Elsa stared out the window and exhaled deeply. It'd be another hour before the samples were done. Elsa tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear. She hadn't looked in a mirror in over forty-eight hours, so she could only imagine the rat's nest her hair had become since then.
Speaking of rats, Elsa thought as she turned to the pair of white mice. They were destined to be a part of one of Elsa's future projects, but, for now, they were her companions. "Hello there, Kai, Gerta. I guess you guys aren't exactly rats. Well, I suppose you are, if we ask Anna."
"I know the difference between a mouse and a rat, Elsa." Elsa whirled around to see her younger sister, Anna, standing in the doorway.
Anna wore a dark green strapless dress, very simple except for the embroidered rhinestone and silver sequin flowers that trailed from the front of the dress to the slit on the right side that ran up to Anna's upper thigh. She wore a pair of silver glittery high-heeled shoes and a shawl to match. Her hair was pinned nicely in a curled up-do with a braid wrapped around her head, resembling flower crown.
Anna closed the lab door. "Now, put away your chemistry set, and get ready for the party. You promised you'd come this time!"
Elsa sighed and half smiled. "Anna, I'm sorry. I know I said I'd come, but I'm so close to a breakthrough!"
"Ugh, come on, Elsa. This stuff will all be here tomorrow. I need you to be there with me. None of the other CEOs take me seriously unless you're there."
"I thought this was a party? Not just that, but a charity ball, if I'm not mistaken." Elsa rolled her eyes and turned back to her mice.
"Yes, it is," Anna replied as she made her way across the room to Elsa's side. "But it's also a great time to do some business."
Anna grabbed Elsa's arms and tried to drag her out of the room, but Elsa easily broke free of her sister's grasp.
"Anna, that's enough." She turned away from Anna and crossed her arms. "I'm testing samples right now. I can't just shut everything down. It'll ruin the experiment."
Elsa peeked over her shoulder and saw the frown on Anna's face and the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
"I just, I thought it'd be fun for us too," said Anna weakly. "You're always working. You never have any time to just have fun."
Elsa sighed. "I'm sorry. This project's just got me on edge. It's very dangerous, and if I mess up, it'll cost us big time."
Elsa thought for a moment and then said something she was certain she'd regret. "Tell you what, I'll make it up to you. We can throw a party at our house, just for the hell of it. You can plan the whole thing, and since I live there, I'll have to show up."
A smile spread across Anna's face, and she looked as if she might explode. "Really? Okay, have your science fair! I'm going to throw us a party no one will ever forget!"
Anna practically tackled Elsa but pulled away almost instantly. "You know what, maybe it's good that you're not coming to the party. You reek! When was the last time you took a shower?"
"I do not reek!" Elsa turned her head to the side and inhaled. Her nose practically fell off at the smell. "Yuck, okay, maybe you're right. I'll head home for a bit after I run this test."
"Alright, I should get going," Anna said, waving as she backed out of the room.
"I'm a phone call away if you need me!" Elsa exclaimed.
"I know! Try not to blow anything up!"
"I won't! Try not to bankrupt the company!" Anna shouted something back, but she was already halfway down the hall, so Elsa couldn't hear, though she was sure she already knew what Anna had said.
"I love you too, Anna," Elsa whispered to the empty room. This was their usual goodbye whenever Elsa stayed behind to work in the lab and Anna went off to run the more social aspects of King Tech.
Elsa looked over at her timer. The solution still had a while in the machine, so she made her way over to the counter that ran across the wall beneath the lab's windows and sat down in her usual spot. She brought her knees up and hugged them tightly.
In truth, Elsa hadn't wanted to go to the party. She hated getting all dressed up and spending her evenings surrounded by people she didn't like. Anna was much better at handling people, even the ones she thought were absolutely dreadful. Elsa, on the other hand, was content to sit in her lab and work, letting Anna run the business side of the company.
That'd been their arrangement ever since they were young, and their father had told them that, one day, they'd take over King Technologies, one of the largest technological research and development companies in the world. Elsa only wished that the day hadn't come so soon. But, her parents were gone, and now that Anna had finished college, they were running King Tech together. Anna was the business, and Elsa was the science. Unfortunately for Elsa, those two things overlapped quite often.
Elsa peered out the window, down at the busy city of Arendelle. Cars made their way, slowly, through the crowded streets. People that looked like ants from Elsa's nineteenth floor lab walked every which way, ignoring any rules that might tell them when and where to cross the street. After all, it was Friday night. People had places to be, and no red light or oncoming vehicle was going to stop them from getting there.
