Author's Note: Alrighty, I'm back for a bit. I've been wanting to write some stuff down just to get the hell away from these school projects. Nowadays, reading and writing fan fiction is a way to relieve my stress and is a form of distraction. Genius. (Don't tell my teacher though.) Anyway, besides getting distracted with FanFiction, I've been indulging in some alt-J. I've bought their new album and I have been listening to them nonstop. I've also been listening to them while reading ElsAnna fics and thought that some of the songs would go great with a story concept, so I did one, just cause.
The chapters are based off of alt-J's "Dissolve Me" from the album An Awesome Wave, for the first chapter and "Warm Foothills" from the album This Is All Yours, for the second and I'll include a third chapter which would be "Every Other Freckle" from the album This Is All Yours.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Elsa or Anna or anything in Frozen. I do not own any of alt-J's songs or albums.
WARNING/CAUTION: This is a femslash. This is an alternate universe story. This is an Anna and Elsa fic. No incest. This is also going to be rated M for the endless amounts of Mature content that I have thought of writing about. If you hate all of these choices, then you know where your back arrow is on your screen.
FYI: Alrighty then. (Thoughts are in Italics and 'quotes'). (Sounds are just in Italics). (Implied flashbacks are in **BOLD Italics**, but the content inside of them are just regular text.)
Enjoy.
1. "Dissolve Me"
Elsa popped in two tabs of sleep medication in her mouth and swallowed them dry. She looked at the clock again. '2:27 a.m. God, please let me sleep.' She fluffed up her pillow, laying back defeated and helpless. It was natural for her to not get any sleep, but lately, her fight for some rest was beginning to be her biggest issue. It was her first semester at the University for the Creative Mind in Arendelle and her first time being away from home, well, not too far. Her father and mother lived just 20 miles away from the school, but not being in her own room and in her comfort zone had really fucked with her mind.
At least she has her own room. She made sure to see her father sign the forms to buy out a dorm just for her, but not even bringing up that insightful satisfaction could fix the twisted feelings of anxiety and sleep deprivation. Turning to her side, she scanned her new unfamiliar surroundings. Her things lay in boxes as they towered over her like Amazonian tree trucks, waiting to be cut down and taken back to her "process center," her home.
Another thing that caused her to wonder if her father truthfully paid for her own dorm was the lonely loft bed sitting diagonally in the corner.
**Flashback**
"It's a menace to my personal space." She remembered telling him when they brought in her stuff. "Can't you call for someone to come and discard it?"
"What?" He asked quizzically. "It's just a frame. Think of it as an extra pieceof furniture." But she wouldn't buy it. "Well, it goes against room policy to throw out a perfectly good piece of furniture and I apologize that I couldn't get you a one bedroom dorm, but those are the first to sell out and the waiting list isn't very helpful." Elsa huffed out in protest. "Try to be more optimistic, Elsa. Now that you have a dorm, maybe you could go so far to even having a roommate?" She stared at him worried like, but he ignored her. "It's worth looking into."
**End of Flashback**
Elsa thought about another person on that bed: loud, aggressive, messy, uncaring of her surroundings, uncaring of her thoughts or feelings. Looking at the frame made her uncomfortable and she quickly turned away from her fears, now facing the cool white stone, and sliding any thought of anyone else out her mental door. 'There was no way that he could've made that mistake. I watched him the whole time at room orientation. Yeah.' She nodded, reassuring herself that her father had made the right decision.
The medication was beginning to work its magic as she could feel herself slowly drifting on her dream boat. 'One...two...three...' She counted to herself, as she remembered of a way to go to sleep faster. Counting sheep was something her mother used to do when Elsa had trouble sleeping at a young age. She would always count to at least a double digit number before melting away within her sheets. 'Four...five...six...' Drowsy now. 'Seven...eight...nine...' She closed her eyes, finally accepting the Sleep Doctor's special comatose shot. 'Ten...' Out like a light.
A brand new day seeped into semi closed blinds of dorm 227. Elsa stirred slightly as beams of sunlight fell across her face. She stretched out lazily, her fingers touching cold smooth wood from the bed frame and yawned, safely knowing that it was only her in the room. It was one of the benefits of being alone that she praised every morning.
Eyes still closed, she reached out again attempting to stretch one last time, but something felt different. Her hand touched fabric instead of pure air, but the fabric was more like clothing off of someone's body. She then moved her hand forward more, 'A body? Somebody?' Her hand boomeranged back to her, as if she had touched a hot kettle and hurriedly opened her eyes only to find her greatest fear standing right in front of her.
