Hello there!

So, the idea of this fic has been buzzing in my head for a while, and I thought: what the hell, let's do it and if it hits, it hits, I'll be happy and my self esteem will go up because I may be actually be good at writing stuff and if it doesn't well…..what else is new? XD

"The Day the Curtain Falls" by rareID inspired me to do this thing, so, love ya! (Even if I never left a review…..yeah, sorry u.u)

Please, if you think this is good, leave a review. Tell me what you liked and why. If you hated it tell me why, just don't be cruel, ok?

Enjoy!

TW: (attempted) Demonic possession

Chapter 1: I'll lead them to your door

"Have a nice day!" Anna said. It's been a good day. Lots of clients, it's comforting to know that many people are turning to spirituality and seek more to life than being stuck in a 2 by 2 cubicle…or maybe it's because of that. Sigh. Life can't continue like this. More and more people are realizing it. But it also seems that the more eyes are opened, more opposition comes and thwarts the advance. Why is that?

She's always wondered that. Even before she even got this store, before she started her training as a witch. As a kid she was pretty intuitive and observant. She saw that for one act of kindness, there were like 5 atrocities committed. What the hell?

The bell ringed. "Welcome!" The redhead witch said, her new client, a girl maybe as old as she was waved timidly. Anna could not help but smile.

"Whatever you need, just ask" she said. "I was actually looking for something about angels" the client answered.

"Hmmm, any subject in particular? I've got books on angel meditations, tarot cards, posters, encyclopedias…you name it!" Anna approached the client and observed her carefully. Oh! A newbie. It's always nice to meet new initiates in witchcraft.

"Umm…..I'm actually looking for books on angel invocations."

"Oh!" That's more like it…sorta. "Well, I've got several" Anna said as she smiled and closed in one of the bookstands "But most of them are quite complicated if you're starting in the Art". She turned towards her casually before resuming her search.

"W-Who said I was just starting?" She's blushing! OMG so cute!

"Your face did. You're blushing"

She couldn't just keep the smile off her face, the young one was like an open book. The wonder on her eyes as she looked over her domain-uh, store. Yes, her store. The way she asked and her face blushed, the nervousness. Ah…youth.

"I recommend this two books, for starters"Anna gave the client a book about summoning the elementals and another one about the opening and closing of the circle. "One step at the time. Then you can move on to heavier stuff. "

"Like what?" the client said, interest filling her eyes.

"Patience, just focus on this two for now; you can't run when you still can't walk properly. With practice you might be able to summon spirits and other things, but first you gotta know the basics, how to take care of yourself when summoning and stuff, okay?"

"Sure, thanks"

The client paid and left with an ear to ear grin. Anna was happy as well, being able to give help to younglings. She could have told her to buy the Key of Solomon but that would probably just get the kid killed and give Anna serious guilt issues. Not counting the massive bad karma.

She didn't want that. Not when things were suddenly going right for her. It took her years to put the store in the condition it was now. Her parents were quite messy and left the store without maintenance for a good while. After they passed away it was all Anna had left of them. She couldn't let the store fall to pieces. They loved this place. And so does her. Now that she turned 18 a few weeks ago, she could take control of the business and start declining all the buying offers she received. Anna was never gonna sell this place. Not in a million years.

The bell ringed again.

"Welc-" Anna instinctively turned to greet the new customer but her greeting froze on her tongue as she felt a chill run through her back. She looked at the client. Her brows furrowed. What the hell is this? The vibe this guy had was BAD. BIG TIME BAD. He was tall, red hair, sideburns. The eyes were keen. Observant. Mmm…quite gorgeous.

Wait, what?

Focus, Anna! Vibes warning! Your spidey senses don't tingle like that for no reason!

"Hello" he said. "Don't mind me, I'm just gonna have a look around"

"Umm…sure. just amm…h-holler if you n-need anything!" Anna replied, her voice turning squeaky at the end. Cough. She blushed. "Sorry".

The man just smiles. THAT SMILE, OMG. And just starts walking slowly, looking at the marvels she has to offer. Or her store has to offer. Or both of them. Yes, both of them. They're both a team! And team members need each other, right? She shouldn't take credit when it's teamwo-

FOCUS, ANNA!

Right. What was she doing? Wait. Why is it so quiet?
She goes towards her spot, and notices the CD she put on had finished. Oh well. Time for another one. After randomly select one of her collection, she grabs one and looks at it. Within Temptation. Black Symphony. Awesome. It's been a while since she's put them on the store.

Music fills the magical store. Anna closes her eyes and smiles.

"Hey, nice taste!" said the sideburns man.

"Hmm?"

