Hopefully you liked the new and improved first chapter. Here is the second one.
PREVIOUS AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, well first off, I want to apologize if you consider this chapter a little slow. I want to show all the important characters and their powers first so that's what this chapter is mostly about.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, thanks.
The Academy for the Gifted - Chapter 1
Five days later...
The sun shines brightly into Elsa's quarters. It's luminous rays wake the young princess in the break of dawn. After a yawn, a stretch and content sigh, she's up and about, preparing for the day. She slips on one of her long blue dresses and ties her hair into a bun. After a quick look at her gloves, she snatches them from the tiny desk in the corner of her room and gingerly puts them on. The little square, commonly referred to as a "room", she was assigned to barely fits a bed, her trunk and desk. She doesn't want to sound spoiled (one of the sailor had even told her she had gotten a rather nice quarter), but she is royalty. And royalty isn't used to living like this. After thinking the thought, she stops, no, if people can live with close to nothing then I should not be complaining.
A horn sounds in the distance, making Elsa gasp. We have arrived. She closes her bag and leaves it on the neatly made bed. A nod of approval is released upon inspection of the room. There's no need to keep things unorganized.
"Elsa! We're here, so move it!" A voice shouts from the other end of the door.
With a chuckle, Elsa opens it, "there is no need to hurry me," she says, "I have finished."
In front of her stands a young girl about Elsa's age and height, but with a more athletic build. She has long light brown hair that reaches her mid back, olive skin and kaleidoscope eyes that change from dark brown to green to grey. She smiles kindly at Elsa. Taking her cold gloved hand, she leads the Princess of Arendelle to the deck. Elsa flinches a little at the contact, and quickly slides her hand out of the grasp. The brunette doesn't turn back or anything, almost like she doesn't even notice the action, which Elsa is greatly thankful for. It's nothing bad really, but touching people is not in the top of the list of things Elsa enjoys doing, and explaining why is even lower.
"Slow down, Kat!" Elsa exclaims after almost tripping.
"Please, slowing down is for the weak!" Princess Katherine of the Northern Isles, or Kat, goes even faster.
Elsa laughs, the lively brunette reminds her of Anna.
After the duo became acquainted a couple days ago, they had been inseparable which, for Elsa, felt a little alien. She wasn't used to constantly talking to anyone other than her parents and a couple of the servants. None the less, Elsa doesn't complain; she likes this new feeling. The feeling of being needed and wanted. She was making sure, however, to not get too close, figuratively and literally speaking.
Bad things happen when you get too close to the eldest Princess of Arendelle.
Shacking her head, Elsa tries to push the thoughts away and, instead, focus on happier memories. Having such few, she thinks about her first encounter with Kat.
"Hello," An animated voice said behind Elsa. The platinum blonde gave a shriek of surprise, shooting icicles as she turned. She'd come up to the deck to catch a breath, not be scared to death.
"Wow, slow down there!" The voice came from above, "just trying to be friendly."
"I apologize," Elsa replied looking up. She felt guilty now. There, on the mast, stood Katherine. With a swift move, she jumped down, landing before Elsa.
The brunette narrowed her eyes at the blonde, then smiled widely. "I like you," she stated, "you've got some fight in you." Giving Elsa a wink, she continued, "That's good. Come on, I think we're going to be great friends."
"Wait," Elsa didn't realize that she said the words out loud, "what?"
The confusion written all over Elsa's face makes the brunette laugh, "I mean," she stopped for a second and crossed one arm under the other, while putting her chin on the closed knuckle of her uncrossed arm. It looked as if she was in deep thought, "You do kinda look like a stick in the mud..."
Elsa was taken aback. Who did this girl think she was? They had just met! She didn't know who Elsa was! How dare she say that Elsa- that the Princess of Arendelle, heir to the throne- was a, a "stick in the m-" It's the sudden glimmer that appeared in the other girl's green eyes, the ways the corners of her lips shifted upwards into a type of satisfied and smug smirk that made Elsa realize she had just been joking. The blonde chuckles and then the both of them are nearly on the floor laughing like mad women because "take it easy," she says, "I was just kidding." After a few minutes go by and they both caught their breath, the brunette stood up straighter and extended her hand, "I'm Katherine - or Kat, I prefer Kat- from the Northern Isles."