You're doing this for them. That was Elsa's mantra, and she repeated it often, especially after she let Anna down. Elsa worked herself to the bone, put herself and her sister and just about everything else second, for the people of Arendelle and of the world. If she could make their lives better or easier, then it was all worth it.
And this solution, the top-secret project codenamed Weatherman, that Elsa was slaving over now, was definitely worth it. She was developing a device that could change the weather. The idea was that the machine would fly into the atmosphere and release a solution that would alter the air temperature, moisture, etc. At the moment, she was working on a solution that would create precipitation, specifically snow. Elsa hoped to create solutions that could create other types of weather as well. This machine could save lives. It had the potential to bring rain where rain was needed, stop tornados or hurricanes, and so much more. Elsas only wished that Anna could understand that and just let her work in peace.
Elsa turned to her left, where a framed picture of her parents, Anna, and her sat in its usual spot. It was one of the last pictures they ever took as a family. They'd been vacationing in a lake house that belonged to a friend of theirs. No one was looking at the camera. Olaf, Anna and Elsa's butler and unofficial crazy uncle, had snapped the photo while everyone was having lunch. She picked up the picture and stared at it for a moment before bringing it close to her chest. Elsa sighed, closed her eyes, and waited for the solution to finish processing.
Across town, Anna was just arriving at the Arendelle Museum of Fine Art's Annual Gala. Anna checked her hair and make up one last time as the limousine came to a stop beside the red carpet. She waited until the door opened to take her first step out of the car. A hand reached out to help her, and she was glad for it. Even after all this time, she still wasn't completely comfortable in heels.
Camera flashes instantly blinded Anna from the moment she stepped onto the carpet. She tried her best to imitate Elsa's confident and graceful stride, though she felt as if she was doing a terribly awkward job of it. But, regardless, she smiled and waved until she was past the lines of reporters. Now, she was standing among the Gala's other guests, most of whom were taller than her and could block out the bright camera flashes.
This was Anna's second AMFA Gala, so she knew what lie ahead. First, she would stand awkwardly on the red carpet while reporters interviewed her and everyone around her about their choice of outfits. Then, she'd be shuffled inside for dinner, a show, and an art auction, the pleasure of which ended up costing her twenty thousand dollars since she bought a plate for Elsa as well.
Anna sighed internally at the thought of it. At least the money was going towards funding the museum and keeping the entry fee at a reasonably priced zero dollars. Elsa loved art. She was secretly an amazing painter, so Anna knew that the money wasn't an issue for Elsa. Well, then again, money had never been an issue for their family. Anna considered buying a painting for Elsa, something she could hang in the mansion that they shared, or in the office.
It's gotta be something cheerful and bright, but none of that weird modern art that's just a square on a canvas. Maybe she'd like a landscape? Or a painting of people doing stuff?
A tap on her shoulder shook Anna from her thoughts.
"Hi, um, I hope I'm not bothering you."
Anna turned around. Standing in front of her was a beautiful man, tall with green eyes and red hair. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored tuxedo with an equally charming smile on his freckled face.
"Oh, not at all. I'm Anna King," Anna replied. The man gave a small bow with such grace that Anna nearly swooned.
"Hans Anderson, at your service." Hans took Anna's hand and kissed it gently. Anna's heart started beating so fast that she thought Hans might be able to hear it.
"Anderson? That name sounds super familiar, but I can't put my finger on it."
"Hans Anderson, as in the Andersons of Southern Isles Industries. I'll admit, we're a bit smaller than King Tech, but we're making our way up the ladder."
Anna gasped excitedly. "That's right! I remember now! I read about your brother in Forbes last month. Your family's company isn't that old, is it? But you guys are doing extremely well for not having the experience or the legacy or the resources that most tech companies have in this day and age and... Sorry, I'm rambling... Wow, that's embarrassing."
Anna could feel her cheeks turn bright red. She smiled nervously at Hans, who simply ran a hand through his hair and smiled nervously right back.
"Yeah, well that's why I'm here. Everyone else is busy working, trying to catch up to King Tech, not that it's possible. Life is all work and no play for my brothers, so that leaves me to handle the parties." Hans rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"That's exactly how my sister, Elsa, is. She's up in the lab right now, working on some machine that'll save the world, like always." Anna said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and shrugged as well, but instantly felt bad, even though Elsa wasn't around to hear her.