"Within Temptation's Black Symphony? Best there is."

"Oh!" Anna said, surprised. "You know them?"

"Know them? I love'em!" he said, closing in on the counter, where Anna was. "You know, I actually went to that concert. First row."

"No way!" Anna was in shock. This guy's Gorgeous AND lucky! "Yes!" the handsome man replied. "It was one of the most incredible experiences in my life!" "How much did it cost you?" Anna HAD to know. He whistled. "A lot. But it was definitely worth it."

Anna sighed. "I can imagine. I've always wanted to see them but I was always busy and then I had problems and, in the end, I've never been able to see them. It's either the money or, the fact that I'm too busy working or something else comes up and…yeah. I'm dying to go to a concert of them."

"Damn. That's bad luck. You should get cleaned or something. You never know when you've got the evil eye. "

"Yeah, maybe I should. Gods know I need one." Anna put back a none-existent hair back into its place and laughed, followed by the stranger, who then locked eyes with her.

"I'm Hans"

"Anna"

They gave each other a handshake. Holy shit, BAAAD VIBES. Anna thought. But he seems like a nice guy, what the hell?

"Do you know the owner of this place?"

"Sure, why?"

"I believe there's a compliment to be made. There aren't many stores like this in Arendelle, let alone the world."

Arendelle has had a long standing presence in witchcraft history. It all started with the legendary Queen that froze the kingdom over 200 years ago. Nobody knows how or what made her powers appear but soon after magical families started to come to the peaceful land, the inhabitants gotten used to magic after that little incident. The world still resented the effects of the witch hunts in the dark ages and its people still were wary. So many covens and families were forced to run away, hide, or look for a safe spot. Like Arendelle.

Even still, they chose to remain in hiding, just to be safe. Just because the queen was a magic wielder, it didn't mean that they could just be showing off their abilities and skills. People still get frightened easily.
Eventually, with the new era of Aquarius, many chose to come out of hiding, establishing stores and offering their services to whoever needed them. Many stores were opened, but true, none was like the one Anna had.

"Thank you. It really took a lot of me to make it like this. But I don't regret it. It was definitely worth it" she said, almost puffing out her chest in pride.

Hans gave him that smile again "Indeed"

They both just stared at each other for a while, Anna humming softly to herself. Until a cellphone tone went off, breaking the spell.

"Oh, sorry" Hans took his phone out, looking at the screen, dismissing immediately the message he just received. "I have to go. Maybe I'll catch you later?"

Anna looked at the handsome man taking off really quick. "Ahm….sure! Bye!"

And then she was all alone. She shivered.

"Oooof! Whooo!" The pressure she felt on her chest was gone, the lump in her throat too, she could feel her shoulders relax "What was that about?"

She looked at the gargoyle on the other side of the store and the little protections she had set up. Small bells and tinkers here and there. They all moved. Except the gargoyle of course.
Pity, it would have been awesome.

Anna walked toward her station on the corner, passing through the spot Hans just stood just before and smelled….."What is that…?" snif sniff… "Is that sulfur?"

Has the incense gone bad or something….?

Seriously now, what the hell? The evening had been strange, A LOT. And if a witch says that, it really means something's up. After Hans left, Anna had been receiving customers with massive bad vibes. Their aura, the way they carried themselves, their clothing, it all screamed HOLY SHIT to her.
Many witches wore black. As in, from head to toe; It's said that it's for protection, some other say it's camouflage against dark spirits; To her, it meant nothing, but the way those people were carrying their black clothes was just….WEIRD! How do you explain it? It just…..set her on edge. The protections were going off all the time. It was like a fire alarm had been whirling on her head for the past few hours, starting a mild headache for Anna.

Most of them just came to see. To check out the place, just take a look and go. Some bought books about black magick, like, the heavy stuff.

"Maybe I should just stop selling these…don't want to even think what they want them for" Anna thought outloud, earning a weird look from two of the customers. She laughed nervously.

"Sorry"

What surprised her the most was the fact that her door protections actually kept some people out. Like, 'I'm not going in there' keeping people out. There came 3 groups of like 5-6 people, and only one or two of them said 'I'm going in' and actually managed to come in. The rest preferred to stay outside and wait for their friends, some of them even daring others to come in and they just couldn't place a foot inside. The protections repelled them. Big time. The ones that got in felt different from the others, they didn't give her any vibes warnings. They bought stuff, of course, and they felt right being in there.

"It's like being home", they said.

