My deepest gratitude to Rei, for BETA and mostly for helping me designing the plot for this fanfiction.
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The suspect is a 17 year old female. Average height. Blue eyes, white hair. No significant features. The suspect was brought into the investigation room chained due to unpredictable bursts of violence. Since the arrest, she is kept in isolation. The warders defined her as a hysterical verbal girl who suffers of delusions; the suspect had been reported to attack one of the warders before, during an escape attempt. The suspect was sent to a psychiatric examination, which confirmed her fit for this questioning.
The suspect shows a high level of hysteria and a delusional way of thinking. She tried to fight the warders who brought her into the room. Her answers are short and out of context. She keeps mumbling about a danger coming. The suspect is thought to show early signs of psychosis. The suspect was explained the reason for this questioning and its importance.
Q: what is your name?
A: Anna.
Q: what is your personal status?
A: I'm an heir of –
The object is cut by the interrogator.
Q: what is your personal status? Are you unmarried? Married?
A: unmarried.
Q: any family members?
A: my parents died three years ago. My older sister…
The suspect is hysterical. The suspect stands up, a warder pulls her back down. The subject starts tearing up. Her speech is fast and broken.
A: …we're all in danger! It got her. My sister. A big danger is coming. If we won't stop her now it will be too late. We must stop it. You must release me. It is a mistake.
The object is given a shot of 6 ml Diazepam in order to calm down. The suspect resists violently when told it is for her own good. The suspect is mumbling quietly in gibberish.
Q: when was the last time you saw your sister?
A: three days ago.
Q: did she tell you where is she going?
A: no.
Q: did she tell you what is she going to do?
A: Arendelle is in great danger!
Q: is this what she told you?
A: no. My sister was cursed.
Q: who cursed your sister?
A: I don't know.
Q: when was she cursed?
A: I don't know.
Q: did your sister tell you anything before she disappeared?
A: no…
The suspect becomes tensed. She starts trembling but doesn't try to escape. She grinds her teeth and mumbles in gibberish. The suspect's eyes start rolling. The suspect is recorded saying "I'm cold. It's getting late".
Q: when did you find out about your sister's condition?
A: three days ago.
Q: did she tell you anything about her condition?
A: no.
Q: do you suffer of the same thing?
A: no! We must stop her… we must stop her… I can stop her… so cold… –gibberish– we're in danger…
The suspect only talks gibberish from this point and on. She is taken back to her cell. Another psychiatric examination is recommended.
"…and a few hours after that, she was found in her cell in… that condition?"
"Yes."
The young man thoughtfully scratches his chin, his golden eyes are still fixed on the paper he was holding in his hands; his eyes move, reading this confusing testimony over and over. Eventually, he lifts his eyes, his eyebrows are slightly furrowed. "Who found her?"
"I did," the man who is standing right in front of him responds. He is a young man, in his mid-twenties perhaps, and is very pale; some thin blond hair falls on his eyes over and over despite his attempts of pulling it backwards; Edward can see the fear and horror in his eyes when they meet his own.
Ed leans backwards in his seat and throws the papers at the table. "It wasn't his fault," he mutters as he glances at Olivier. "He just happened to find her after she had already vandalised… how long do you work here?"
"A-a week… i-it was my first night shift, when I found her…" the warder responds.
"See?" Ed snorts at this answer, his eyes are still fixed on Olivier firmly. "This is your answer; you arrested the wrong man. Besides, if it was his doing, he'd find a way to escape; he knows he'd be executed if he's found guilty, he won't take this risk."
Olivier frowns. "He was the only one in the area at that time; no one was seen coming in and out, and there were no signs of someone breaking into the cell. Private Arnolds– –" the young man flinches when he hears that. His ranks were taken the moment he was arrested, and the memory of what he had just lost is still fresh in his mind, "– – was the only one to have the key to her cell."
Ed frowns again. "So maybe what attacked her did come from inside of her body, after all. She claimed her sister was cursed – that's at least what's written in the testimony. Can you give me any information about her sister? Uh… we'll do it outside," he hurries to say when Olivier opens her mouth to speak. "Please, make sure Richard is released and cleared of any charges, he's innocent."
"…understood."
Ed doesn't stay in the room while Olivier is taking care of everything. He's desperate for some air; there is a blizzard roaming outside and there's a temporary curfew thrown over the fort, forbidding everyone from opening the doors. He feels trapped; closed spaces never bothered him, this feeling cannot be explained.
Something was wrong… very wrong. This thought crossed his mind the moment the Colonel handed him the paper which showed the brief of this mission, it was short and missed a lot of details; it showed him a picture of a local conflict. Why would a state alchemist be called to handle a situation such as this? And when he got to Fort Briggs and the picture did clarify itself at last, it still made absolutely no sense…
"…Major General…" he starts the moment Olivier leaves the room. He squints his eyes at the woman's icy glare, "this testimony… how long ago was it taken?"
"Twenty years ago."
The wrinkle between Ed's eyebrows becomes even more visible; he lowers his head, massages the bridge of his nose as he resumes to speak, "and that woman… she was kept under your watch ever since?"
"Yes."
"I should ask why would the military bother to preserve a dead body for so many years, but the right question should be, why now?" he lifts his face, his eyes meet the woman's fierce stare once again. "This incident happened twenty years ago. This testimony is the only thing that was ever written about it. Why does it bother you now to begin with? Because that body lost its arm?"
"That girl wasn't dead to begin with," Olivier's voice is quiet and calm; a slight frown appears on her own face as she resumes her speaking, "she had a pulse for the whole time."
"But she didn't react to any kind of stimulus."
"That is true."
Edward quietens for a long moment, slowly scratches his chin. "…if she is alive, wouldn't the right thing to do be warming her up? If there is a pulse after all these years, if you moderately unfreeze her body, there might be a small chance for her to live…"
"This is what was thought twenty years ago," Olivier responds. "Shortly after her body was found in her cell, there was an attempt to unfreeze her… however, a part of her leg melted."
"What? It doesn't make any sense. If it's true that a part of her leg melted, it means her leg was made of ice," Ed deepens his frown again. "Yet, she has a pulse, which means she is alive… and how do you know about this attempt of unfreezing her, Major General? I thought the testimony you gave me was the only document you have about that incident…"
"It is the only document about this incident," Olivier responds, "the rest of the information is given by word of mouth."
"So not very reliable…"
"No, but this is all we have."
As his frown deepens again, Ed covers his mouth with his hand, thinking; Olivier wasn't the type of a person who will fall for unreliable information so easily, unless it was serious enough… he is about to say something, but just when he opens his mouth to speak, Olivier cuts him.
"Come, let's go to my office. I'll explain you everything once we get there."