Chapter Three:

Special thanks to Guest Love Elsa a lot for the veritable flood of reviews which helped me stay focused on getting this chapter out. It was a brutal amount of editing. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or Frozen.

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Ís woke exhausted the next morning to Lin entering her room. When she noticed the girl's eyes were open, the spirit woman stated, "You're finally up." She placed a steaming tray of food on Ís' desk and informed her, "Yubaba says that you are not to leave your room or even attempt to escape. I'll be back tonight to wash you again." The spirit woman yawned. "I need to get to bed," she muttered sleepily. "Do you have any questions?"

Ís shook her head. "No," she replied. Intending to bow to Lin, Ís tried to stand up, but her blankets were too tangled. After a fight with her bedding — which Ís lost, only succeeding in making her sheets more chaotic — she gave up and said from the futon, "Thank you, Lin. Sweet dreams."

Lin gave her an almost-smile, stopping once she realized what she was doing, an aghast look on her face. As the spirit woman left, Ís could hear her muttering to herself, "Humans. You hate humans."

The door shut behind Lin, and Ís gazed wistfully at her tray of food; she couldn't wait to eat. At the thought, her stomach rumbled in agreement. She struggled against her sheets until finally, after what felt like an eternity, she was able to pick her way out of the blankets. Free at last, Ís walked to the desk, looked at the rice cakes and, after a moment of consideration, picked one up with her fingers. To live in the Spirit World she would need to eat their food. She hesitantly took a bite.

But after the first mouthful, Is realized it was unlike anything she had ever had before. Rice hadn't been served often in the Royal Palace and, on those rare occasions, it had been a bland mush, only meant to complement the hunks of meat on the table. However, these rice cakes were soft yet chewy, fluffy as the clouds, and had their own delicate flavour. Ís devoured the four before her in quick succession.

Her plate empty and her stomach full, she lay back down on her futon, still licking her fingers. Her dreams had been chaotic, pained and angry — though she'd slept long and hard, she was still tired. With a yawn, Ís slipped once again into a deep slumber.

She passed two days in such a fashion: eating and sleeping, all the while alone in her room. But on the third day, when the sun rose onto an eerily silent bathhouse, its halls no longer filled with bathhouse attendants, Ís decided It was time to go exploring. She knew every nook and cranny of her quarters; she was sick of her room, which each second bore a closer resemblance to a prison cell. Lin may have been religious about coming each evening and helping 'scrub away the human smell', but Ís craved more contact than the irritable spirit woman could provide.

Eyes agleam, Ís faced the door to her room. She hesitantly pushed against it and, to her surprise, it opened to her touch. Someone had neglected to lock it. Ís padded through the halls, peering into the different rooms. When she spotted an elevator, she ran to it, stepped in and, after staring at its interior, decided to pull the lever on the left. Immediately the elevator dropped, causing Ís' heart to jump into her throat. She fell to her knees, praying to gods she had never before believed in that she wouldn't be killed. And instead of being dashed against the ground, Ís came to a slow stop. She stepped warily out of the elevator and grinned. She was alive! Then she ran forward and leant over the nearby railing, gazing down in wonder at the bathhouse.

Below her were hundreds of tubs, dark and empty, laid out in neat mathematical rows and separated by thin bamboo walls meant to provide a semblance of privacy. Ís was intrigued. She wanted to get closer to those tubs which, if Lin was anything to go by, were used by the spirits to 'rejuvenate and replenish themselves'. Hurrying back to the elevator, Ís pulled the lever again and again with childish delight; when the elevator reached the correct floor, she would dart out.

However, the fourth time the elevator doors opened, Ís was spotted by a couple of exhausted spirits. They were in what appeared to be a kitchen, surrounded by greasy dishes and sudsy water. "Look!" one of them exclaimed, his fishy eyes wide with excitement. "Who's that?"

Ís tensed, waiting for the inevitable declaration that she was a human. After all, if Lin had been able to smell her from two floors down, why couldn't these spirits smell her now? She was only a few feet away. But to her surprise the second only said, "I don't know and I don't care." He yawned loudly. "Let's just finish these dishes and go to bed, okay? She's wearing a uniform like us — perhaps she's also got a job."

Not believing her luck, Ís realized that continuing to stand in the elevator would be suspicious. So she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin, and prepared to bluff her way past the two bathhouse workers. "Hello," she said, with confidence she did not feel. "I'm Ís. I've an errand for Lin. So if you'll excuse me, I must be going now." She bowed shallowly, imitating Lin's sharp mannerisms, and hurried through the kitchen.

But as she brushed past them, the first, who reminded Ís of a fish, grabbed her arm. His fingers were like vises of steel and he rumbled, "No. Lin doesn't have an assistant. You don't belong here; I will be taking you to Yubaba." Her mind raced, and though she tried to extricate herself from his grasp, he was too strong. She was helpless; the witch would skin her alive if she killed one of her employees. And, after Anna, Ís knew of her own lack control. She struggled to escape, but her wriggling only made his nails dig deeper into her skin.