And left quite happily, while their friends just kept asking how did they manage to get in…

It wasn't the fact that the door protection worked that freaked her out. It was the fact that it had worked that many times in a single day!
There were bad people everywhere, even in a place like Arendelle, so it was just a precaution to cast a shield on the door. It was meant to keep evil people out. People with intent of harming her or her store, and it worked once or twice every 2 weeks or so. Once a month, maybe. But over three times? In a matter of hours? In a single day? It's never happened to her. She didn't even see such a thing when her parents were alive and running the store, having casting the spell themselves even before she started training.

Ding ding!

Oh well, it didn't matter now. Closing time!

Anna set the alarm clock, to notify her of tomorrow's closing time and went to change the sign on the door to 'CLOSED'. Yes! So happy! She was free now!

Growl.

"Aaaw, come on big guy, it's not personal!" she said to the Guardian Gargoyle she had on the other side. "It's just I can't be in a closed space for this long!"

Hmph.

"We always have tomorrow, don't worry."

The young witch started cleaning the store, putting the books laying around back into place and taking a swift round through the entire place, checking everything was in order.

"Hey Joan, ready to close up?" she said to her favorite painting on the second floor, right next to the 'Magickal combat' section. If there's been a constant in the store, it was the painting of Joan of Arc. Her father said that he had gotten it from an old friend, who got it from an old friend, who got it from the actual Royal Palace a long time ago as a gift. It's been in her family's hands since she was born actually, so it's been her faithful companion ever since. She's always felt drawn to the thing. Never knew why.

And, no, the redhead wasn't a reincarnation or something, she checked.

She finished by grabbing her broom and cleaning the floor, always towards the door (it was bad luck if you did it the other way). She set the alarm, turned the light out and walked out into the evening, but not without saying goodbye to the Guardians and protections placed in the store.

"Take care guys, sleep tight"

Her head was pumping. Her headache had gotten worse. Gods, those people really did a number on her place. She sighed. "I'm gonna have to do a cleansing tomorrow before opening. Ugh…."

Cleansing meant getting up earlier, which meant less sleeping time, which meant having to sleep earlier…which meant…sigh. The headache was getting even worse.
Luckily for her, to her left was just the thing she needed: The Snuggly Duckling.

Anna smiled and headed for it.

The place always had a reputation, first it was a hostel, then a tavern, then a cantina, then a bar, and today it was a cafeteria, a magical cafeteria, to be exact. And quite a cozy one, and it just had what the young witch needed right now…

"Hey feisty pants, what's up?" said Kristoff, her childhood friend.

"Kristoff! Hey!" She said as the came closer to the counter. "I thought you would be staying in the mountain for the weekend" Anna hugged tightly her oldest friend.

"Yeah, the clients cancelled at the last minute. Their return flight got moved, so they had to fight it out with the airline, for not telling them in advance" He said as he drank his coffee.

"Oops" Anna replied.

"That's what I said", Kristoff chuckled.

"So what will you be doing, then?" Anna grabbed a sugar cube and popped it into her mouth. "I still have to check up on Sven, and see if anyone's up for another excursion or something. But enough about me, what brings you here?"

"I need one of Raps's teas, have you seen her?" she looked around the place.

"Speak of the devil" Both of them turned to see Rapunzel slowly emerge from behind the counter with a smirk on her face "…and she shall appear"

Anna grabbed the knife on Kristoff's left and pointed it towards her cousin, standing up. "Stop right there, demonic one! I bind you to my will!" Rapunzel just widened her smirk and crossed her arms "Foolish sorceress! You can't bind me, for you don't have my name!" Anna stood tall. "I name you, Goldilocks and bind you to me!"

Kristoff practically exploded in laughter, followed by her cousin. "Goldilocks?"

"I had to make something new! And it was the first thing that came to my mind!" Anna flailed her arms.

"Well, I'm happy to see you too, dear cousin" Rapunzel hugged Anna, both of them compromising their balance because of the counter between them "What brings you to my humble domain?"

"I have a bad headache and I was wondering if you could help me with it" Anna said, rubbing her temples. "Sure, one tea coming right up!" the cousin answered.

Rapunzel and Kristoff both were the only people Anna had right now. She and Rapunzel and were very close when they were children, but after Anna's parents died, Rapunzel and her family took her in while she recovered from the loss. Kristoff was a busy man, he had an excursion business, taking people on tours up the north mountain to climb, to ski or whatever activity Arendelle had to offer, he and his reindeer Sven took her on a lot of trips, especially when she was mourning and it was a blessing, since the constant activities took her mind of things. It was because of him that she'd learn how to snowboard, climbing and ski. Depressed or not, going up the north mountain did wonders to her mood, and whenever she had a physical problem, she'd visit Rapunzel. Her teas were legendary, even among the witchy community and her hands were a miracle when she gave a massage.