Elsa nodded and gingerly, very very slowly, almost afraid of what might happen, shook her hand, "My name is Elsa, from Arendelle."
The two princesses dash through the deck and head to the railing. From there, an amazing view of The Academy stands in the horizon. The campus, a couple thousand feet long, covers the entire harbor side. Giant mountains with white covered peaks lay in the background and, to the sides, you can see students walking around.
"Wow." Elsa gasps as her eyes land in the middle of it all. There, stands the complex; it's a gigantic building. Enormous Greek-like columns expand to the triangular shaped ceiling and beautiful tainted windows lay in perfect symmetry. Smaller cabins rest on the far east and west side of the premises. Dorms, Elsa guesses.
"Yeah," Kat breathes in contentedly, "can you believe we're going to be here for a whole year?"
A knot forms in Elsa's throat. She takes a shaky breath, "I know, right?" Unlike Katherine, the Princess of Arendelle didn't want to come here. She wanted to stay back home, where she belongs. But you're a monster. You can't go back, you don't deserve to go back.
Kat, on the other hand, is ecstatic. She loves the idea of flying out of the nest and traveling; she considers being away from her family a plus. "I'm an only child," she'd said. "But, man! I have a LOT of cousins. Like, more than thirty, they're the real pain."
"Come on, Els," The brunette stands up in the railing, she turns so her back is facing the school and raises her arms horizontally to the sides. "loosen up." With that, she falls backward, into the dark blue water.
Elsa gasps and looks down, Oh wait, she steps back, that's right.
Katherine appears a second later. She can fly.
Kat winks, "Got you, didn't I?" she lies down in the air.
"You almost tricked me." Elsa straightens, she still doesn't understand how this completely idiotic being before her is to be queen some day; but then again, Elsa is also supposed to be queen some day. Which is better, an idiot or a monster?
Katherine's eyes glaze around the scenery. "Look!" She points to another boat nearby. Around twenty or so people can be seen close to the railing. "And to think, I thought I was the only one with powers." Kat chuckles and pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.
Elsa gapes at the cheer number of students. A warm feeling sets in her heart, I'm not alone.
Then, it's replaced by fear. That means there's more people I can hurt.
"Welcome," An old, strict looking woman stands in the middle of the stage. After the boat docked, all the student body was transferred to a huge amphitheater behind the school's main building. Only about 1/4 of the bleaches are covered with students; the rest, empty. The elderly woman expands her arms, "Welcome, to the Academy for the Gifted! Here," she says, "you'll learn how to master your powers." She lowers her hands as a wave of cheers erupt from the crowd.
"My name is Elena Ruin," she smiles, "but you call me Principal Ruin." Her smile fades, "There are some ground rules," she takes a piece of white parchment from her coat pocket. "If you fail to follow these rules or perform them in a botch way," she looks up, "you will be expelled."
"Well," Kat whispers besides Elsa, "talk about being blunt."
The blonde raises an eyebrow, "you should know, am I not correct?" Kat turns her head to the side and gives her an "oh, shut up," followed by an equally annoyedlook.
The Princess of Arendelle smiles, then quickly frowns. Smiling feels weird.
"Girls and boys have their separate dorms. Girls in the east side, boys in the west. Every cabin holds from four to six students." Principal Ruin continues. "There can be no horseplay from either parties and you can only be in a cabin of your opposite sex with a written excuse from a professor. Curfew is at 10:30 PM sharp, 9:30 PM for those under thirteen."
Some groans and chuckles can be heard.
"You can wear what you please, as long as it doesn't break any clothing rule. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in specific hours, but you can buy snacks in between classes. All of your main courses are pre-paid." Her eyes scan the paper. "All of you have a schedule designed around your power and your social position."
Elsa frowns, that's not fair.
"Wait," Kat looks at Elsa, "does that mean we have specific classes on princess stuff?"
The Arendellian nods, "it would seem so."
Kat's mouth hangs wide open, "well, that is shi-"
"I don't know what you're talking about. It looks like you are in great need of those lessons." The platinum blonde jokes, while sitting up straighter. Kat just slumps in her seat and sticks her tongue out at her. "That proves my point further." Even though Kat is greatly distraught by the mention of those requisite classes, Elsa is indifferent. She has taken etiquette classes for so long now that they are almost sewn in the back of her skull. Walk this way, talk another, bow like this, smile big but not too big... it was a superficial game of false faces and bad intentions. In other words, politics. And, fortunately for Elsa, she was the walking and breathing definition of it.
