"That's it for today, Miss Elsa. I want you to complete the assigned readings and homework, then start coming up with ideas for the side project I mentioned earlier."
The little blonde girl nodded without looking up as she tugged on her braid. She was focused on solving the problem in front of her, the little equations and numbers clicking through her head as she wrote down the solution.
The tutor took that as his cue to leave. He quietly backed out the doorway, softly closing the door behind him as he exited the room.
The tutor made little noise as he walked down the hallway toward the main living room, where the young girl's mother and father reclined on a couch with a laptop in each of their laps. They both glanced up as he entered the room, neither of them closing their laptops screens as they shifted their focus toward him.
"Progress report?" the father asked. "I know we just hired you, but it would be great to hear some feedback."
The tutor smiled. "She's learning very quickly, especially considering her age. At this rate we might even be able to finish…"
She could hear the soft murmurs of conversation from the living room.
"…we might even…"
Anna didn't wait for him to finish his sentence before she had dropped the tablet in her hands and leapt out of her chair, beginning to sprint toward Elsa's room. She slid to a stop in front of the door and entered with absolutely no hesitation.
Elsa turned around, startled, before she recognized who it was. She gave Anna a small smile before returning to the work in front of her. Anna was already on her bed and jumping up and down as she waited for Elsa to finish.
"Come on, let's go and play already," Anna complained. "Can't you hurry up?"
"Almost done," Elsa promised her.
"Why do you have so much work anyway? My teachers don't give me that much homework."
Elsa rolled her eyes. "You're three years younger than me and I have a personal tutor. I'm in fifth grade and you're only in second grade. And besides, this stuff is fun, too." And I'm going to need to learn a lot if I'm going to help run Mother and Father's company, she added silently.
Anna bounced on higher on the bed, each bounce granting her a better view through the window in the room. "I want to explore the forest," she said excitedly.
Elsa gave her a disbelieving look. "There are six inches of snow outside, and you want to go explore the forest? Why don't we just play some video games together, or—"
"Boring!" Anna interrupted. "Snow is awesome! We could build a snowman! Make a snow fortress! The possibilities are endless!"
Elsa glanced out the window and saw that it was still bright outside, the afternoon sun shining down and glancing off of the snow. "Anna, you know Father won't let us go outside," she said, attempting to reason with her. "It's too cold and—"
Anna jumped off of the bed and wrapped her arms against Elsa's neck as she looked up into her face. "Please?" she begged. "I'll wear warm clothes and we can come back before it gets dark."
Elsa was certain that her heart had melted into a pile of mush as Anna pressed her face against her cheek. "Alright, alright," Elsa conceded.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Anna squealed, hugging Elsa even tighter.
Elsa attempted to speak coherently. "But—" she fumbled "—But you need to listen to me, alright? If I say that something is dangerous, or that we have to go back, you need to follow my instructions. Okay?"
Anna stood straight, her hands clasped behind her back. "Yes, Elsa!" she grinned impishly.
"Then let's get dressed," Elsa said, opening the closet.
She pulled out a thick parka and a scarf and handed the two items to Anna. Even though the sun was out and the snow was already beginning to melt, she wanted to make sure that Anna stayed safe and warm. While Anna was putting the winter clothing on, she found some suitable clothes for herself. The cold never really bothered her, but she put on a sweater anyway to avoid being scolded by her parents if they saw her.
The two stealthily crept down the hallway and then down the flight of stairs, pausing every few seconds or so to make sure that their parents were still talking. They grabbed the boots next to the sliding doors and shoved them on, then slid the doors open and slipped outside.
Before Elsa could even react, Anna had tossed parka and scarf onto the porch and sprinted off toward the forest.
"Anna!" Elsa whispered as loudly as she could.
Anna's only response was a giggle as she continued running toward the tree line. Elsa wanted to shout at her to come back and put her winter clothes back on, but her parents were still in the living room.
Instead, she could only roll her eyes and scoop up the discarded clothing, putting them on as she chased after Anna. She stepped in the footsteps that Anna had created in the snow, allowing her to quickly catch up to her little sister. A bit of snow found its way into her boots, but she didn't mind.