Anna had been a very lonely child, never having too much friends (if, at all), a trait that would accompany her till today. The few people she connected with would leave soon after with mysterious reasons, and never be seen again. She later learned that many of them had even left the country, and never knew why.

Kristoff and Rapunzel were the only ones that hadn't left her yet, and the ones that had stuck up with her. But she always feared the day they would tell her they had to leave somewhere….and prayed that it never came.

"Hey, you alright?" Kristoff asked, worried for the young witch.

"Yeah, I just….was thinking stuff" Anna replied, holding on to her head. "This headache's been getting worse by the minute!"

"Tough day?" Kristoff asked, taking a sip from his coffee. "No, not really, it was just…weird", the witch responded.

"Weird how?" Rapunzel came with a small cute looking cauldron and a cup, serving Anna the much needed tea, along with another lot of sugar cubes and a slice of 4-chocolate cake. Anna's favorite.

"Oh thank the Gods for you" Anna hastily drank the tea and moaned in pleasure. The tea was perfect. Not warm but not scorching hot either, sweet but still not enough to cause a diabetic coma, and just the right combination of herbs and smells that manage to instantly make her headache disappear and relax her. A true gift from the Gods.

"I want some of that" "Me too" said a couple of girls on a table behind them. Moaning called their attention, it seemed. Anna's face turned red after setting down her tea, she scratched the side of her head. Kristoff rolled his eyes, smiling at his friend's subtlety

Rapunzel laughed. "Coming right up" she turned to her right and whistled, making Kristoff and Anna wince, a waiter turned and carefully looked at the hand signs Rapunzel made, then he nodded and said. "Got it".

"Now, you were saying about weirdness?" Rapunzel leaned in and set her face between both of her hands, interested. Anna answered. "Yeah….remember the protections I set in the store? They went off, a lot. And some customers came in that gave me the creeps. All in a matter of hours, just after….." After Hans came along…..she thought.

"After what?" Kristoff asked

"I'm…I'm not really sure…" Anna looked down, at her tea. "There was this guy, he didn't do anything, just came to take a look"

"Aaand?" Rapunzel pushed.

"The vibes this guy had….." Anna shivered.

"Well, seems to me you'll have some cleansing to do." Her dear cousin said, poking Anna in the nose.

"No shit" Anna hid her face between her hands, exasperated.

"Which reminds me, I haven't read you the cards in a while" Rapunzel said, with an eyebrow raised. "What to check them out? I've got time"

Anna checked her watch. It was getting late, but….oh what the hell…

"Alright, if I don't do it, you'll be pestering me till you do"

"Yay!"

Now on a table, Rapunzel and Kristoff watched as Anna finished scrambling the cards around. The blond haired girl was jumping in her seat in excitement.

"This is gonna be so interesting!"

The blonde man drank from his (8th?) cup of coffee. "Might as well just get her naked right here and now"

"Thanks for the support, Kristoff, I know I can always count on you, my dear friend" Anna said as she passed the tarot cards to her cousin.

"So sassy! What have you got to hide this time...?" Rapunzel eagerly spread the cards in front of the redhead, waiting for her to choose the cards.

"Let's just get this over with" Anna sighed.

There. Now the pixie haired girl set the chosen cards and practically jumped in her seat. Kristoff looked at Anna with pity. She just took a large gulp of her tea. She was going to need it.

The Moon

"Will you look at that?" Rapunzel said. All three heads closed in on the card. "There's definitely something going on, something weird." "And it keeps getting better and better" Anna sighed. "I'd say you're being watched" "Watched? By whom?" "That I don't know, but it seems that you don't know either" "Tell me something I don't know" At that, Rapunzel rolled her eyes "The sass…What I mean is, it's someone you never met before"

"That's weird" Kristoff said. "SEE?! It IS weird! I'm not crazy! …..Well, I am, but not right now!" Anna squealed, flapping her arms around. "Well, look at it from that side, you're not imagining things" Her reader said.

Death

"FUCK" Anna slammed her forehead against the table.

"Shit" Rapunzel said. Kristoff just cackled outloud. "You know what? I'm gonna get you a refill on that tea" The reader called a waiter and gave him the small cauldron, ordering Anna's second round.

Where's my cake? Anna reached at her left, where her chocolate cake should have been. Where…? Oh, right, I swallowed it as soon as I saw it. Shit. She left her head on the table. The refilled cauldron was put in front of her.