"Hello, neighbor!" said a young friendly red head. "I didn't want to wake you, well, that's already been done, but seriously, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that, you looked so peaceful and your were, kinda, dead asleep, but, not saying that you looked dead! No! Sorry! Damn, I didn't mean that, but, yeah, um, sorry if I scared you." The girl brightly smiled at Elsa, hoping that her fumbled apology was enough to smooth out any hard feelings, but what that girl was too oblivious to see was the unannounced trauma had already frolicked in the room and was now dancing on top Elsa's bed. It was like everything she thought of last night came true as she stared wide eyed at the intruder. "Oh yeah!" exclaimed the red head. The yell was so unexpected that it almost made Elsa fall off the bed. "Oh, shit, sorry about that. Uhm, I almost forgot," she rummaged in her pocket and pulled out what looked like a form of some sort. "I'm Anna Starnes and I will be your new room mate for this semester."
'Wait, what?' She stared at the paper in front of her, wondering if this was some sick joke, or, a cold truth. The sick joke was more plausible; she knew people like this "Anna" character. These people, they acted like they were your friend, but there was always a catch to them. For Elsa, if those people didn't have their way with her, they would result to picking and teasing, but now that she is knowledgable in that sense, she knows how to pick these kinds of people out. Elsa's face contorted with a sudden pent up anger and she decided to make her way towards her desk and take out her cell phone.
If this was real then her father must know about it, which she hoped that it wasn't. She already had an icy comeback for Anna in mind and it was just waiting to be released. It would be the first time defending herself and not running away or let herself get run over.
Ring...
Ring...
Ring... Nothing.
Of course he wasn't going to pick up, but that could only mean one thing. Elsa's heart fell to her stomach and her stomach to her knees as the haunting feeling of last night crawled its way back into her thoughts. She watched the other girl stare at her in confusion only to respond, with confusion. Elsa was probably the definition of a mad woman at the moment and before she could open her mouth to question Anna, another body entered her room.
"Where do you want your things, Anna?" The male asked her as he brought in her stuff. He was a skinny boy, short for his stature, and almost fragile like, but he carried in three big boxes, which was surprising to see. His attire complimented his features with an open white button up, orange shirt, and black slacks. What was really unusual about him were the sandals on his feet. Arendelle was heading towards fall season and like many past Augusts, fall was like an early winter in the country.
Elsa kept staring at him and wanted to question why he was wearing open toed shoes when it was probably 60º, or lower, outside, even with the sun out, but her attention was to Anna who responded to his question by pointing to the other side of the room where the lonely loft bed proudly stood.
'It was all real. This is all happening.' Her thoughts consumed her and she attempted to speak again. "W-Who are you people?" She asked, her cell phone against her chest as if protecting it from thieves.
Olaf turned towards her. "Hi! I'm Olaf! I'm friends with Anna. Oh! Hey! Why don't we be friends? I make a great friend."
'Was this guy being honest?' She glanced over to Anna. "I already gave you my name, unless you forgot. Oh! N-Not saying that you are forgetful or that you have amnesia! Oh, God. I'll just...I'll shut up now."
"Everyone getting settled in?" A third person entered the room. This person being a familiar face, Elsa's father.
Spotting him immediately, she marched towards him, pulling him out of the room and into the hallway, making sure to close the door behind them. She gave him a menacing look and he sighed in defeat. "Let's talk, okay?"
"Why?" She demanded as she crossed her arms.
He chuckled lightly, "Why? Because, Elsa, you don't make an effort in wanting to step out. You're scared to death of what society might think about you when you're out of your comfort zone, but I think that-"
Elsa cut him off, "So this is about what you think? What makes you think that I need any kind of companionship, from anyone?"
"Elsa-" but she wouldn't stop...
"No, I should've known that you didn't sign those papers correctly or they were swapped with another form while I wasn't looking. Why do you feel the need to do whatever you feel is right for you? I am comfortable with living…this life." Though it was a hard statement to say, she could not lie to herself that being a shut in was better than being a pile of dirt, weird, or unwelcome, and for all Elsa knew she has been casted away from society because of her father. It was he who made the decision to "protect" his daughter from the cruel little children at a young age and had put it in her head that she didn't need society and society didn't need her. But now, when Elsa's finally old enough to make conscious decisions, he wants to make the effort and tell her about herself? "Remember that it was you that helped me think like this. Don't forget that."
Elsa's father stiffened at his daughter's shady statement, but tried to regain his composure. "Elsa, I-I know that I've not been the best father, but I want to try to be now, at the prime of your life. Don't you want that from me?" He held her arms and looked at her face though she turned away from his gaze. "It's time to understand life fully and believe in yourself. I believe in you and soon, you'll have more people who do too. Perhaps Miss Starnes can help you?"
