds me... stop it! Is that not thinking about it!? No it isn't, so knock it off.” 

This wasn't her first summoning, she had done it many times before, but they had only ever been minor creatures of the Other Place, imps mostly and a few foliates. But never something this powerful, never a djinni, and not just any djinni… Elsa.

Anna had finally chosen Elsa after scouring for weeks through her daemonology books and had quite the reputation. Almost 5000 years old, the djinni was known to be exceptionally powerful as well as ruthless. Everything Anna had read regarded the spirit with a great deal of respect and trepidation - Elsa was definitely not meant to be dealt with by lesser magicians. The books often warned the reader that Elsa was armed with a razor sharp tongue and favoured a particularly nasty form of magic, ice. And so, with all this in mind Anna began preparations to summon the djinni.

First, she had waited until her master, Kai Anderson, and his wife Gerda had left for a dinner party across town and who were sure not to be returning home until much later that night. Second, she dimmed the lights and lit the candles, but not before checking that everything was done properly once again. Lastly, she stepped into her pentacle, giving herself one last pep talk before taking a deep breath and beginning the summoning

–

The temperature dropped to an almost unbearable degree. Frost crackled and hissed as it coated the small glass window and curtains above the bed while ice crawled lazily out from the corners of the room. The small lamp on the nightstand went out as the bulb shattered from the rapid change in temperature. Within the pentacle a bone chilling mist bubbled up and spilled slowly out onto the floor and Elsa watched in satisfaction as the girl began to shiver violently even though she was wearing several layers {obviously she had anticipated my little trick. I mean clearly it didn't work but at least the kid had done her homework}.

Deciding she'd had enough of the theatrics Elsa decided to switch tactics and all at once the mist dissolved away to reveal a scared little girl of about 8 years of age. Curled up in the furthest corner of her container, forehead resting on her knees, the little girl began to cry softly, long blonde hair covering her face.

"Please," the little girl whispered, "please don't hurt me. Just leave me alone…" Elsa took a quick peek though her hair at the human girl's reaction. For a moment it looked like she had fallen for the act, looking concerned and leaning forward a little, as if she wanted to walk over and comfort the frightened child. Elsa tensed {magicians are only protected as long as they remain in their pentacles. So if she sticks so much as a pinkie past the lines, whoever put her up to this will be cleaning whatever is left off the walls}. However, the human seemed to remember what she was dealing with and stood a little straighter.

The girl licked her lips nervously and shifted her weight from one foot to another. "I-I charge you… to… to…" The little girl chose this moment to sob a little louder. "Tell me your n-name."

The djinni didn't answer right away and Anna worried that maybe it hadn't heard her, but eventually a tiny whimper of, "Elsa," was uttered.

Elsa didn't understand why everyone always felt the need to ask for her name when they obviously knew it, she would have never been summoned if they didn't. Magicians and their formalities, it was all rather tiresome.

The human must have found some more courage now that she had issued her first command and been rewarded with obedience, because she looked ready to speak again.

"I charge you again to answer. A-are you that Elsa who in olden times was summoned by the magicians to guard the palaces of Norway?" 

Very tiresome.

All at once the crying stopped and Anna looked around in alarm when she realized the room was somehow getting colder. When she looked back at the demon it was no longer cowering in the corner like a kicked dog, but instead the little girl was standing in the middle of her pentacle and watching Anna with a look that was almost predatory. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

A cloud of snow swirled up in a neat column hiding the djinni from view. "I am Elsa of Arendal!" roared a voice distinctly feminine, but at the same time deep and resonating with untold power. "I am Dronningen av Snø, the Sorceress of Beitelen, and the Frozen Heart! I have seen the rise and fall of kingdoms that now only live on in the pages of your story books! I have ridden into battle alongside Fa Mulan! I have spoken to the Golden King of the fire plains! I have watched over the great empire of Atlantis until the waves rose up and its people were swallowed by the sea! I have no master, who are you to assume you may charge me with anything?!" {Impressive, no? And all true.}

The girl's terrified expression and the blueish tinge of her lips gave Elsa a very acute sense of satisfaction. She needed to remind these idiot magicians that waking her up just to prove they could was unacceptable. The djinni had hoped her little 'outburst' would frighten the kid enough that she'd realize her mistake and send Elsa home in quick succession. No such luck.

"By the constraints of the circle, the points of the pentacle, and the chains of the runes, you are bound to me." The girl paused for a moment. "Which means that technically you have to do what I say," she said matter-of-factly and grinning slightly.

"Indeed," the voice hummed.

Elsa took her time deciding which form to take. She could try something big and mean, possibly scaring the human enough that she said the wrong thing or tried to run away. Or she could chose some type of animal, magicians didn't like it when their slave made obscene noises while they spoke.

In the end Elsa took on her true form, or at least mostly her true form, she decided to leave out some of her more prickly attributes. She had a feeling that the girl might be more easily manipulated by something that looked a little less threatening.

When the snow eventually fell to the floor Anna was surprised to see that inside the pentacle was no longer a scared little girl. Instead, a tall young woman, who looked to be in her twenties, took her place. The woman was all slim lines and easy grace, and she looked Anna up and down with a critical eye as if trying to decide what to make of her. Her light blonde, almost white, hair was pulled back and woven into an intricate knot at the base of her skull.

Anna couldn't help but stare. 

{I tend to find this form works particularly well on magicians of the male variety, you would be surprised at what a pretty face and some soft words can do. I didn't immediately think that the same tactics would be useful in this situation but the redhead's pupils dilated at my appearance, and when her eyes roved over my body they lingered in places longer than what was considered appropriate… interesting.}

The djinni wore a finely made teal gown that seemed desperate to cover as much skin as possible with its high collared and long-sleeved black underdress. Despite it being a modest outfit, the dress hugged the woman's thin frame perfectly so that it highlighted every curve, which only served to make her more appealing. But it was the woman's face that held Anna's attention fast, ruby red lips tipped upward in a knowing smirk that made Anna blush, and two piercing blue eyes that spoke of unfathomable knowledge and Anna could have sworn she saw a frenzied storm swirling in their icy depths.

"Where is he?" Elsa asked suddenly.

Anna blinked in confusion. "What? Where is who?" she asked, looking behind her as if expecting this mystery person to somehow appear.

"The magician who put you up to this. Your master perhaps? There is no way a little squirt like you would be able to summon a being as powerful as myself on their own. You obviously don't realize what you've gotten yourself into," Elsa said haughtily. "You must be what, thirteen?” 

The human girl flushed and puffed out her cheeks in irritation. "I'm eighteen thank you very much," she huffed.

Elsa looked amused and waved a pale hand dismissively. "You could have fooled me with those cute little pigtails of yours," Elsa chuckled which only served to further anger the girl. "No matter, tell your puppet master that you were not ready to take on someone like me, and dismiss me before you get hurt on account of his recklessness."

The girl's face was now so red the constellation of freckles that dotted her cheeks had almost disappeared. Elsa loved flustering her summoners, it was vastly entertaining and often resulted in them making careless, and in some cases deadly, mistakes, either outcome usually lead to her eventual release. {And the faster I get out of here the better, this place is already starting to wear on my aura.}

"There is no one else. I summoned you all by myself," Anna said quickly, standing a little taller.

One of the djinn's eyebrows rose up so high it almost disappeared under her bangs and she took a closer look at the human. The girl was nothing special, small and pale, brimming with the naïve arrogance that came with being a magician. And yet she had summoned Elsa, one of the most notoriously dangerous djinni to exist, seemingly on her own, still as a child no less. Obviously this girl was more than she appeared, but Elsa wondered to what extent.