"Wait, Hekiano, you've got to help me finish the dishes!" his partner protested.

However, fish-face ignored him and continued to drag Ís to the elevator. He kept her at his side the entire way up. Even when they changed from the public elevator to Yubaba's private one, there was no chance for Ís to escape.

As the kitchen worker knocked on the door with the golden rapper, Ís winced. She was sure it would recognize her, which it did. "Child!" the knocker screeched with Yubaba's voice. "How dare you disobey me!" Then it turned to the fish spirit. "Hekiano, my thanks for bringing her to me. You are dismissed."

Bowing, Hekiano backed away from Yubaba's door and left Ís alone with the knocker. "Well?" it snapped impatiently. The door swung open. "Come in." Ís bowed to the knocker and began the nerve-wracking walk to Yubaba's study.

When she arrived, she found Yubaba already waiting for her, seated behind her ornate desk, a stack of glittering gold coins before her. "Ís," the witch said with a long-suffering sigh, shoving her hoard aside. "Whatever am I to do with you? It isn't even your first week and already you're causing trouble." Yubaba stood and slowly walked around Ís, examining her. Then her eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together. "I've got it!" she exclaimed. The witch ran to the nearby bureau and began digging through it, chucking things willy-nilly. Finally, she brought out a tiny box, a reverent gleam in her eyes. "This should do the trick," she said, clearly pleased.

Inside the ivory box was a fat, black, wriggling slug. "Go on!" Yubaba commanded. "Swallow it!"

But Ís, disgusted, found the strength to refuse. "No!" she shouted, revolted by the idea. "Ne—"

But Yubaba, with a wave of her jewel-encrusted hand, immobilized Ís' body mid-word, mouth wide open. Pulling the slug out with her other hand, Yubaba plopped it in Ís' mouth. There it wriggled, cold and slimy, as it began to make its way down her throat. When slug's fat body slid down her esophagus, Ís wanted to puke.

Meanwhile, Yubaba paced around the girl, appraising the slug's progress. When Ís could feel the its cold, dead weight lying heavily in her stomach, the witch nodded approvingly and snapped her fingers before Ís' face. Immediately, the girl's eyes adopted a blank, confused look. "Ís," Yubaba said, savouring the child's false name, the name which bound the girl tighter than chains ever could. "I am your master."

Ís nodded blankly. "You are my master," she repeated mournfully. "You are my master."

Yubaba grinned widely, then snapped her fingers once again before the girl's face, bringing a cold, cruel light into the child's eyes. "Ís, these are your instructions. First, do not leave the bathhouse without my permission. Second, forget the slug. Third, leave my study."

Ís nodded crisply. "I shall not leave the bathhouse without your permission, master." She bowed once, deeply towards Yubaba. "I shall be leaving now as you ordered. And I have forgotten the slug."

Yubaba grinned widely as Ís walked away. Between the ownership of the child's true name and the control slug she'd ensconced in her stomach, the human girl with such remarkable powers was entirely hers.

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I'll be responding to guests reviews here. And I always reply to signed reviews through the PM function.

Love Elsa a lot: Well, that's a lot to respond to, so I'll try my best. First off, I make no promises for any of the characters that I introduce or plot bunnies I chase. That's for me to know and you to find out ;) Secondly, Elsa's spirit-name is Ís (which I like because it sounds like ice XD). Ískristallar is not part of this story. Ískristallar is madamasharpless24601's — I've already stolen one name from her, and I refuse to steal another. Third, YES, I completely agree with you in that with Elsa in the Spirit World, both of the girls will get the childhood they deserved. I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story. And, based off your many, super-creative reviews, I bet you could even write your own spectacular crossover featuring our favorite ice queen (because even if I tried, there's no way that I could manage to fit in all of your suggestions). Tell me if you do; I'd be happy to read it.

Elsa and Ingrid: I will most definitely consider adding Ingrid, but my brain can be so random and crazy that I'm afraid I can't promise anything. Thanks for the suggestion, though! :)

Identical Twins: I'm planning on Elsa meeting Zeniba, don't worry. Though the encounter may not go the way you think….

Love Elfen Lied: Ummm…...thanks for the review? I'm not quite sure what you were trying to do there.

Love Crossovers: I'm really glad that you liked the fact that Elsa has been separated from her parents. I was worried everyone would be angry at me for splitting her and Anna up. But that's clearly not the case :)

Better Frozen: I'll try, but the characters develop as they develop. I've already planned the entire plot and, since I refuse to change it now, the characters will fall where they may.

Love AnimeManga: I make no promises for anything. It's definitely an intriguing idea, though.