Miss Starnes looked like the epitome of everything that Elsa was scared of. "But," she started, "why her? Why must it be someone who I have nothing in common with? Why couldn't you find someone who isn't-"
"Anna fit the description," he interrupted before she could finish, "she was the only one that met the criteria to be your perfect roommate, and for discussing this with you earlier, did you think that we could have? The answer to that is no, we couldn't possibly have been able to talk about who your next roommate could be, and, did you think that I would agree with you into finding someone who is just like you? Please do not challenge me, for now, you are to room with Anna and that is final. Do not try to make any changes, if you do, it will come to my knowledge before you can even think about grabbing a new room form from the office. Do I make myself clear?"
There was no winning with her father. He was as stern and as fierce as he looked and she hated that, envied it. It was one of the reasons why the University titled him Chancellor. She knew better than to go against the president of the school, shit, she knew better to not argue with her father. Tears were beginning to form around her eyes, but she did not dare let him see and mumbled out a, "Yes, sir."
He sighed deeply again and lifted her chin up. "Elsa, I love you. I always have and I'm sorry that I've sheltered you for so long. I'm sorry that I kept you away all these years because I didn't think you were ready to face the world and I must seem like an awful parent now, just, throwing you into the fire like this, but I am not punishing you. I believe that Anna can help you open your eyes to all the treasures that life has in store for you, my Little Snowflake." He kissed the top of her head and pulled her into a hug.
It wasn't often that Elsa received hugs from her father, or heard the term 'Little Snowflake' anymore, but she wasn't reluctant to pull away from his comfort, even though she did momentarily hate his guts. She let him hug her, trying to tell herself that everything would be okay with this whole rooming thing: this whole life thing, but in reality, all she wanted to do was head back to her bedroom and cry. A few tears had escaped from their holds as liquid sinked int his shirt and soon enough, she slowly wrapped her arms around him, completing the awkward hug.
Adgar brought his hand up to his daughter's hair with a comforting pat. He smoothed out some of the tangles. "Well, someone needs to brush this rugged thing," he announced jokingly.
"I just woke up," mumbled Elsa into his white pressed button up.
He pushed her back a bit. "How about I make it up to you. How about I take you home tonight? Your mother is attempting to cook a meal, although, I may have to step in and tell the cooks to help her."
Elsa gave a small smile at the thought of her mother trying to cook something in the kitchen. The last time her mother attempted to cook was when Elsa was 7 years old. They were trying to bake cookies and almost burned down the kitchen because her mother left the oven unattended. "That sounds fine."
"Fine? Hm, after all that complaining, I was thinking that you would be overjoyed to come home."
"Don't start," she said threateningly, "it's not like I can stay there until classes are over and I've graduated. We both know that you wouldn't allow me to."
"Yes, that is true, but I may just let you spend the night tonight."
Sometimes Elsa hated how much power her father had. He wasn't crazy with it, but she knew that he liked to hold it above her head sometimes. This type of power was hereditary, but she wondered if she had that kind of power at all. Out of all the teasers that teased her, Adgar was the biggest one. She knew he was testing her, and she usually let him win, but right now, she refused to be lesser than him.
"I suppose that would be a good deal," she started. He raised an eye brow at her comeback, "But I might just have to decline on that offer. I may want to spend time in my dorm tonight. Maybe, unpack a few boxes." She hoped that if she stuck her ground now that he would change his mind by the end of the night, or so that was the plan. It was almost like a reverse psychology thing that she was testing out.
He chuckled as his eyes gleamed with delight as he caught on to her challenging words, "Okay, my Little Snowflake. We will tell who has changed the tides by the end of the night."
Before his daughter could respond, her dorm door flew open and out tumbled Olaf and Anna onto the hallway floor. Her face was bright red as she looked up at the president and his daughter. "I-I'm sorry! I wasn't eavesdropping! Honest!"
Olaf, on the other hand, added, "Oh we heard everything, right Anna? It was so cute! 'My Little Snowflake.' I want to be called something. Will you call me your, 'Little Snowman,' Anna?"
Both girl's cheeks became a wild fire as Olaf danced and he continued to say, 'Little Snowman' in a singsong voice around the hallway. He stopped in mid skip as his watched beeped. "Aw man," he checked it, "gotta go! Class time," and he was gone down the hallway in a flash.
"He's an odd fellow, don't you think?" Adgar looked over to Anna who was getting up from the ground, "No offense to you though, Ms. Starnes."
Anna brushed her shirt down. "Oh, none taken, sir. I pick on him sometimes, too. He's like a little brother to me."