"You are only excused from your classes if you have a written statement from one of the doctors..." The Principal's voice trails off. "I believe that is all for the primary guidelines."
She clears her throat, "Please exit in an orderly fashion. You will get your schedules tomorrow at seven in the morning and breakfast starts at six."
Kat stands up, "Let's get out of here."
Elsa stands up, her icy blue orbs fly across the 100 plus bodies.
With a shaky breath, she follows her friend.
"Okay," Katherine narrows her eyes at the piece of paper before her. "I'm in cabin 15, you?"
"I'm there as well," Elsa answers quite relieved. She is glad she is with someone she has already met.
The brunette laughs, "Don't worry," she fiddles with the key of their cabin, "you're not getting rid of me that easily." Kat winks at her for the second time since they had met and Elsa- Elsa is just so amazed. She doesn't understand how someone can be so care free, light and social. So with a sigh, she starts walking, silently wishing she could be like that... like Kat, like Anna.
The duo makes its way through the maze of cottages in a comfortable silence. They had been given the keys upon their arrival, and had been informed that their luggage would await them in their rooms.
"Aha!" Kat exclaims. She scrambles over to open the door in front of them. "Home, sweet home!" She says, while opening the door.
She's greeted by ice-cold water, and then a series of giggles.
Elsa's hand covers her gaping mouth as she glances at her friend.
Katherine stands there in shock. "What the hell was that?" Her light grey dress turns dark grey and sticks to her like gum as the freezing liquid runs down her body. She's even visibly shacking, but Elsa isn't sure if it's because of the cold or her anger.
Another fit of giggles is heard.
"Sorry," A voice says. "Couldn't help myself." A girl, around their age, comes forward. Although not as skinny as Kat and Elsa, this girl isn't fat and stands about two inches taller. She has dark brown hair and sea green eyes, a devilish smile dances in her lips. "You know, water powers and all."
"I told her not to do it," another voice says. "I thought it was mean." A shorter girl with red hair shows herself. She's a little chubby and has dark brown eyes hidden behind thick pink glasses that don't mix at all with her mien.
The taller of the two rolls her eyes. "No one likes a nice girl, Belle." She then proceeds to smile kindly at Elsa and Kat. "I'm Princess Valerie of Weselton," She extends her hand. Elsa shakes it, then Katherine.
"Nice to meet you," the Princess of the Northern Isles smiles, "Valerie of Weaseltown."
Elsa nudges her side, manners. The girl with sea green eyes clears her throat, "Weselton," she corrects. The implied insult went over her head.
"My most profound apologies," Katherine sates, venom dripping from her tone.
Shaking it off, Valerie proceeds to introduce her friend. "This is Princess Isabelle of Raguedon."
Isabelle smiles, "but you can just call me Belle, no need for formalities." She has a light spanish accent.
Katherine and Elsa smile genuinely. "Greetings, I am Princess Elsa of Arendelle and this is my friend, Princess Katherine of the Northern Isles."
Valerie lets a sigh of relief, "Oh, great. For a moment there I thought we'd be paired with commoners." She plops down on the couch. Around the room are other chairs, a dining table, some shelves with books and a fire-place off to the side. The ember twitches. The blonde isn't sure if it's because her heartbeat is quickening or just coincidence. "Good thing we're all royalty here, right?" Her eyes land on Kat.
Kat's jaw tightens. Oh no. The wind picks up.
"Yes," Elsa gives a nervous laugh, "Come on, Katherine, lets get you dried up," she takes her friend's hand and shuts down the tiny voice yelling in her head to let her go! You'll hurt her! "Where's the bathroom?"
Isabelle points to the door in the middle, across the room. "The two next to it are the bedrooms, your stuff's on the right one."
Elsa nods, "Thanks." She quickly escorts her friend to the loo.
Elsa then pushes her in and closes the door; she proceeds to go into the room behind the door on the right, open Kat's bag and grab another dress. Swiftly, Elsa opens the connecting door to the bathroom, she hands the dress to Kat and sits down in one of the beds patiently.
