Chapter 4: Fear

No! Elsa, stop, stop! Please! Stop! Help!

Anna forced herself to open her eyes. She stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom trying to blink away the memory that her nightmare was about but she couldn't. The memory had been burned into her brain for the past ten years and wouldn't go away. Recently she had been dreaming it more and more about it and that was probably due to Elsa coming back and it stirred something in Anna's unconscious.

Anna turned her head to look at the sleeping outline of her husband. Kristoff was lying on his side with his back to Anna and was snoring softly. Anna checked the time on the clock that was on her bedside table. It showed that it was six thirty in the morning. Anna rolled over and tried to go back to sleep but she couldn't. As quiet as a mouse, Anna slipped out of bed, put her dressing gown and slippers on before heading downstairs into the kitchen.

Anna was surprised to see Elsa there. She didn't know she got up this early but then Anna remembered during their teenage years Elsa was never able to get to sleep or she would sleep for hours and hours. It was one of the signs that they missed.

"Hey," Anna said sitting down in front of her.

Elsa didn't say anything. She was busy staring at the coffee mug that was empty in front of her. It had a spotted pattern on it and Elsa seemed absorbed in it.

"You okay?" Anna asked.

Once again Elsa didn't say anything. She just stared at the cup as if it had some deeper meaning attached to it which was probably what Elsa was thinking. Anna sighed and got up and opened the medicine cabinet which was right above the microwave. She took out a medicine bottle that had Elsa's name on it and put it right in front of her. Anna stared at Elsa until she had taken her meds.

Even on her meds, Elsa had good days and bad days. The bad days would usually involve Elsa muttering some nonsense that nobody could figure out, staring into space and not response at all. The good days involved Elsa actually communicating with people and behaving like how she did before the schizophrenia took a hold of her. She was happy and laughing with people. Anna was glad that she was no longer hearing voices and having other hallucinations or delusions.

Anna made herself some coffee and sat down opposite Elsa who was still staring at the cup. Minutes past with the two sisters sitting opposite each other. Finally Elsa spoke.

"Do you think he will treat me different if I tell him the truth?"

Elsa was of course talking about Jack. He and his sister were coming over for dinner. Ever since Doctor North had recommended Elsa try new things, Anna had taken it as a personal challenge and had forced a grumbling Elsa to do different things. Anna had dragged her along to art shops, tennis courts and swimming pools for the last month and a half. She had even taken them to Snow Planet (a place where you can go skiing and snowboarding or just have fun in the manmade snow) to build a snowman just like how they did when they were younger. She had also set up a small movie date for Elsa that had Jack come over and watch some movies with Elsa, among other small dates she had set up. Elsa and Jack had sort of been dating for the past month now.

"I don't know Elsa," Anna replied. "It really depends on the person. Some people may react much more, shall we say, more aggressive than others."

Anna was of course talking about a certain event that had happened in their past. When Elsa was fifteen, she had started showing more and more symptoms of her schizophrenia. Around that time a certain shy maths nerd by the name of Andy Thomas had his eye on her. He had always figured that Elsa was shy just like him and nobody had ever corrected him. For the next several months, he had followed Elsa around and had even asked her out which she didn't refuse, she just didn't say anything at all. Eventually Elsa had gotten a little annoyed at the attention which wasn't a good thing. Elsa had yelled at him to go which he had just taken at her playing hard to get. Eventually Elsa had picked up a pole and whacked him with it which caused him to land in the hospital with a broken shoulder and ribcage. Anna remembered it well.

Anna was in the schoolyard chatting to a few of her friends. It was a late in the afternoon on a Thursday. Most of the school had already gone home. Anna was waiting for her mum to come pick her and Elsa up from school. However her mum had texted her saying she was going to be quite late so Anna was sitting down doing some work with her friends while keeping an eye on her sister who was randomly talking to no one.

"What is your sister doing Anna?" her friend Jasmine said.

Anna had another look at Elsa. She was still talking to someone as if someone was there. It was a common occurrence with Elsa. Anna guessed the voices in her head had some interesting things to say to Elsa.

"Er," Anna stuttered, "just ignore her. What did you get for question five Ariel?"

"Um," Ariel said. "I got sixty five."

"That's what I got!" Aurora, another one of their friends, said.

"Excellent me too," Jasmine and Anna said together.

For the next few minutes nothing happened until Jasmine just happened to look up.

"It's that Andy Thomas again," she said.

Anna looked up. "The guy who has a small crush on my sister?"

"I don't see how," Aurora said.

Anna paused to look. She could see Elsa getting more and more irritated by what Andy was saying. They were close enough to see them and to hear snatches of their conversation. It seemed as if Andy was doing all the talking while Elsa just stared at him. Her face getting more and angrier as the conversation continued onwards. Then Anna noticed it. The change in her eyes. Anna knew what that meant.

"No, no," Anna said quickly getting to her feet.

"What's going on?" Ariel said.

Anna didn't answer she just sprinted over to where Elsa and Andy were standing. She watched in horror as Elsa bent down and grabbed one of the poles that were lying around on the ground. Anna quicken her sped.

"Andy get out!" she yelled but her words were lost on him.