"Do you have any siblings?" He asked.
"No, sir. It's just me." She smiled at Elsa.
"See," said the Chancellor, "you both have something in common. Well, if it isn't any trouble..." 'Oh no, what is he doing?' Thought Elsa. "Would you like to join us for dinner tonight?"
Her whole world was coming undone. Why? Why in the world would he invite, her, a stranger to their home? Was her father going insane? That must've been it. It must be the old age hitting him, or drug use, but that was highly unlikely.
Anna smiled brightly. "Oh wow!" Then looked over towards Elsa who turned away from her and the smile faded, "I mean, I'd love to, sir, but I don't want to make Elsa uncomfortable."
'Did she really say that?'
He chuckled, surprised at the reply himself. "Nonsense. I personally asked you if you wanted to come. It is my invitation."
She smiled softly. "As much as I respect you and your invite, I respect her's as well, so I will have to politely decline your offer, sir."
"Interesting reply. What do you think, Elsa?"
For once, Elsa didn't know what to think. Not from the start of this morning, not from the start of this semester, not anything. How could a girl that barely knew her have any type of respect for her? She looked back at Anna and oddly enough, an eruptive shockwave ran through her insides. It was the first time that she had really payed attention to her and she slowly realized that this was one beautiful girl.
Anna had these beautiful sapphire irises that were, at the moment, filled with concern. Her long Strawberry blonde hair was braided into two braids and her smooth creamy skin held a group of freckle constellations that spread neatly across her rosy cheeks. Her smile was small, but her aura could speak more words for her than those pink lips. The term, "Gingers have no souls," was obviously a false one and Elsa knew that she couldn't say no to this, to her. 'She's not that great, pull yourself together Elsa.' She could hear her superego whisper to her. Yes, she wanted to give Anna a chance, at least a part of her did. 'Don't give in to that pretty face,' it said.
'Maybe I will this time.'
She pushed other thoughts aside as she turned away again, mumbling out, "Yes, she can come." Of course, her father asked her to speak it clearly and to Anna's face. Elsa sighed, her cheeks lighting up again as she turned back around, but she did not dare look at her directly. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?"
Slightly shocked, Anna smiled, happily agreeing, "Yes!"
The sunny day vanished in a complete sea of clouds after lunch time. The weather was looking rough as small heavy gusts of wind blew some students's papers into a frenzy. Elsa was leaving her last class for the day. It was a Monday/Wednesday lecture class which she had made her assigned seat in the back. It was her second Wednesday, so the only noticeable difference from Monday's class or last week's class was Anna. She just happened to have the same Monday/Wednesday classes as Elsa (thanks to the changes made by her father) and the red head decided to sit in the back with Elsa.
She should have prepared for these changes. She knew that Anna being her roommate wasn't the only thing that her father was throwing at her. If it weren't for Anna protesting about leaving one class as was, they would have an identical schedule. "It's just a way for you and her to get to know each other better."She could remember the meek smile that he had as she said his statement. "You'll see. She's an excellent person."
So far, Anna was leaning more towards the unnatural side than any 'excellent'. It was not once, but twice that she interrupted the teacher with her outbursts, then distracted the blonde with one of her "pencil walrus" imitation. Given, there were times that Elsa wanted to giggle out, but she saved her breath. 'She's not that funny.'
The windy weather outside had dropped a few degrees, which wasn't a problem for the Chancellor's daughter, Anna on the other hand, was forcing herself to stop shaking. They walked towards the front of the school to wait for their pick up car, Anna desperately trying to talk to the blonde to avoid the heat her body so desperately needed. Elsa checked her phone for the weather report. 'Cloudy with a chance of freezing rain later tonight? How unusual.' She glanced over to Anna who noticed and stopped her shaking to react with a wide grin, like the cold wasn't getting to her. Elsa shook her head. 'What a silly girl,' she thought.
As their car arrived and drove them to the majestic house that was surrounded by a sturdy grand iron gate, Kai asked Anna if she could stay in the car for a moment. Once Elsa had entered the home, he turned around in his seat and looked at Anna. "Hello, Ms. Starnes. I've heard a good bit about you. If you don't mind, I just wanted to ask you a few questions."
A bundle of nerves hit her as she answered with a small, "Yes?"
"First off, I'd like to welcome you to the Arendelle estate. This is the president's own personal home apart from the actual president home on the UCM property. You must know Adgar quite well?"
Anna blushed, "Uhm, yes, well, no," Kai raised an eye brow, "yes and no."
"Which is it, Ms. Starnes?"
"I know who he is, yes, but, I only met him twice. Once at dorm orientation and then this morning being the second time." She thought about it more, "And again tonight if he's here."