Hans gently plucked his red flower lapel from the buttonhole on his jacket and tucked it behind Anna's ear, gently moving a free hanging piece of hair from her face along with it. Anna giggled and put her hand up to the flower to make sure she hadn't imagined what just happened.
"Listen," Hans said, taking Anna's hand. "I know that seats are technically assigned, but if you and I sneak in a bit early, we could bribe one of the kitchen staff to rearrange the name cards. I'd hate to sit through another one of these things surrounded by angry old businessmen."
In the back of her mind, the voice of Anna's responsible side was shouting at her to remember that tonight was about business, but that voice was overpowered by Anna's desire to sit with the pretty ginger man at dinner.
"Sounds like a plan!" Anna exclaimed. "Wait, I just remembered. My sister was supposed to be here tonight, but she flaked, so there's an extra seat next to me, if you want it."
"I think that sounds –" Hans stopped short when the yelling began. He and Anna looked up to see someone, dressed all in black with a ski mask covering his face, come running across the red carpet. Hans moved Anna behind him, gently shoving her in the direction of the other evacuating partygoers.
But, the man caught up to Hans and Anna. Everyone was in a panic, and security was nowhere to be seen. The man pulled something out of his pocket. It was a gun, Anna realized. She couldn't help but scream. The man aimed straight for Anna's chest, but Hans put himself in between them.
For an instant, the man seemed to hesitate and begin to lower his gun. Hans took his opportunity to strike. He jumped onto the man and fought for control of the pistol.
"Anna!" Hans shouted. "Run!"
Anna turned to do as he said, when a BANG cut through the air, and Anna felt a searing pain tear through her leg and up into the rest of her body. She fell to the ground.
"Anna!" She heard Hans shout through the ringing in her ears. She tried to get up, but the pain was too much. She'd never felt anything like it. What happened? She thought. She tried to crawl away. She had to get away, to keep moving, but her arms gave out, and she crashed against the ground.
Suddenly, Hans was at her side. He picked her up and held her protectively in his arms. "You're going to be okay. You're going to be fine," he whispered. "Somebody call an ambulance!"
"Call my sister," Anna whispered. "Call Elsa."
Elsa woke to the ringing of the wall telephone by the door.
"What time is it?" She asked the empty room. "I must've dozed off for a bit."
I should get the phone. It might be important, Elsa thought. No one ever calls the lab this late unless it's important.
She rubbed her eyes and looked at the timer. To her surprise, it'd already gone off. Her eyes darted to the wall clock. The samples had finished ten minutes ago. "Shit!"
Elsa jumped down from the counter and ran across the room. The solution she was testing was something new. She'd been vibrating the samples in a machine of her own invention, playfully named the Maraca, to test whether or not they would be stable during a turbulent rise through the atmosphere. She already wasn't sure of was going to happen. Now that she'd left the samples in longer than she'd planned, there was no telling what would happen.
Elsa put on a pair of safety glasses and peered in through the window of her little machine. All of the vials had shattered, and her samples had spilled all over the inside. Elsa began to panic. She hit the off switch and waited for the machine to shut down completely.
Silence filled the lab. The phone had stopped ringing. Elsa made a note in the back of her mind to call back whoever had been trying to reach her. But, right now, Elsa had something more important to take care of.
Slowly and carefully, she put a hand on the Maraca's door. It was ice cold. Elsa grabbed it firmly and opened the door. She felt the temperature of the air around her drop almost instantly. The moisture in the air condensed, and a pool of water formed at Elsa's feet. When she exhaled, Elsa could even see her breath.
She was mesmerized by what was happening inside the Maraca. As of yet, she hadn't actually set off her solution. She hadn't even known if it would've even accomplished what she'd hoped. But now she knew. She was right. Elsa giggled and lost herself in the moment. Carefully, she reached a hand inside the Maraca, eager to feel just how cold the air inside the machine had become.
Ring, ring, ring! The sound of the phone made Elsa jump, and that was all it took.
The moment her arm slammed against the top of the machine, a powerful explosion sent Elsa flying. Her body slammed into the opposite wall of the lab. When Elsa hit the ground, she was still conscious but just barely. Her vision was blurred, and her ears were ringing.
Elsa's vision faded into blackness. She let her head fall against the cold floor. In a weak and faded voice she called out, "Anna."
And as Elsa lost consciousness, the phone on the wall continued to ring.
