Inside a well-used study, a young woman was sitting behind a hefty desk with papers set precisely in small stacks around her. A lamp illuminated the large book-filled room rather poorly, shining light only on the desk and the immediate area. The woman seemed exhausted, her blonde hair was in a messy bun and her ice blue eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle at the moment.
Elsa frowned, propping her elbow on the desk to hold up her head. A second later, remembering the manners that were drilled in her at a young age, she straightened her back and adjusted her posture.
"This is going to take all night." She muttered, her voice croaky from disuse over the past few hours. Rubbing her temples, she turned her head to the right, staring at the stack of paperwork she still had to go over. Sighing, Elsa grabbed her cup of coffee off her desk, only to discover it was cold. Immediately rolling her eyes, she pushed herself up from the chair. "As if this curse wasn't frustrating enough."
She headed toward her door to get a fresh cup of coffee when she froze in place. There was a shadow under the door, hinting that someone stood outside it. Was she so focused that she didn't hear footsteps approach the room? Quietly, she moved towards the door again only to be interrupted as a folded piece of paper slid under it, involuntarily spiraling softly towards Elsa's feet. Soft footsteps quickly left the other side, with the intention to not be seen at her door.
Elsa set her coffee cup down on a side table as she picked up the letter and noticed writing on the outside. It was feminine and bubbly, but lacked the elegant curves her own handwriting possessed. She knew right away who it belonged to. Her younger sister, Anna.
So engrossed in the fact that it came from her sister, she had to re-read the single word on the outside before it registered in her head.
Please.
She could almost hear her sister's voice in that word.
Curious, Elsa opened up the letter, shocked to find it was a college acceptance letter. She smiled, proud of her sister for being accepted into a college. A quick glance at the school's name though made her smile fade immediately.
She wanted to go to University of Arendelle.
Elsa's college.
She felt her breathing hitch. Her mind working quickly to create potential scenarios in her head, all with outcomes she didn't want happening. Ones of her secret being revealed. Of her sister getting hurt because of her… curse. She involuntarily clenched the paper, frost slowly spreading from her feet as her mind panicked at the dark thoughts blooming in her head. The sound of ice cracking brought her attention back to the present as she looked horrified at what she did.
Conceal. Don't feel.
Elsa whispered the phrase over and over, feeling her panicked emotions slowly die down as the layer of ice on the ground stopped expanding around her. The idea of hot coffee quickly vanishing as she headed towards her desk and sat back down before her legs gave out on her.
She knew her sister had applied to her college, as well as at least a dozen more. Elsa made sure of it, asking for receipts from the application fees so her sister couldn't trick her. But she also knew her sister's first choice was U of A, for the same reason she chose it. It was the best university for business majors in the country. Her head dropped to her hands as she wondered why her sister was trying to follow in her footsteps. Trying to be like her, closer to her. How Anna didn't understand that they had to be apart if she was to be safe.
All of a sudden, her head shot up. No, this was perfect.
Her sister could move out, into the dorms. She could make friends with other kids her age. She could finally be safe, away from her. Anna could have the life she dreamed of.
Elsa would have preferred her sister go farther away from home for college, but she knew how stubborn Anna was and would rather appease her and gently push her away than have her sister end up mad at her over her college choice. And if she let her go to U of A, Anna could be more lenient next time Elsa wanted a favor.
She sighed, wondering how her life had gotten to where it was. Leaning back in her chair, she swiveled to look out the window, watching a cloud move away from the moon in the sky.
Elsa had a typical childhood. She was lucky enough to have both parents and a younger sister, Anna. Her parents were rich from various patents on all-weather gear, ranging from clothing to sports equipment and survival tools. But while they made their fortune before the girls were born, they taught them to value money and hard work, thankfully both growing up without turning into the spoiled brats that most rich kids are.
Another thing they taught them was the value of family, especially sisterhood. In the younger years of their life, the two sisters were close. They did almost everything together. Elsa was protective over her sister, and Anna looked up to her sister. They were best friends.
Which made Elsa's heart hurt even more when her curse showed up.
She was 8, young and carefree like other kids her age. The family was on vacation to their log cabin in the mountains when Elsa had taken her sister to a river not far from her parents were. It was a small river, one they easily could cross by jumping from rock to rock. Elsa was leading her to a waterfall she had discovered only hours earlier, eager to share the excitement with Anna. But being younger, Anna couldn't jump as gracefully as Elsa and slipped on a rock, hitting her head.
Elsa had finished crossing and had turned around to see her sister's head hit the rock, frozen at what had happened.
"Anna!" She screamed, running through the water and grabbing her sister. Elsa pulled her out of the river, crying as she held her. "Mama! Papa!"
And that was when it happened. The ground beneath her started to freeze, spiraling out from her knees in a rapid fashion. The river froze quickly, water lazily moving over the ice only to join with it seconds later.
Their parents came sprinting up, shocked at what was happening before them. Anna was unconscious in her sister's arms, a large gash on her forehead. Her mother rushed over, picking up the younger daughter and carefully touching her head, wary of the blood. Their father was stunned, not only at his youngest daughter getting hurt, but also by watching ice slowly crawl beneath his feet. Relieved it didn't envelop his legs like it wrapped its way around the trunk of a tree nearby, he was still stunned at what Elsa was doing.
Elsa. He was so focused on the ice that he didn't look at his daughter. She was crying less now, trying to explain to her mother what had happened. That it was an accident and it was her fault that Anna slipped. How she had been too eager to show her little sister the waterfall that she disregarded her safety and didn't help her cross. Her father rushed over, confident in his wife's ability to briefly take care of Anna so he could focus on Elsa. He grabbed her shoulders gently, begging her to calm down. It took a few more soothing words before Elsa stopped crying, finally noticing the ice around her.