"Here, feisty, have some tea" Kristoff filled the weeping redhead's cup. Anna raised her head and took a sip, while Rapunzel stared at the card. "You know? I think this may be a gamechanger. A big ass change. Not necessarily something bad, but definitely something is coming. Your world may be put upside down"

Anna could feel her body turn into goo on the chair. "Just what I needed"

The Lovers

"Huh?" Kristoff almost spit his coffee all over the cards.

"Now that's more like it" Goldilocks smiled. "Interesting, it's making more sense now"

Anna actually rubbed her eyes to see if she was seeing right. "But why? Doesn't 'Lovers' mean choices?"Kristoff asked. "Not this time" Anna said. "I think right now it means that you're actually gonna get someone! That's the gamechanger!" Rapunzel beamed.

Anna blinked.

"Think about it. You're used to being alone. It's all you've known. What if someone comes? You'll be heading into uncharted territory! A change! A BIG ASS change!" Her cousin practically sang.

Hans? Anna thought. He said that he'd be seeing me again….but, what about the vibes thing? What did the vibes mean? Is he against magick? Is he a Christian maybe? A spy? "Could this person be the one that's watching me?"

"Probably, it makes sense. All it says is there's someone's coming."

The Popess

"Someone veeery wary, quite protective of stuff and secretive", Rapunzel continued, "And also magical, it seems"

Interesting, Anna thought, so if it IS Hans, he knows about witchcraft too. We could go to the Sabbaths together. Attend Samhain, and then Yule, make Yule log and open presents…cuddle in front of the chimney and-

"ANNA!"

The witch snapped out of it. "What?"

"This might be a very mysterious person!" Rapunzel said happily "No shit" Kristoff answered. Anna just chuckled, and drank more of her tea.

"Bottom line is" The pixie-haired witch continued "Your life is gonna get so interesting"

"As typical, your prediction will be an understatement" Anna countered with a smirk. She now wanted something stronger than tea.

Anna ultimately stayed with her friends till it was closing time; Kristoff only took her cousin home because Anna preferred to walk, to clear her head. After a hug from the other witch and a "you'll be okay, don't fret", she started her walk home. Most of the time, she spent nights walking, watching the sky all the time.

"People these days never look up anymore"

She stared at the half moon, up in the sky, lost in her thoughts. At the strange things Rapunzel said. She huffed. Tarot reading was not Raps' forte, but still, something was amiss. It was like there was something even more going on that the reader said.

The moon, she remembered, of course. Many things ARE happening that she's not aware of. That sucked. Anna then turned her head, and looked at the northern lights making the sight more…..magical. She couldn't help but smile.

Maybe I should try with runes when I get home…

A little glance at her clock told her the runes would have to wait till tomorrow. Shit.

Then she froze on her spot. With her eyes, looked around, scanning everything. The unmistakable tingling in the back of her neck told her she was being watch and in danger, the hairs on her neck were standing up. This was wrong. Way wrong. Slowly Anna turned her head around and on the corner of the street, she saw them.

Forever would be marked on her memory the first time she ever saw a demon. There but at the same time not there. Visible but not visible. She was 5 at that time. It was winter. Her younger self was staring outside, from a window besides the couch, the snowflakes slowly falling, kids playing in the street. All was well, until something transparent caught her attention. It was on the roof of the house across the street. That something was big. And crawling, leaving footprints on the snow.

She tried to get a closer look, but instead hit her face on the glass; rapidly Anna cleaned the window and looked again at the thing. It was still there, only changed its direction. She noticed the thing was like a spider, but with 4 legs instead of 8, and instead of a big belly it was a rectangular shape or something like that, it looked like a person crawling, she realized, only the legs and arms were way longer.

"Daddy what's that?" sweet small Anna asked her father. The man came closer and sat beside his beloved daughter. "What's what, Anna?"

"That" she pointed with her finger, slamming it at the window.

"What? I don't see anything" Agdar answered, confused.

"That man-spider-looking thing. It's invisible daddy! You have to pay attention."

Agdar's face changed immediately at said description. Anna could see his eyes scanning the entire scenario and then stopped. And paled. Anna turned and saw the creature continue to crawl….until it stopped and moved its head to the side, seemingly looking at Anna.

That instant, she felt like something grabbed her back, making her blood freeze and the hairs on her neck stood.

Her father grabbed her and pulled her away from the window.

"Idunn!" Agdar cried. She came down the stairs in a hurry "What, what is it?"

"We have one. One of them. Across the street" Anna's father said quickly. Idunn face changed from confusion to shock, setting finally into one of decision. "I'll deal with it" she walked to the door only to be stopped by Agdar, who grabbed her hand. "No, take Anna. I'll do it" he said. His wife with a grim face nodded, took a confused Anna on her arms. The small one only looked as her father walked to the kitchen, grabbed an edgeless knife and went outside.

