Modern AU

"Come on, Elsa," Anna begged, thrusting a book at me. "I wanna hear it again!"

We were sitting in my room, Anna cuddle up next to me as she normally was while I sat cross-legged typing away on my laptop. We were a year apart in age, yet Anna had always been the more immature and childlike of the two of us. Our joint birthdays were only a few weeks away, in fact, which would then make Anna thirteen and myself fourteen.

"Not right now, Anna," I replied without looking up from my laptop. This had become a sort of routine of ours, with her adorably pestering me for attention while I did my best to focus on my schoolwork. Guess which one won out more often than not?

A sigh from beside me signaled the next stage in our little act. Fighting back a smile, I glanced up from my laptop to see my precious little redhead sister affecting the most fierce pout I'd ever seen. It was absolutely cute and overwhelmingly endearing, which just like all the other times, I felt myself immediately caving in.

"Fine," I groused, flipping my laptop closed and pushing my glasses further up my nose. "Give it here, you little brat."

Anna's face transformed into the biggest grin, which never failed to make my heart swell. It was a source of pride that I was one of the few people who could make her smile like that. It was a smile meant only for me, and I treasured them every time.

Soon we were settled back against the headboard, Anna leaning against my shoulder as my hands brushed over the book's cover. Bonding: an Introduction and Guide. I'd already read the book from cover to cover, both aloud to Anna and alone, on several occasions. But it seemed the older we got, the more the little spitfire wanted to hear of it.

Opening the cover, I flipped passed the first few pages until I reached the first chapter. "Bonding, in its most basic definition, is a physiological manifestation between two individuals on multiple levels of expression. The only known physical representation of a Bonding between two people is the projection of written words from one Bondmate to the other via their shared Area of Influence.

"Areas of Influence are predetermined areas or patches of skin, usually within reaching distance of one's predominant hand, such as on the forearm or legs, that allow for this mysterious form of communication to occur. Speaking plainly, what one individual writes on the Area of Influence, it will show up on the same Area on their Bondmate."

I'd had to explain this all in much simpler detail to Anna when she first showed interest in the Bonding. Luckily, she seemed to have caught on and no longer required any added input on my part.

"It is not certain what causes the Bonding to occur, but we do know that there are some requirements that must be met first before the Bonding will present itself. Firstly, Bonding seems to only occur between individuals who have reached the age of sexual maturity." This part had been excruciating to have to explain to Anna. She was only a year younger than me, but I still found myself years ahead of her when it comes to maturity, though physically speaking we had both gotten our first periods around the same time earlier this year. Still, Anna was not dumb or ignorant by any means. I was simply...advanced, for my age.

"Once this has passed, a Bonding can occur at any time or any age. This leads us to the next requirement: physical contact. Bondmates must come into physical contact for the Bonding to take affect. As of this documentation's writing, there have been no known cases where Bondmates report any sensations occurring to denote their Bonding has occurred. Rather, here we delve into the psychological trademarks of the Bonding that can, and often do, occur."

On the opposite page was a split diagram. On one side, the frame was focused on a nondescript individual. They had a pen pressed to their arm, obviously meant to be writing something. In the next frame, another nondescript individual was shown looking down at their arm as half-formed words began to appear. Underneath the diagram was a caption, "Basic mechanics of Bonded Communication".

I flipped the page, glancing at Anna to see her gaze riveted to the book. I smiled, loving how much enjoyment the girl got out of this little exercise of ours. Another little perverse pleasure of mine, knowing that I was the one she chose to come to for these readings. I was the one she wanted to spend time with and be around. Maybe it was the sibling thing, but in my heart I held dear to the fact that to my little sister, I was that important.

"To date," I continued reading, "there has been no explanation as to how these transferences of matter occur." The first time I'd read this to Anna, I'd had to explain that they were talking about how the ink could simply disappear from one person's skin and appear on another's. "Why didn't they just say that?!" she'd complained, which made me chuckle still to this day.

"What we do know is that these two individuals are forever and irrevocably bound to each other from the moment the Bonding occurs. Along with the transference of matter comes an empathic or emotional connection as well. A Bondmate tends to be able to sense the emotions of their Bondmate, especially while communicating via their Area of Influence. It has been found that through practice and meditation, a Bonded individual may block their ambient emotions from transferring unconsciously, though it is not possible to completely block those emotional transferences during communication."

This was another area where I'd had to explain to Anna in simpler terms. Basically, both Bondmates can sense and feel each others' emotions from the moment their Bonding occurs. But, there are ways to block those emotions from your Bondmate if you wish, but it is impossible to completely block them from sensing your emotions while writing to each other.