Anna was waiting for her at the edge of the forest. She already had a large snowball in her hands that was continuing to grow as she packed snow onto it. Her rosy cheeks were set in a grin as she dropped the chunk of snow onto the ground and began rolling.
"Aren't you cold?" Elsa asked.
"Nope," Anna responded, her breath steaming into the air. "I'm not scared of the cold. But it looks like you are! Why are you wearing so much?"
Elsa frowned a bit. "Because I couldn't run while carrying your coat, silly, so I put it on and—"
A snowball hit her in the chest, exploding and splattering her face with slush. She sputtered as Anna covered her mouth and chortled in delight. Spurred into action, she ran up to Anna, grabbed the large ball of snow at Anna's feet, then hefted it above herself, smirking.
Anna screamed in mock terror and turned to run as Elsa pretended to throw it at her. The two sisters chased each other and threw snowballs at one other for the little while longer, then stopped and started to make a snowman.
Elsa checked the house and the large backyard, making sure that their parents hadn't discovered their absence. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw that the only sign of people was a single silver car parked on the street, with no sign of her parents nearby.
Working together, they rolled massive snowballs and stacked them on top of each other. Elsa found five black rocks that she used for eyes and buttons, and Anna stuck two sticks into its sides as arms.
They stood back and admired their work.
"It needs something else," Anna muttered, scrunching up her face.
"Like what?"
Anna grabbed another handful of sticks and stuck them into the top of the snowman's head, then carved a large goofy smile onto its face.
"There we go!" she exclaimed, then hugged the snowman.
Elsa wanted to laugh at the scraggly sticks the snowman had as "hair", but she didn't want to hurt Anna's feelings. Instead, she walked up behind Anna and affectionately played with her braids.
"It looks great," Elsa assured her.
Anna's face grew a little crestfallen.
"Did I say something wrong?" Elsa asked, panicked.
Anna shook her head sadly. "I just wish I could make him come to life."
Elsa blinked. "What?"
Anna waved with her hands. "Just like that! Poof! And he comes alive, singing, and dancing, and we can be best buddies and keep each other company when you're with your tutor!"
Elsa felt a pang in her heart as she realized that she couldn't always be there for Anna. "Sorry, Anna, but we don't have superpowers like those people you see on TV."
"Or like the kids that go to Sky High?"
"Anna!" Elsa scolded her. "You're not supposed to talk about that. We aren't even supposed to know about the school, and we definitely shouldn't have been eavesdropping on Father."
"Okay, okay," Anna said, patting the snow off of her mittens. "Then if we can't make him come to life, we can at least name him. What do you want to call him?"
Elsa started walking around the snowman, pretending to think hard as she observed the pile of snow. "Let's see… hmm, well, he's icy and cold… why don't we call him O—"
She was jolted out of the act she was putting on when Anna gave a jerk and fell back, a startled cry escaping from her lips. Elsa immediately ran toward her, her heart pounding.
"Anna?" Elsa gasped. "Are you okay?"
Anna didn't respond as her body convulsed. Elsa looked her over and frantically scanned her body, trying to find the source of the problem. She noticed two metal rods sticking out of Anna's skirt, thin metal wires extending from the rods and two spots of blood beginning to form at the contact points.
A taser? Elsa thought to herself. She felt bewildered as she considered the implications. What's going on?
She cursed her stupidity as two more metal barbs imbedded themselves into the parka she was wearing, making her stumble and fall back as a man stepped into the clearing with two tasers in his hands.
He was wearing a slightly dirty dark wool coat and ski pants. A ragged belt around his waist held two taser holsters, a pistol, and an ammo pouch. After holstering the tasers and pulling out a handful of zip ties, he began tying Anna's wrist and ankles together.
It took Elsa a moment to recover from her shock and realize that she hadn't been stunned. The extra layer the parka provided had kept the barbs away from her skin, and the man hadn't noticed yet.
She stuck a hand under the snow and searched around, hoping to find a rock or a branch that she could use. After a few seconds of blindly reaching around, her fingers closed around a fist-sized rock. She carefully got up, making sure to disturb the wires attached to the taser as little as possible, then threw the rock with all of her might at the man's head.
