"Elsa, what've you done…?"
Big icy blue eyes stared fearfully as her parents ran over to her. "I don't–I don't know what happened." Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, her grip on the pale, unconscious form of her younger sister tightened unconsciously.
"Is that ice? David, why is Emma covered in ice?!"
"Elsa, what's going on?!"
"I don't know! I'm sorry!"
Elsa's eyes snapped open with a harsh gasp. She sat up abruptly, eyes searching the room for any sign of her parents or sister. Once realizing it was just a nightmare, her breathing and heartbeat returned to normal. Slumping back in bed, she ran her shaking hands through her wayward hair and took a deep breath.
Blue eyes strayed to the digital clock on her nightstand. A sigh escaped her lips as she stood up to get ready for the day. On her way out to the bathroom, she glimpsed at her bed, a frown on her face as she studied the cracks and fractals of ice that covered the wall by her bed. With a flick of her wrist and another sigh, the ice disappeared and she headed out.
–Elemental Drifts–
Anna stared at the candle in front of her, brows furrowed and tip of the tongue picking out from her lips just slightly. She concentrated on the unlit wick, willing it to light up.
"Just concentrate, Anna. Our Gifts are influenced by our emotions. Think of something that makes you happy and concentrate on lighting the candle." Rapunzel instructed gently, sharing a glance with Kristoff.
Anna just squinted at the candle more and gripped the table harder. She huffed and slammed her hands on the table. "I can't! This thing's broken, I'm sure!" She glared at the wax as if it was the cause of all her frustrations – which it really is.
Kristoff snorted in amusement, and the glare was redirected at him. This only made him laugh out loud. Anna growled, "I hope you burn." All amusement ended when the blonde's beanie caught fire suddenly, making him yelp and throw it to the ground, stomping on it to put out the small flame.
He turned to glare at the smirking redhead. "You almost set me on fire!"
Anna crossed her arms and turned away from him. "You deserve it."
"So, it's anger what sets you off, huh." Rapunzel interrupted whatever Kristoff was gonna reply.
Ruby walked over and plopped down beside the fuming Earth Drifter. "Yep. All Elements are set off by a different emotion when you first start using your Gift and don't know how to control it. Fire is set off by anger, as you can tell. Light by happiness, which is why that advice didn't exactly work with Anna."
Rapunzel hummed in understanding, while Ruby turned to Anna. "So, if you have anger management issues, I'd suggest you cool off from time to time." A glance at the singed beanie on the ground made Anna blush slightly.
"I don't. He just aggravates me." Anna pouted, sending a careful glare at a snickering Kristoff.
Ruby chuckled and shook her head in amusement. Something caught her attention and she raised her hand to wave. "Yo, Meg!"
Said brunette smirked and sauntered over, sitting comfortably in Ruby's lap. "Hey, Red, looks like a great bachelorette party."
Ruby rolled her eyes but wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist in a hug. "That's the greeting I get after not seeing you the whole summer?" At Meg's hum, she grinned. "Fine, suit yourself. By the way, how's the gang?"
Meg stiffened slightly but answered. "Kovu's raving after the ladies, nothing new there. Astrid disappears constantly, probably to practice or spend time with Hiccup. And Elsa is…well, Elsa."
Rapunzel perked up at this. "I heard she's set up against Gaston in a Duel tomorrow. Everyone knows she refuses to use her Gifts around others. How's she holding up?"
Meg frowned and stood up, "She's…distant; isolating herself. I was told that the entire third floor in our Dorm was below freezing last night. I've looked for her everywhere but she's nowhere to be found. I try to corner her after classes but she always disappears."
"She's not in her tower?"
"Nope." Meg sighed and turned away. "Anyway, I gotta go find Kovu and Astrid. I'll see you guys around." She looked over her shoulder and sent a wink towards Anna. "Nice seeing you again, firecracker."
The group watched the brunette walk away before Ruby shook her head and turned to Anna. "Alright, Andrews, let's see what else you've got. I might just consider being your Guide for the year."
"Guide?"
"It's like a personal teacher for a Drifter. Each Upperclassman is allowed to teach a First Year. So, interested?"
"Uh, yes!" Anna squealed, drawing a smile from everyone gathered.
"Nice. Alright, let's try to light the wick again."
–Elemental Drifts–
Elsa stared out into the distance, the moonlight licking at her blank features in the dark. She placed her arms on top of each other on the railing and placed her chin on her forearm. Blue eyes traced the buildings and the passing figured on the ground without interest.