Anna then came to a halt as she saw and as if it was in slow motion, she saw Elsa raise the pole high and smacked it right across Andy's chest with tremendous force. Elsa raised it again and Anna sprinted over and managed to tackle Elsa to the ground.

"Stop, get off," Elsa said fighting with Anna to get off.

Elsa and Anna wrestled with each other as Anna tried to get Elsa under control and to take back the pole. Ariel, Jasmine and Aurora had come over with shocked expressions on their faces. They bent down to examine Andy.

"He's been knocked out," Ariel said.

"He's in pretty bad shape Anna," Jasmine said.

Anna couldn't respond. She was too busy fighting with her sister, she was still trying to get the pole away from her. Just as a teacher came over, Anna had managed to pull the pole, which was covered in Andy's blood, away from Elsa. Anna threw it some distance. The teacher then pulled Anna off Elsa.

"What's going on?" she said staring at the scene before her.

Nobody said anything. Luckily Anna and Elsa's mum came over with a terrified look on her face. Anna was then called up to the principal's office to explain what had happened alongside her friends. Andy's parents wanted to sue and to press charges and Anna had no idea how the school convinced them otherwise but she did know their family had to pay for Andy's medical bill.

When we got home my mother asked Elsa why she attacked Andy. Elsa looked her dead in the eyes with a terrifying look that chilled everyone's bones when she answered.

"Because the voices said so."

This incident caused Elsa to be withdrawn from school, permanently as her parents were now afraid at what her schizophrenia could lead to. Nobody knew that Elsa would be dangerous. Eventually Andy had found out the truth and had yelled at her and called her a freak and told her that she should be removed from society. That had nearly set off another episode but luckily it didn't.

Anna could tell that was what Elsa was focusing on. Anna wondered if that had been haunting her for a while now. People often called Elsa crazy or a freak, even Anna was guilty of it, but they had always been just faceless people in the crowd.

"Hmm, maybe it's best that he didn't know," Elsa wondered staring out the window.

"Maybe," Anna said sipping on her coffee, "but eventually he will find out the truth."

"Maybe," said Elsa, "maybe not."

The sound of feet could be heard on the stairs and Kristoff came into view.

"You two are up early, is it genetic?" he joked as he put the kettle on and put some toast in the toaster.

"It's not the only thing that is genetic," Elsa sighed.

Anna turned to look at her and they met each other's eyes. There were many causes of schizophrenia. It could be environmental or it could be something had happened during pregnancy or be due to the use of substance abuse but in Elsa's case her schizophrenia was brought on due to genetics. Their grandfather and uncle on their mother's side were diagnosed with schizophrenia at about the same age. This was why their mother was so nervous about having children but when she met their father, who was from a nice normal family (as their mother put it) convinced her otherwise. She was a mess when the doctors told her the truth about Elsa's condition. Anna always suspected that their mother always overlooked the early warning sighs because she was terrified to see the truth.

The reason their mother was so afraid is because she didn't want her own children to go through what her family went through. Her uncle had been committed from an early age and had been treated horribly. That was the reason why her mother did not want Elsa in a mental hospital. Shortly after the family pulled him out, he committed suicide and shortly after that, so did their grandfather. They both had thought that someone was out to get them. It was a dark and difficult time for their family. Anna had been just three when it happened whereas Elsa was six.

Kristoff didn't respond to Elsa's remark. Anna had a feeling he didn't know how to. Instead he made himself a cup of coffee and buttered his toast.

"What time are Jack and Pippa getting here?" he asked Anna.

"Umm, seven, I believe," Anna replied.

"Cool," Kristoff said nodding.

Anna caught Elsa's eye once again and she hurriedly went back to staring at her coffee cup but Anna knew she wasn't really seeing the cup.

Seven o'clock ended up coming very quickly. They stood there in the lounge, waiting. There was a knock on the door and Jack came in looking very happy with Pippa who was right behind him.

"Hey guys," he said.

They invited him and Pippa in and pretty soon dinner was on the table. Jack had been engaging Elsa in all kinds of conversation all through dinner. She didn't respond a lot to him a lot but luckily Jack just thought she was a good listener. After a lovely dinner, they had wine in the lounge before they had to go. Pippa had left quickly and now she was standing by the edge of the road but Jack hung around. He and Elsa were both hovering at the door. Anna and Kristoff were also hovering but out of sight. Anna wanted to see what would happen between Jack and Elsa.

Jack and Elsa were in a small talk kind of conversation. Anna had her fingers crossed that something was going to happen. She got her wish. Right before he left, Jack pulled Elsa in and he kissed her. Anna nearly squealed with delight.

"Well goodnight," Jack whispered before he ran down the outdoor steps and walked with Pippa back home.

Elsa shut the door and noticed Anna waiting and feeling very tense. Elsa's face split into a wide grin. Anna punched the air with delight. For the first time in her life, Elsa was finally in a relationship.

"And I didn't attack him!" Elsa said with delight.

"Looks like you are getting better Elsa," Anna said hugging her sister while Kristoff looked at them and smiled.

A/N: So it looks like Jack and Elsa are finally together, yay! I hoped you guys like this chapter. Please review =)