The man roared in pain the rock smashed into his eye socket. The bone cracked and the sharp edges of the rock flayed bits of skin off, causing a torrent of blood to immediately begin pouring out of the cuts.
Elsa held her breath as she waiting for him to fall, or collapse, or something. But instead he looked around, one hand held to his bloody eye while his good eye twitched with rage.
Elsa began to panic as the man dropped the taser attached to Anna onto the ground next to her Anna's twitching body. He began advancing toward her, his biceps bulging as he clenched the zip ties in his fist.
Elsa scrambled to her feet and began backing up, but the man closed the distance quickly and aimed a kick at her side, knocking her to the ground. He ignored her gags of pain as he ripped her parka off and slammed the taser into her stomach.
Elsa had never felt pain like this before. Her abdominal muscles involuntarily contracted as the electric current passed through her, a burning sensation at the point of contact. Even after the taser was removed she could barely breathe as she tried to force air into her lungs.
By the time she had stopped spasming, the man was already grabbing her wrist and pulling her along. Anna was thrown over his shoulder like a rag doll, limp and unresponsive after being tasered.
Dazed and confused, Elsa tripped on roots and the uneven ground underneath the snow as she was dragged through the forest.
"Anna?" Elsa whispered. "Can you hear me?"
Anna didn't respond. Elsa realized that she had to buy time, had to do something so that her parents would have more time to search for them. She let her legs drag in the snow and began biting and scratching at the hand that was crushing her wrist.
The man let out an unintelligible curse and threw her to the ground, then pulled the taser out again and delivered another shock. It was weaker this time, and Elsa remained conscious enough to continue resisting as she refused to move.
The man scowled with frustration, the ugly expression terrifying Elsa far more than his anger had. Her blood ran cold as he reached into his belt and pulled out his pistol. He cocked the gun with a jerky movement and pointed the barrel toward Elsa's head.
Elsa raised her trembling hands into the air, trying to signal her surrender as she watched the man decide whether or not he was going to shoot her.
And then he cursed and spun around, immediately taking off toward the car he had parked on the side of the road.
The surge of relief and guilt that followed nearly overwhelmed her, but she still tried to get up, her weakened body protesting as she used a nearby tree for support. Her legs failed her a few times, tears of panic and frustration springing into her eyes as she watched the man widen the distance between them, Anna still on his shoulder.
I couldn't save her, Elsa despaired, watching the shrinking figure between the trees. I wasn't strong or smart enough. This is all my fault. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I shouldn't have let her play in the forest without any adults watching over us. I should never have let her go, and now I'm paying the price for my mistake.
Elsa stared as she watched the man carrying Anna tumble to the ground as a gunshot cracked through the air, blood blossoming on the back of his thigh. He twisted toward the direction of the gunshot as he sat on the ground, Anna sprawled across his lap. Elsa followed his gaze and saw her father holding a scoped rifle, a blank expression on his face.
In an instant, the man had pulled out his pistol and pressed it against Anna's head.
"Get back!" he screamed, even as his blood soaked into the snow. "Put the fucking gun down!"
Elsa's father froze for a moment, then lowered his rifle, unwilling to take his chances. He set it down on the ground carefully, making sure not to make sudden moves, and began backing up.
What are you doing? Elsa wanted to scream. Shoot him, shoot him!
But even she realized that Anna was too close to the man, that taking a shot would be too risky, especially considering how Anna was laid out against the man's body as he lay on the forest floor.
But the man didn't seem to care that her father had put his gun down. He scanned the forest wildly, chest heaving, as he realized that he was trapped. His thigh wound was bleeding even more profusely, the bullet having nicked a major artery.
Elsa could see the way his body tensed, the way his grip tightened on the gun as he considered killing Anna as he bled out.
"No!" Elsa cried out, trying to attract his attention. Anything to stop him from hurting Anna.
She finally managed to heave herself up and stumble forward, her feet finding little purchase in the melting snow. As she ran, her foot wedged into a space between the tree roots underneath the snow and she immediately sprawled to the ground, a spiking pain shooting up her leg. She barely managed to raise her arms in time to avoid smashing her face into a large rock as she rolled through the snow, particles of snow and dirt obstructing her vision.