The blonde tensed when a shadow fell over her face then sighed in frustration. "Can't I be left alone for a few hours?" She growled, straightening up and turning to the second year beside her.
Astrid smirked, "Last time we did that you froze an entire acre in the woods." She held up a phone. "Besides, this was ringing too much for my liking."
Elsa frowned as she grabbed her phone, eyes widening when she saw seven missed calls from Emma. She immediately called her sister, ignoring Astrid when she leaned by her against the railing. Her heart started beating at a thousand miles per hour as she waited for her sister to pick up her phone, fear gripping at her throat and chest, hoping she wouldn't receive any bad news.
"Finally!"
"Emma? Are you alright? Did something happen? Where's mother and father? Please tell me you're not in the hospital-"
"Elsa, I'm fine. Nothing's happened. Well, actually-
Elsa quickly interrupted, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Emma sighed in frustration through the line. "I'm okay, sis. I was just calling to check on you. I heard that you have a Duel tomorrow."
Elsa's eyes cut towards Astrid in an instant, her eyes fiery yet cold. "Did you, now? Who told you?"
"That doesn't matter. I just wanted to see how you were holding up."
"…I'm fine."
"Right, and I'm Snow White's daughter. Look, don't sweat it. You're the strongest Drifter I've ever known-"
"You do know I'm not even considered one, right?"
"Details, details." Emma's nonchalance made Elsa smile slightly. "You gotta kick this guy's ass, you hear me, Elsa? I heard he's a jackass, so you better beat him to the ground."
Elsa sighed in defeat. "I rarely use my Gift, Emma-"
"More of a reason to beat him! He's mocking you! C'mon, you got your Gift when you were ten. You've had way more years to practice and control your Gift."
"That doesn't mean anything if I don't want to use them."
The other line went silent at that blank and distanced reply. Elsa immediately regretted saying that, knowing that her tone and attitude hurt her sister.
"You need to let it go, Elsa."
The blonde snarled, eyes and tone going cold as she hissed into the phone, "I almost killed you, Emma-"
"We were kids!"
"I am done talking about this. I'm gonna withdraw from the Duel. It was a mistake accepting it."
"Elsa, no. You need to stand up for yourself and show everyone why Elsa Swan is a Starter in the first place!"
"And freeze them all to death, like I did you?" Emma stayed silent while Elsa ground her jaw together. "Exactly. I have to go. I'll call you later."
"No, sis, wait-"
Elsa hung up on her sister and closed her eyes to recompose herself. She turned to go back down into the dorms, a sending a glare at Astrid. "Next time, keep your goddamn thoughts to yourself." Astrid only raised her brows in challenge at this. Elsa frowned and turned away.
Astrid slumped back against the railing as soon as the other blonde left the roof, looking up at the night sky. "Next time, it's Meg's turn to play the bad guy." She mumbled under her breath before shaking her head and turning to follow her friend into the building.
A/N: I didn't realize it's been so long since I updated. It's a short one, too. I just didn't feel like the Duel would fit right in this chapter. So I'll leave it for the next chapter. I'm sorry it's so short, but I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for reviewing!
Guest 1: Here you go! A clue as to what happened between Elsa and Emma when they were kids!
Lean13: Oh, I'm waiting for Ariel, too. XD
Guest 2: I have no idea where this is going, just fragments of it, so we'll be finding out together!
Xo-j-e-i-j-a-h-xo: Well, this is the third chapter and they've only seen each other once, so yes. It'll be a slowburn.
PhantomGemini: Yes, next chapter. ;D
Guest 3: Why, thank you. Yes, it's the product of randomness between my sis and I.
Shtoops: Elsa is cryokenetic. You're right, Elsa's power isn't given much credit (I mean, come one, who builds a whole castle and living snowmen with raw power?) but she's definitely a very powerful Drifter, she just chooses not to use her Gift.
Carolqc14: Thank you. I shall!
Houses:
Animi: Tinkerbelle – 1st Year
Aqua: –
Eximius: Meg – 3rd Year, Elsa – 2nd Year, Astrid – 2nd Year
Ignis: Anna – 1st Year, Wendy – 1st Year, Ruby – 4th Year
Lucerna: Rapunzel – 2nd Year
Luna: Flynn – 2nd Year, Kovu – 2nd Year
Terra: Kristoff – 1st Year, Gaston – 3rd Year
Ventus: –