"Ms. Starnes, was there anything he told you while at orientation, anything to do with Elsa in particular?"
It was true. Mr. Arendelle had talked to her about his daughter. She remembered clearly that orientation day...
**Flashback**
Elsa had stopped watching her father sign papers to use the restroom. Chancellor Adgar looked disgruntled as he was finishing up the dorm room forms. "I wish Elsa had it in her to just share a space with someone. She's such an introvert and it kills me sometimes. Although, I do have to give her some credit for accompanying me today...and watch me like a hawk."
The desk worker nodded her head as he spoke, "Maybe, you could try talking to her. Express how you feel? A roommate may be an option for her after she hears how you feel about it."
He solemnly smiled at her and at the thought of his own daughter listening to his feelings. She was too much like him, cold with her thoughts, solid, and he knew that trying to talk to her wasn't an option. "I suppose I should finish these up."
Anna bounced in minutes later. This was her first semester at UCM and she had finally saved just enough money to apply for a dorm. University life was looking up as she beamed down at the desk woman and handed her form and check. "If you are here for dorm room sign up then I apologize in advance. All our rooms are checked out and freshmen house, Tillem, is currently under renovation. Would you like to sign up for our waiting list?" From a stack she fished out a sheet of paper and handed it to Anna.
Anna's face dropped once she saw the long list of names. "I'd be waiting for a whole lifetime! I have to have a place to stay this semester!" She exclaimed, "And someone took the last set of rooms? Who's the idiot that did that?"
The desk woman gestured with her eyes up to Mr. Adgar. He cleared his throat. "I think I may have a solution for you, Miss..."
Anna jumped out of her skin. "Oh, Mr. Arendelle! Anna Starnes, sir. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine," he said as he pulled up his hand to quiet her. He then turned to the desk worker, "Cherrie?"
The desk woman perked up, "Yes, Chancellor?"
"I give my permission to Ms. Starnes here to be placed in the same room as my daughter, Elsa. Could you please take these forms and help her get started in the back?"
Cherrie looked at him with a bewildered expression, "Are you, are you sure, sir?" but he gave her an intimidating eyebrow raise and without hesitation, she hurriedly took the papers and asked Anna to follow. The transition ended right when Elsa walked in. "Where is Cherrie? Have you filled everything out?" She asked, looking around for the desk worker.
"It has been affirmed, dear," he said, smiling down at his daughter. "Is it possible for you to arrange for Kai to come and get you? Something has come up and I'll need to get back to my desk."
Elsa felt the crooked atmosphere all of a sudden, but she didn't want to think about it too deeply, afraid that something terrible had happened while she was away. She complied with his order, not wasting any time to be back at her sanctuary.
Once gone, Adgar swiftly walked to the back of the room where Cherrie and Anna were seated in her office. He closed the door and let the blinds down in the office then took his seat next to Anna. "All right, Ms. Starnes, here is my offer..." Anna remembered how he asked her if she would like to room with Elsa, but soon after she knew what kind of person she was like, she hesitated. "...All she needs is some guidance."
Anna nodded in agreement, "But why me? What if she doesn't even like me? What if she does something, I don't know, crazy?"
It was just something to throw out there, but Adgar shook his head, "I promise that she is not like that. She's going to adore you, Ms. Starnes. Elsa just needs a push, if you will, and you are exactly what that push is."
"I don't know...this doesn't feel right..." But she needed a place to stay and this was the best offer to come by. "...Okay. I'll do it."
**Flashback Over**
Sitting in the car with Kai was similar to being interrogated at the station and she soon felt shameful for her agreement with Mr. Arendelle. 'Elsa doesn't deserve this...'
"Ms. Starnes," Kai brought her out of her thoughts, "I just want you to know that Elsa is a gentle soul. If your intentions to be around her is to strictly form a relationship," he paused for a second gravely smiling at the impossible thought, "then I wish you best of luck." With that he got out of the car and opened the car door for Anna.
She started up the stone steps of the mansion with her thoughts heavy and her heart palpitating against her ribs. Kai had made her feel terrible and she knew it wasn't right to use someone. Elsa doesn't deserve to have that in her life. Not now. 'What should I do?' She mentally asked herself, but she already knew the answer to that. Conclusion - she must tell Elsa.
"Dissolve Me" Pt. 1 - End
Author's Note: Okay, so that's the first part. Cliffhanger, I know, I know, those bastard things, but I find that this the best way to get an even amount of reading done. I might just have to put all the chapters in parts just to have a better read, but I would definitely like some feed back on what your ideas are for a "better read." Comments are awesome.