A gunshot echoed through the air. Elsa collapsed to the ground as she realized what had just happened, her attempts at freeing her foot abandoned as her heart clenched and her mind went numb. She began to sob, each breath she took consumed entirely with grief, all of her strength fleeing her limbs.
She had been powerless and useless, and she knew it.
After what seemed like an eternity later, Elsa was still crying as someone grabbed her ankle. She didn't bother to resist or struggle even as pain radiated from the injured area.
"Shhh," a voice said. "It's okay. You'll be fine, Elsa."
Elsa realized that it was her father's voice speaking. The moment her ankle was freed she immediately flipped herself over and looked up, the sun blinding her for a moment before she was able to recognize her father's face.
She clutched him and sobbed into his shirt. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she cried. "It was all my fault."
There was a pause before her responded, his voice thick with emotion. "Oh, Elsa. Don't blame yourself. Anna is fine. Your mother and I—"
"What?" Elsa interrupted, stepping back. "Anna's okay?"
Her father gave her a sad but relieved smile. "Yes, she's fine. Your mother stopped the kidnapper before he was able to pull the trigger."
Elsa whirled around, fresh tears flowing down her cheeks. A moan of relief escaped her as she saw Anna in her mother's arms. She barely noticed the blood splattered over the front of her mother's shirt and the handgun tucked into her waistband as she ran toward her sister.
Anna's zip ties had already been cut, her face buried in her mother's chest as she trembled. Elsa frowned. She should be holding me. I tried to save her. I nearly died for you, Anna!
She broke herself out of her reverie, realizing that she was thinking illogically. Reaching forward with a shaky hand, she moved to touch Anna, to make sure that she was alive, that her brains hadn't been scattered across the ground. But the moment she made contact, Anna let out a little whimper and tightened her grip, reflexively drawing away, making Elsa pull back as though she had been burnt.
No. I don't deserve her. Even Anna blames me, Elsa thought sadly. But she couldn't break down now, not in front of her parents. Don't let them see your tears, Elsa. You have to be strong. You have to get stronger if you want to be able to protect Anna next time.
Her father's gloved hands clasped her shoulders as he leaned down. "Let's get back inside, Elsa," he suggested. "I need to check on your ankle, make sure you haven't received any permanent injuries."
Elsa nodded, concealing her pain as she slowly walked back to the house, her arm around her father's shoulder as he supported her. By the time they had gotten back inside, she was beginning to shiver, not from the cold but because her adrenaline rush was fading.
The four of them sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace. Her father's words barely registered as she stared at Anna, who was still cradled in her mother's arms.
He repeated his command. "Roll up your pants," he said, his voice gentle. "Tell me if this hurts, alright?"
Elsa nodded as he gently rotated her ankle. Her ankle was only a little sore, and nothing was torn or broken. But the places where the shock had been delivered were still tender and her muscles were still weak and quivering.
Anna was sitting in her mother's lap and beginning to nod off as her mother sung a quiet lullaby to her. She had taken out thick gauze and was cleaning the puncture wounds the taser barbs had left behind with alcohol.
Elsa managed to tear her gaze away from Anna and instead began to sort out her thoughts about what had just happened.
Elsa suddenly realized how fortuitous the arrival of her parents' was. "How did you find us?" she asked.
Her father rolled her pant legs back down and sat next to her. "There are little trackers on your clothes that tell us when you get too far from the house," he explained.
Her mother sighed shakily. "I didn't think we would need them."
Elsa held her head in her hands as she realized how close she had come to disaster.
"We need to have a talk," her father said. He nodded toward her mother. "Why don't you put Anna to bed and meet us here? I think Elsa is old enough to hear this."
Her mother nodded before starting up the stairs.
Her father turned to her. "Elsa, how much do you know about what we do?"
Elsa hesitated. "Well, I know you're the CEO of a hardware and software company. And…"
"And?" her father prompted. "Is that it?"
"I think you have something to do with superheroes," she said carefully. "I, I didn't mean to overhear your conversation, I promise, I—"
"it's fine, Elsa," he father assured her. "We were going to tell you soon either way."