"Bonding is deeply rooted in the areas of the brain that are responsible for stimulating pleasure and happiness. Thus, it is not recommended for Bondmates to remain out of contact with one another for extended periods of time, as this has been known to lead to negative psychological reactions. These include, but are not limited to, depression, lethargy, listlessness and emotional withdrawal.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, wanting to skip the next section simply because I didn't want to think of such a thing happening to my precious sister. "Bondmates are not bound to one another physically, per say, thus the loss of one's Bondmate to death has no known physical response within the surviving Bondmate. That being said, the rates of suicides following the death of a Bondmate are overwhelmingly high, suggesting that the loss of one's Bondmate severs something integral and psychologically necessary in the surviving Bondmate."

That part had been the hardest to explain to Anna, only eleven at the time I'd first started teaching her about the Bonding. Really, how do you tell your sibling that if they ever lost their Bondmate, they would probably wanna kill themselves rather than live on without them?

"Now, it must be noted that there are actually two stages to a Bonding: the Activation, and the Binding. The Bonding is considered Activated the moment the Bonding begins to manifest between two individuals. This stage can last for a lifetime without ever resulting in the Binding, but is not recommended due to the negative psychological aspects associated with refusal of one's Bonding.

"The Binding occurs when both Bondmates accept their Bonding and perform the actual Binding rites. Both Bondmates designate a symbol for their partner and write that symbol onto their opposing Bondmate's Area of Influence, thus completing the Binding, solidifying their Bond for all their lives."

Shifting a bit, I pressed ahead. "The Bonding phenomena has notable references throughout history, but has only become a common occurrence within the last century. As a matter of statistics, research has shown that at least sixty percent of Bondings occur between the ages sixteen to twenty-seven, while the other twenty-nine percent can and do occur after the age of twenty-seven. There is a one percentile range where Bonding has been known to occur as early as eleven years of age.

"Philosophers and poets are quoted as referencing the Bonding as "writing to one's soul," or "a shared sonnet to thine other half". One modern researcher was quoted as saying, 'I would like to think of the Bonding as a fated joining of souls. There's no known precedence for such a metaphysical anomaly to occur systematically throughout our society.'"

"A fact worthy of note is that the Bonding occurrences do not show any gender preference, which in turn means the Bonding can and will occur between two individuals of the same gender just as often as among opposing gender." I remember when I'd first read this, I had wondered at the necessity of this bit of information. But it wasn't until recently that I'd begun to contemplate whom my own Bondmate might be someday, and whether I could see myself bonded to a man or a woman.

Anna sighed contentedly as I finished the Introductory section of the book. "I hope my Bondmate is as smart as you are," she said, smiling up at me as I look at her in surprise. The comment, as simple as it was, made my heart flutter the slightest bit. "But I doubt anyone can ever be as pretty as you!" she exclaimed with the same enthusiasm she always showed when we discussed the Bonding.

I felt my face heat up in a blush and I briefly wondered why such a simple compliment made me feel shy and hesitant all of a sudden. "T-Thank you, Anna," I eventually mumbled in reply. "But you're more beautiful than I ever will be."

A stifled yawn caught my attention, my gaze catching the edges of weariness as Anna tried to hide the gesture behind her hand. Closing the book, I lifted my hand to gently brush my fingers through her braided hair. "Alright, time for you to go to bed, ma petite rougue." Anna grumbled but it was cut off by another yawn, earning a chuckle from me as I nudged her shoulder. "Come on, sleepyhead, no use fighting it. We both know you're gonna pass out soon and I'd rather not wake up choking on your hair again."

That wasn't exactly the truth. I didn't mind sharing my bed with Anna, I never have. We were sisters after all. But lately I had been having a lot of confusing and sometimes troubling thoughts about the young redhead. It had started simply as a selfish urge to want to keep her close to me, to have her time and attention all to myself. I'd chalked it up to simple yearning from one sibling for another. Yet recently it had progressed to something more. More than just selfish, I felt jealous any time Anna was away from me, whether she be at school, hanging out with her friends, or simply spending time in her own room.

Anna gave me a surprisingly strong hug, kissing my cheek before she began the journey back to her own room. "One of these days, you're gonna tell me what that means," she tossed over her shoulder. My little red, my mind supplied, but I just smiled and shooed her out the door. It was normal to give your sister pet names, right?

But I was smart enough by that age to know that these weren't normal feelings one usually experienced towards one's family. I knew, though I refused to acknowledge it. After all, it was perfectly acceptable to love one's sister...wasn't it?

I clung to my denial even as I turned my attention back to my homework, hoping against hope that once I found my Bondmate, I'd be free of such idle familial wonderings.