She pushed herself back, scared at what was happening. Her eyes shot down to the ground where her hands were moments before, staring at the icy handprints she left behind. Elsa's gaze shifted to her parent's, a scared look in her eyes. The frost slowly expanding outward from her again, icing over the first layer.
Her father took a step towards her, hoping to comfort her again but when their eyes met, she pushed herself back again. Elsa quickly brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"No! Don't touch me. Please... I don't want to hurt you." Her father noticed her eyes had shifted colors as well, no longer the teal color like her sister's. Instead they were ice blue, with fear uncommonly present in them.
The rest of the trip was cut short as the family immediately drove to the hospital for Anna. While doctors looked over Anna, Elsa sat in a chair away from her parents in the waiting room staring at her hands. The doctor came out an hour later, announcing that Anna was fine and only suffered a concussion as a collective sigh of relief came from the family members in the waiting room. But while they were joyful that Anna was fine, they were troubled about Elsa's new gifts.
They brought Anna home from the hospital, putting her to sleep while they talked to Elsa. New rules had to be made. A new way of life had to start. Elsa agreed. Her sister was safe, for now. But what if her new abilities hurt Anna? She could never live with herself.
Her parents recommended she be home-schooled for a year, so they could monitor her progress on controlling it. Also recommending she be kept away from Anna and that Elsa keep her powers a secret, scared that the youngest daughter would be hurt again. And when a year wasn't enough, they added another, and another. Soon Elsa was done with middle school but still unable to control her powers.
Elsa never argued, knowing it was in everyone's best interests if she never left her room, let alone the house. She knew she had to be contained and learn control, no matter how much it hurt her when she heard her sister asking for her to come outside and play or to help her with her homework, or anything at all. She started ignoring Anna, wanting her sister to make new friends and to enjoy her life away from danger on the other side of the door.
It was these years that Elsa started calling her powers a curse. And every time she thought she had control over her them, they would grow stronger. Her daily schedule would consist of school work, followed by practicing her abilities in her room. And while she was dedicated and hardworking at both, her parents grew concerned. Their daughters were growing up, but they themselves were getting older as well. Wanting the company to stay in the hands of the family, they began teaching their daughters about the company. Elsa, happy to have something to take her mind off her curse, excelled in everything her parents taught her. She absorbed the ideas and business models, even helping her parents out with new ideas for products.
Anna, on the other hand, was more interested in asking her parents questions about her elusive sister. She would occasionally sneak peeks at her throughout the years, comforted by the fact that Elsa hadn't died. But she wanted to interact with her, not just catch a glimpse here or there of her older sister. When her parents told her that Elsa would be the one to take over the family company, something in Anna was awakened. She studied extra hard, staying up late to understand the material her parents were teaching her. She wanted to impress them with her knowledge. Impress Elsa. She wanted to co-own the company with her older sister, to share the burden. It was a perfect plan. She would work hard in school and get into the best college she could, earn the best degree she could, and help out her sister in the best way she could: beside her.
She quickly turned around her progress with her work, impressing her parents. They had even considered having Anna co-own the company with her sister since Elsa had seemed to have better control over her powers.
That is, until her parents died.
Elsa was freshly 18, with Anna at 15. Their parents had a business meeting in Russia to discuss the possibility of being a sponsor for the 2014 Winter Olympics and would be gone for a week. They reassured the daughters that going to Russia would be a huge benefit for the company, that flying there would seem like a friendly gesture and hopefully persuade the nation to choose them over the other companies who only did tele-conferencing. The daughters, capable of taking care of themselves with the aid of the butler and maid wished them well, although unhappy that the parents would be gone for a little more than a week. The trip went smooth, with her parents safely landing in Russia to broker the deal. Everything went off without a problem and their company winning the bid to sponsor the Games.
It was the trip back that ended up being the problem. The parents, eager to come back home to their children, took an earlier flight than expected, risking a dangerous storm front. The pilot had assured them that he could fly around the storm and that if it came to it, through it. They believed him, relaxing in the private jet as it took off. But the storm moved in faster than anticipated, overtaking the plane and ultimately killing all those aboard.
What was supposed to be a joyous day of reunions and celebration quickly turned into one of distraught and heavier emotions.
After her parent's deaths, Elsa powered through her homeschooling, getting her GED at the end of April. She started sitting in on company meetings, supervising all business transactions and effectively running the company almost right away. She applied and was accepted into University of Arendelle, immediately immersing herself in schoolwork and office work.
Days would go by with Elsa locked in her study, leaving only to attend classes or meetings. Anna, distraught over the death of her parents, tried reaching out to her sister but could never get her to reciprocate the actions.
After the brief flashback, Elsa turned back to her desk. She knew she'd have to finally confront her fear of being around her sister. She just had to figure out how. With a sudden burst of courage, she swiveled to her laptop and got on her email. Elsa quickly typed out her message and pressed SEND, before she had any second thoughts.
Dinner tomorrow night. 7 PM.
She just hoped her sister would come.
Author's Notes: Hey there. Had an idea for a story and just decided to go with it. I've got an idea of where this will be heading, but I wanted to see how much interest this story got before continuing. I'll most likely post a more interesting and non-flashback chapter sometime this week. I just wanted to crank this out first.
I'm sorry for any errors you see. I hope you enjoy it, and if you have any questions or comments, don't feel shy!