A minute later, the door bursts open.
"That bitch," Kat exclaims, she's drying her hair with a towel.
Elsa flinched again, "Language! And, if I may add, calling our other cabin mate a female dog will do no one any good."
"Right, I'm sorry." Kat sighs, and goes into the room. "It's just- God!" The brunette sits down next to the blonde. "You don't understand the insult- well, you probably did get that- but what she really meant."
Elsa narrows her eyes, "What are you saying?"
Kat breathes in and out a couple of times. "My dad," her voice breaks a little, "he's not royalty."
The blonde blinks, "What? I thought he was the King."
The brunette looks down, "That's only a title." She fidgets with her thumbs, "he's just a lawyer."
Elsa is surprised, "Really?"
"Yeah, my mom's the only royal in my household." Katherine stands up. "Forget it, I'm going to get the bitch-"
"Language!"
"Right, my bad. I'm going to get that witch."
Elsa sits up straight, "Kat, I don't really think-"
"Nonsense!" The brunette cuts her off, "Come on." She stands up and leaves the room.
The Princess of Arendelle sighs, this is going to be a long year.
She stands up and heads out of the room too.
"So what's your power?" Elsa hears Belle ask.
"Mine?" Kat asks, "I can control air, wind, all that, and blondie here," she points at Elsa, "can control ice and snow- winter- all that. Nothing' mayor, you know?" She shrugs as if it's nothing and plops (because, honestly, no other word describes how she sat) down on the couch.
Valerie nods, "Interesting." Elsa can't help but feel as if she's sizing them up. Scrutinizing what they're wearing and how they hold themselves and Elsa is just a little shocked to realize that the game of politics is already starting to unfold. She thought picking a false appearance was only going to be taught in a classroom, but seeing Valerie already picking her cards... let's just say that Elsa isn't one to lose easily.
"What about you?" The Arendellian settles down besides her friend and asks Belle. She already knew that Valerie could control water, very powerful indeed, but Elsa could freeze that water. Who has the upper hand?
Isabelle pushes her glasses up, "I can control light."
"Really? How?" Katherine pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.
Isabelle smiles, then lifts her hand. The dim lighting now glows brightly. "I can make any room bright."
Elsa grins (how many times has it been now? Three? Four smiles?), "that is very interesting."
"Hey Belle, I've been meaning to ask you," Kat states, "where is Raguedon?"
Isabelle looks down, almost disappointing. Elsa mentally slaps her friend.
"I didn't mean to offend you or anything," the brunette points at herself. "I'm just really bad in geography." She finishes with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.
Belle laughs back, "It's by the coast of Spain."
Kat looks up. "Oh, ok. You know, I actually speak Spanish." Belle raises her eyebrow. "Mucho bueno," the redhead laughs.
"No, but really..." The brunette trails off in a series of Spanish words.
Elsa plays with her gloves. So far she hasn't had a panic attack, that's good. She glances at each one of her roommates, two brunettes and a red head.
Maybe this year abroad wont be so bad.
Elsa is woken up by a high-pitched scream. She stands up in bed immediately and looks around. A small light comes in through the window, indicating the dawn of a new day.
"Els," a groggy voice says, "you okay?"
The Arendellian's eyes widen. She's covered in a thin layer of sweat.
I screamed- that was my scream.
"Yes," her voice sounds hoarse, "yes, I am unharmed."
"Nightmare?" There's movement on the other bed. The body there shifts; turning around, Elsa stares at Kat's face.
Conceal it, don't feel it.
The platinum blonde takes a shaky breath. "I think so." She stands up, frost starts forming in a corner.
Kat eyes it worriedly. "Wanna talk about it?"
Elsa shakes her head. "I can't remember what it was about," more ice makes its way over the wall. It leave a gorgeous trail of snowflakes as it climbs up to the ceiling. Dangerously beautiful. Just like Elsa. From far away it is very pretty, but get too close and the cold will bite and leave an awful dark purple bruise in it's wake because just like the bitter frost I am nothing more than just a mons-
"Well," Kat sits up in her bed, "do you want a hug?"