Anna now turned and faced the three creatures in front of her, taking a few steps back as the demons let go of the walls they were crawling on and landed on the ground, hissing at her. As they closed, the witch couldn't help but ask herself: where did they come from? But the thought was erased quickly, as the beasts started to surround her. Fuck.

The witch took out her wand and pointed at each of the creatures, each hissing at the threat that was being made to them. The wand was the magical equivalent of a gun. And so, Anna continued to walk backwards and waved her weapon at the two demons that were trying to cut her off from the sides, sparks coming out from the wand in warning. One of them was foolish enough to launch itself towards Anna. Reacting on instinct, she turned the wand towards it and a beam of light fired toward the demon, hitting and disintegrating it with white light. She failed to notice however, that one of the others also jumped towards her, but instead of aiming to her head, it aimed to her pelvis and struck her in a way she didn't expect: it went inside her.

Anna gasped as she felt the foreign being invading her, and fell to the floor, the third demon took the chance and bit off Anna's wand from her hand and destroyed it with its jaws, a long serpent-like tongue passing through the sides, cleaning the mouth clear of wood, and started to crawl around the twitching body of the fallen witch.

She was being possessed, Anna realized. The process was already half under way, her power being neutralized and absorbed, the demon was eating away her energy and strength, soon would follow her will and then finally her mind. With a grunt, the witch curled upon herself, trying to gather the remaining of her power and energy. Her hand moved around, looking for her wand and only felt the remains of it. Anna cursed. Without a way to channel her will, she would have to do it manually, through her very hands, and that action required a lot of energy. She barely had enough to keep herself conscious. How could she-? Oh no… She started to feel the demon controlling her body, her hands were not hers anymore. Her nails grew and became claws, scratching her clothes with rabid movements. She was losing it.

No, nonononono. Anna thought of the horrors a demon could do with her body, with her abilities.

It wasn't a normal human, this thing was possessing. Her eyes were not normal, her ears, her senses, even her powers were unusual for a witch, her ability to draw energy from-That's it! That was her only chance! She let go of the control of her body and felt herself fall in an endless pit. Disconnected herself from everything and everyone, and visualized her connection with the universe. She could feel it. Touch it. Taste it. Her spirit let herself be wrapped with light and in that moment, Anna asked for the strength and energy she would need to survive this ordeal. She felt the warm embrace of the universe and knew she now had what she needed. The witch focused on the feeling of her body again and slammed against the force that was using it. It was screaming at a frequency that could kill a dog and Anna shut it up. The demon hissed using Anna's mouth and clawed to stay in the body, but Anna's temporarily renewed energy was succeeding in kicking it out. Anna fought with all she could muster and managed to get an arm out of her body, its control was sweeping into her again. With both of her hands back, she now could focus her regained energy into them, pulling out and purifying the demon at the same time. Its companion jumped back in shock at what was happening, soon followed by the other one, finally exorcised from Anna's body.

Her body partially fell, tunnel vision plaguing, her consciousness barely there, but she had made it, Both demons now looked at her warily, not sure what to expect now. But the returned Anna knew what she could not do, and that was fight them both, still she tried to stand tall, let the demons know that she wasn't done yet. And she wouldn't fall so easily into their claws.

Unfortunately, her enemies knew that she could not have pulled of f that without consequences to her ability to fight, and so, even though they backed off a bit, they were preparing for the second round, and so when the injured woman's vision was back to normal and her body at least responding to her again, she did the only thing she could do, unfortunately.

Anna ran for her life.

It didn't make any sense. It wasn't logical, it wasn't real. That's what she was telling herself, yet, here she was, clothes ripped, wand snapped, dodging the invisible, horrible things that were after her. The chaos and confusion in her mind prevented her from making whatever decent protection spells she could around herself. How could she, when all that she learned about demon attacks was suddenly rushed and ongoing to her?

Just need to make it home. She thought, just as a huge tree branch fell and had to jump, skirt tearing apart because it got stuck. Anna slammed hard against the curb. On pure instinct she managed to turn her face in time before it got smashed, the side of her face got the damage, though, but there wasn't time to think about it, since the demons had the chance to gain up on her. As they reached her and both lunged for her, she turned and managed to push them away, an unseen force coming from her hand.

The fu-

She didn't have time to think about what she did, since another one, BIGGER demon, appeared and was closing in, so she got up and continued running. Thank the Gods for yoga pants. Had she wore nothing underneath the skirt, she would be running with only her underwear now.