After pulling off his gloves, he grabbed the laptop from the table and flipped it open. Elsa watched in fascination as he brought up schematics and blueprints for what seemed to be a constantly shifting cloak. The model rotated on a vertical axis, the folds of the cloak billowing outward.
"We… we don't only do simulations and computing," her father began. "In fact, that's only a tiny portion of our company. The majority of our resources go into researching and developing customized weapons for superpowered people."
"You mean for superheroes?" Elsa asked, her eyes wide.
Her father clicked a button. The cloak suddenly expanded outward, the folds breaking apart and reorganizing into black-scaled armor, the proportions of the armor showing that it was clearly meant for someone massively larger than a normal human.
"And villains, too," he said. "Anyone who can pay."
Elsa blinked, pulling back. "B-but why? That's not right! ...Right?"
Her father shut the laptop screen. "Tell me, Elsa," he stated, his voice growing cold. "You are not stupid. What do you think would happen if we only sold equipment to superheroes?"
Elsa was taken aback by her father's icy tone, but she still attempted to rack her brain in search of an answer. "W-well, if you only sell to superheroes…"
"And someone found out about us," her father prompted.
"Then you'd be a target for all the villains," Elsa breathed. "You wouldn't be safe because the villains would always be trying to stop you.
He nodded. "Because then we wouldn't be neutral. Because we wouldn't benefit the other, more villainous side. If we only supplied weapons and armor to the 'good guys' we'd be hunted down by the villains. By promising to remain neutral and fulfill all requests based upon monetary payment, neither side will bother us."
Elsa felt like she was missing something, like she wasn't seeing a large portion of the overall situation, but she nodded anyway. "I understand," she said.
"Do you?" her father asked. He leaned back and folded his arms. "Just because we're neutral doesn't mean that we don't have enemies."
"Oh, stop that," her mother said, coming down the stairs. "You're scaring her."
Her father let out a tense breath and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Elsa. This situation showed me how unprepared I was, and I'm more shaken than I thought I would be."
He ran a hand through his hair. "The main issue is what we're going to do now." He glanced at her mother and she nodded. "We have contingency plans for this sort of situation. It's not going to be safe around here any longer if people are targeting you and Anna, so we're going to send you two to live with your mother's sister's family."
"Aunt Westergard?" Elsa asked. "Doesn't she have thirteen sons or something?"
Her father nodded. "That's the one. They can keep you safe while we run the company, while we make sure that our enemies—"
"No."
Her father looked incredulously at her. "No?"
"No," Elsa said, her face cold and emotionless. "I'm not going to run away. I'm not going to be helpless again."
"Elsa, it's dangerous," her father pleaded with her. "You don't know what you're getting into."
Elsa shook her head. "I was useless this afternoon, Father. I couldn't protect Anna at all. But I saw you and Mother fight back. You need to teach me. I can help you run the company, learn what you do, and I'll be able to do something. I'm not going to sit here and wait for someone to try to kidnap me again."
And I'm not going to let Anna get hurt again, she vowed to herself. I will protect her.
"Yes," her mother said, slowly nodding. "This could work."
"An heir…" her father muttered. "Truthfully, we did not want to burden you with the responsibility of managing our business. But if you're so adamant about this…"
"A choice," her mother said forcefully, grabbing Elsa's hands and staring into her eyes. "Are you sure you want this?"
Elsa closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her resolve, then stared back into her mother's eyes. "Yes."
"Then it is decided," her father said, standing up. "Anna stays here. We'll lock the gates. We'll limit the number of people that are allowed near the house. We'll hire guards and increase the security."
"No more public school," her mother said, also standing up and pulling out her phone. "We'll hire tutors for every subject, we'll train you specifically to manage this company and survive whatever the world throws at you."
Elsa was a little breathless as her parents instituted this rapid series of changes. She had decided something huge, something momentous, and she didn't know if Anna would accept it.
It doesn't matter, she told herself. She needs to stay safe no matter what.
Her father was turning to leave, but he suddenly stopped and looked back at her.
"Your first lesson," he growled, something ruthless and predatory in his gaze. "You saw what happened this afternoon. You saw what we did. Show no mercy. Conceal your emotions. Don't let them show."
He began walking out of the room. "Or else you might be the corpse in the snow."