Elsa's head snaps towards her friend. It sounds so innocent- the proposition -so pure, like her sister's. Anna's do you want to build a snowman? Followed by the wave of agony when your sister almost dies by your hand-
"Elsa?" Kat whispers, it's so low that Elsa barely hears it. It's so dark that she barely sees the small movement of Kat's lips as she says those words. It's so cold- not for Elsa though, she never gets cold- that she can make out the figure of her friend visibly shivering. The ice now covers the whole room and the temperature has dropped around twenty degrees.
The Snow Princess blinks, "I am so sorry," the ice resides, shrinking back to nothingness because it can leave but you're stuck here to suffer and suffer - but, was she really suffering now? Nothing bad has happened.
With a sigh, the brunette opens her arms wide, "Come on." The blonde still can't see very well, but she swears that Kat's eyes have turned a warm brown, inviting and friendly.
Elsa stares at her with teary eyes. She lets out a gut wrenching sob and runs to her friend, wrapping her in a hug.
Why don't I hug Anna more?
"It's okay," Katherine whispers and rubs circles in her friend's back.
"Thank you," the blonde says after a few minutes. She pulls back, lying back down in her own bed.
"Any time," Kat lies down again, "you know, I'm right here if you want to talk about it."
Elsa nods, "I know." I'm not ready to talk.
Katherine eyes her suspiciously, "alright, goodnight, Els."
"Goodnight." A breath, "Kat."
"Let's see..." Kat trails her eyes over her schedule. "Can I see yours?"
Elsa nods and hands her the piece of paper.
"Ok, so we have Rhetoric, International Languages, -wow, really?- Good Behaviors- talk about ugh-, Strategy and," the brunette's eyes widen. "I think I love this school." She hands the schedule back to Elsa. "We have Physical Education. Awesome."
The blonde looks at her program. They take classes Monday through Thursday, on Fridays and Saturdays, they only take classes up to midday, and Sundays are free. Elsa frowns, the schedule is different everyday of the week.
"Don't worry," Kat says noticing her friends change in demeanor, "we take those classes at the same periods each day."
"Ok, well my first class is Geometry so..." The brunette stuffs the parchment into a little pocket in her skirt. "I'll catch you later?"
"If what you are trying to say is that you will see me after class," Elsa nods and smiles at her friend, "then yes, you will."
The brunette roles her eyes and nudges the blonde, loosen up, she's trying to say. But then her eyes turn grey and serious, "you sure you're good?" Ever since last night, Kat has been a little worried about Elsa; she doesn't want the blonde to choke up again.
The Princess of Arendelle forces a smile, "Yes, now go."
"Okay, okay, bye!" Katherine waves farewell while she makes her way down the corridor. After turning a corner, Elsa looses sight of her.
No need to panic. She says to herself as she starts hyperventilating. I'll get through this. Conceal it, don't feel it.
Frost starts forming at her feet.
Conceal it, don't-
"Hey, are you lost?" A masculine voice asks.
Elsa whips around, the frost beneath her disappears.
A boy around her age makes his way to her. He has dark brown curly hair and familiar chocolate eyes. He kind of reminds Elsa of her father, the one before the incidents who would soothe her after her nightmares because she was daddy's little girl-
"Hey," he chuckles, "did you hear me?" He stands in front of her now, he's a head taller.
"Oh, right. Yes, I'm sorry." The blonde looks down embarrassed. First encounter with a person of the opposite sex and she's already making a fool of herself, way to go, Elsa! She can even picture Kat's snickering snide comments and kaleidoscope eyes turning green with the hidden humor and fondness she doesn't express out loud.
The young man laughs, he has a pretty laugh, Elsa notes.
"Want some help?" He asks her. "Loosen up," Kat says in her head while nudging her with her elbow.
She nods her head.
"Great, what's your first class?" He takes her program. "Would you look at that!" He smiles down at her, "we have quite a few classes together."
The blonde grins. How many times has that been now? She lost count.
"Including Chemistry, that's right now," he hands her back her schedule. "Let's go, shall we?"
Elsa nods, "Of course."
"I'm Francis, by the way." He glances at her.
"Elsa."
"Humph, Elsa," he tastes her name in his mouth. "That's a pretty name."
"So, how did your first day go?" Katherine asks the blonde as they sit down at dinner. Isabelle and Valerie join them soon after.