One more block, come on. She kept pushing on but her legs were starting to give out. Exhaustion was taking its toll on her. She wouldn't last much longer now, but once she entered her home she would be safe. One more block, one more block she continued thinking and panting as she ran.

At last she found herself on the fence, which she proceeded to open, fingers trembling barely able to hold the keys, just as she managed to get in and close the gate, the demons smashed against it hissing In fury, unable to enter the sacred ground, they tried to jump to the garden but couldn't, so they just stayed there and moved across the fence, searching for a hole on the defence, but finding none.

Anna's legs almost gave up on her. She was safe. She'd made it. And then the bigger demon arrived. It was at least 3 yards tall, bulky as fuck, features not very distinguishable, even for her, fortunately. She felt her blood run cold.

It was looking at her.

And then just like that, it walked to the corner and disappeared, followed by the other two. Now they know where she lives. They couldn't get in, but still. Anna sighed, cleaning the tears on her cheeks and got in her home.

She looked at the clock, 2:37 AM

Her hot chocolate was not hot anymore. She had barely touched it.

Anna rested the side of her unhurt face on her hand, remembering yet again the event she had just survived. After the demons left, she tended to her injuries, ate some very much needed food and tried to make her favorite coco, just to calm her nerves; and failed. So, she stood up and put the enormous cup inside the microwave and waited it to be ready. Memories started to return to her again, but only this time, it was about the fact that she had been able to push away the imps without touching them. She looked at her left, bandaged hand and closed her fist. The microwave rang.

With her beverage finally serving its purpose, Anna now thought in what she would do. Hell, what could she do? For instance, staying indoors. Her home was sacred ground, nothing would be able to harm her here, but she'd had to leave sooner or later, for one reason or another and the second that happened, she'd be ambushed. The two smaller demons she could deal with, but the big, elite one? No. Not even drawing energy from the universe. She had to be 110%. Fully recovered, strength back at full and that was to just barely stand a chance against that thing, and she'd need days to recover from what just happened. Maybe even weeks. But if she came and face it, the monster would not fight her alone, even if it could, so no. There had to be another way...

She wasn't raised for this. She wasn't taught about this kind of situations. Not THIS bad. She could do some research, but the books she would need were sold years ago by her parents. And it would be an authentic miracle if she somehow found them even online. Her distributors didn't have them anymore too. Sigh.

She looked at her phone on the counter, the smashed device a grim reminder of the force of the blows that happened. She had no means to contact Rapunzel or Kristoff. She didn't have a landline. "Why waste money on that when you can have a cell phone?" her parents had said once. Now she regrets not opposing the notion. Aaaaand leaving her laptop on the store. Because, fuck her luck, why not?
Kristoff would not come to her after at least a week of no contact whatsoever. Same with Raps.

So, she was isolated, uncomunicated.

"Meow?"

A white big fluffy cat jumped and settled on her lap.

"Hey Olaf" Anna said, patting her feline companion. He purred, feeling the redhead's hand on his back. "What can I do?" He just looked at her lazily. "I could stay for a few days, but afterward…I'd be just prolonging the inevitable" Olaf meowed angrily, scolding her. "I know, I know, it's just…" She sighed exasperated, "It doesn't make any sense! Why me? Why now? It's not a significant date, Mercury retrograde was a month ago, I didn't do anything, I didn't summon anything…wait. That's it!"

Olaf could almost see a physical lightbulb above Anna's head

"If I can't deal with them…I'll get someone who can."

Something about angels, she said.

"There's no such thing as coincidence" Anna huffed.

How couldn't she see it? First the angel girl came as a warning and tip. Then came the creepy dudes. As a prelude for something bigger. HOW could she miss it?

She's been gathering the stuff she'd need for the past hour and a half. Now she was in her tunic, walking around the basement, just finished lighting the candles, her athame now strapped to her waist, as she needed something to replace her wand with. Good thing too, because of what just happened, she now needed something with a little bit more kick. With rope she made two big circles, one in front of her and another one around her, where she was now standing. Olaf was with her, within her circle, laying lazily on the floor looking at her curiously.

Anna cleared her throat.

Showtime

"Ready Olaf?" she said to her cat. And he just continued to look at her.

The summoning would be easy; problem was going to make it listen to her. To make it obey her.
An old friend told her angels were not what they seemed. They weren't all friendly and smiley, bright white feathers and willing to help. They didn't have morals. Not like humans did. And they would leave someone to their luck if it didn't affect them directly. Remembering that, Anna gulped.

"Well, it's not like anyone here has a better idea"

She looked around the lonely basement, almost looking for an answer. She was certainly feeling like she was being watched, but no movement or sound came. So she started to work.

Anna took out her athame and opened the only book she had that could help her. She took out her athame and proceeded to mark a pentagram inside the circle of rope she was in.

"Excuse me, Olaf" she said when she reached where he was. Olaf got up and moved, just enough so the ritual blade could pass. "Thanks".

She chanted some protections, to her home, herself and her circle. She checked the ingredients and stuff were neatly set were they needed to be and started to read outloud from the book. Her pronunciation was rusty but was there, intelligible. A dead language no one was supposed to know, except a few people. No stopping now. If she did, a start over would be required. Sweat was starting to come down her forehead. When she raised her athame, she saw her hand, her entire arm trembling. Still, she proceeded to make the symbols in the air with her weapon.

"shtael, milfaros. Ilsutwuen. Lividiang. Ashtiri et fu, lomeliat, dracktu…."

Be firm.

"Lomeliat, dracktu"

Be diplomatic.

"Saketsu, sumue"

You can't doubt youself anymore.

"voldantie shiame, ukuetssu moe"

Any sign of weakness and it'll destroy you.

Any sign of doubt and it'll destroy you.

You are in command. If it doubts it, you're doomed

She remembered what she once learned a long time ago. A chilly windswept around her tunic. The flames in the candles were dancing furiously, threatening to be put out.

"Hear me now, as I command you, to appear before me now"

Olaf got on his feet, interested in the development.

"I summon you"

"I order you"

"I command you"

The wind continued to blow around the basement, growing colder each second.

"I command you!"

Anna shivered.

"I command you!"

There was a pattern now. It was circling around the rope circle in front of her.

"You, a capable guardian, a protector, one of the finest there are"

How in the world were those candles still alit?

"A warrior"

Wait...

"A savior"

Are those snowflakes?

"An angel"

Is that snow?

"Heed my call, as I summon you now"

A full on blizzard started to circle the rope. Anna should be freezing by now but all she could feel was a strong wind moving her braids and her tunic, barely able to cover her from the snowstorm on her basement. Doubt filled her. She's never heard of snow appearing in an invocation. Did she mess it up? What did snow had to do with angels? What if she wasn't summoning an angel, but something else? If she was, what was she brining to this plane? A snow spirit? An elemental? There was no way to know until the ritual was finished. But by then it would be too late. If she stopped now, there would be consequences.

"My enemies are yours!"

Should she risk it?

"My friends are yours!"

Should she go with it?

"Your strength is my strength!"

Oh, Gods…

"Heed my call, as I summon you now"

…To hell with it

"As I command you…TO APPEAR BEFORE ME!

FOOOM!

In an instant, the storm condensed in the circle and a creature fell from the roof, landing on its feet, sending the snow in a wave towards the walls, knocking Anna down, the wave just went through her chest, scaring Olaf away.
Anna grunted, and sit up to see….a person! And…wings.

The being was crouching, face down, wings wide open, but barely able to fit inside Anna's basement. It was then when Anna saw the bright and pristine white feathered wings. The figure slowly but surely stood up, curling its wings behind it.

"Woah…."

The angel stood to its full height and Anna found herself mesmerized by the tall humanoid being. Wings folded but still visible on its back. What was it wearing? Is that a dress or a tunic? A light blue cloth was across its chest, in a diagonal, from the right shoulder to the left hip. She didn't realize it at first but then looked closer and realized the ample bosom and wide hips. Gods, it was a woman. The most beautiful woman Anna had ever seen. She had her with her mouth wide open. Platinum blonde hair styled in a single thick braid, pale but fair skin, adorned with freckles here and there….and the bluest eyes Anna had ever seen. Her breath hitched. The angel was looking at her. Its-her face dipped to the side, curiously. And then she crouched again, set on all fours, unfurling her wings….and started crawling towards her.

"Wha-?!"

She just went through the circle! She's not supposed to do that! She can't! How the hell did she..!?

Anna tried to move but her body refused to respond, too shocked by the fact that the angel just went through the protection circle like it was nothing! AND NOW IT WAS IN HER CIRCLE! HOW THE FUCK-!?
The angel closed in, and Anna was forced to lie down, finding support on her elbows. It was above her now, their faces only mere inches away from each other and….was she smiling?

"Ahm…" Anna looked to the sides, avoiding coming face to face with the angel, instead looking at the slightly unfurled wings above them. Then she felt a cold hand on her cheek, instantly, she turned and saw the closed eyed face of the winged being, and marveled at it, too beautiful to be human. after a few seconds, she let go of Anna's cheek and opened her eyes, bright and full of wonder.

"You summoned me" she said.

"Wha-?! Who-who are you?!"

"I'm your Guardian Angel"