Elsa smiles, "pretty well, actually."
Kat smiles, "is that so?"
The blonde looks down embarrassed, Valerie gets the hint.
"Did you meet someone?" She asks eagerly. You enjoy gossip, I see. Elsa is tempted to lie, but, instead, she nods.
"Is he a boy?" Belle asks her now, pushing her glasses back up.
Elsa nods again.
"Is it him?" Katherine points to someone behind Elsa. The blonde quickly turns around an scans the area.
The other three girls laugh, "Got you." The Northerner sates.
Elsa turns back around; she looks down, blushing a deep red.
"Hey, Belle. Elsa."
The blonde looks up at Francis. He has a plate of food in his hands, behind him are three other guys.
"Hey Frank," Belle greets.
"Hi," Elsa waves.
"Can we sit with you?" His chocolate-brown orbs land on her icy blue one. She nods.
He looks away to scan the round table, then sets himself on one of the empty chairs. Elsa frowns. Next to Katherine. His friends follow him. The blonde narrows her eyes.
Kat gives them a friendly smile, "I'm Kat, that's Elsa, Belle and this is Valerie," she flashes them her perfect smile, "but you already seem to know some of them." She winks in Elsa's direction.
Francis and the others smile at her. "I'm Francis or Frank," He looks at Isabelle, "Belle's twin-"
No wonder those eyes looked familiar, Elsa thinks.
"-and these are my friends." He points to the brunette at the far left, "that's Joseph," a shorter blond with a slight shadow over his mouth, "Elliot," and finally the tallest one with pitch-black hair, "and Henry."
Elsa nods at them.
"What can you guys do?" Kat takes a bite of her sandwich.
Francis is the first to answer, "I control darkness," as an example, he lifts his hand up. The lights go off, everything is dark. A few people shriek.
Then Belle lifts her left hand and the light returns. "We balance each other out," she says.
Valerie raises her eyebrows, "huh." Elsa is sure the Princess of Weselton is eager to ask if they have a royal heritage, but she doesn't, making Elsa both surprised and a little proud of her. Social classes don't make good or bad people, she thinks.
Second is Joseph, "I have invincibility,"
Kat chuckles, "yeah, right."
He smiles mischievously, "you don't believe me? Here," he hands her a knife and a fork and extends his right arm. "Try to cut me."
The brunette frowns, "okay..." She takes the knife and slashes it across his arms multiple times, then tries to stab him with the fork.
Nothing, not even a scratch. Katherine lowers the utensils, "not bad."
Henry comes next. He snaps his index finger with his thumb, making a small flame appear. "I command fire." He opens his hand, the flame goes away.
Finally, Elliot speaks, "I have super strength," he stretches his muscle as if to show off.
Elsa smiles, "Oh really?"
The blond gives her a cheeky grin, "that's right, no biggie."
They all laugh. "What about you?" Henry asks the girls.
"Well, you already saw mine," Belle replies.
Valerie raises her arm, the water from Henry's cup follows her movements. "Water," she states, setting the liquid back into its container.
Katherine opens her arms wide, "Well, excuse me." As she stretches, the winds pick her up, raising her above the chair. She winks, "I can fly and control air."
What does she have with winking?, Elsa suddenly asks herself.
"Your turn." Francis nods in her direction.
She takes a deep breath and points to the ceiling. A blue rays shoots up from her finger. It starts snowing.
Elsa looks at them, most are smiling or nodding their head in approval. Kat gives her a thumbs up.
"That's awesome," Henry smiles.
For the first time in her life, Elsa feels flattered. People are not complimenting her, they're talking about her powers. That's something that has never happened to her. Ever. So she sits up straight -she used to do it because it gives a sense of false confidence- with pride. Yes, she is proud. She made something beautiful out of what was once was ugly and the blonde has never felt more content.
As night settles down, a lone figure stands in the clearing. A man.
Before him, two other, shorter figures come rushing out.
"Well?" The man asks and looks at them.
The taller one nods, "Everything's great." He's a boy.
"Yeah, the plan's in action." The other one, a girl, agrees.
The man smiles at them, "very good, my children." He turns around and gazes at the school. The Academy for the Gifted. "We'll soon be unstoppable."