Belle woke up casually, well before Gaston arrived to lead her and the others to someone's death. There was no morning sun in the cell, of course – it could have been the middle of the night, for all Belle knew – but it felt like it was time to wake up. It was the calmest Belle had been in several days.

That wasn't necessarily a good thing.

She was in a cell against her will, and she didn't even truly understand who her captor was. It seemed to be more of an organization of some sort, one that involved dangerous magic and… Gaston. The two didn't seem to mix. There had to be something very strange going on behind the scenes.

Two of the four friends Belle had made in an attempt to plan an escape had been killed. It was only a matter of time before the other two or Belle herself would suffer the same fate. Escape? It had been three or four days – there was no sun with which to track time, but Belle felt it had been that long. Belle wasn't any closer to an escape plan than she was half a week ago, and now she had two less allies with whom to work.

Three less after today, if the pattern continued.

In all likelihood, Belle would never again see her father or Adam or anyone else from back home. She'd probably be killed. She was captive in a strange place where girls were killed off at the excruciatingly slow and steady rate of one a day, and she had no escape plan.

And yet, for a short moment, Belle felt calm. There was candlelight, but the wax wasn't too melted as far as Belle could see. The sound of whomever had lit the candles entering and exiting the cell must have been what woke Belle up. Instead of finding a dim, ashy light carve away at tear streaked faces and matted hair, Belle observed a soft glow be cast onto the resting faces of peaceful young women. The blonde to Rapunzel's right, the one who had yet to speak a word, seemed especially at ease.

Belle had gotten used to the smell, and the only sound to be heard was the steady repetitive snoring of a girl in the back. It was almost lulling. There was one other person awake, but she didn't seem to want to say anything. She was too far away to talk to, anyways.

Eventually Gaston burst in with his fistful of chains and woke everyone up like he was expected to. It didn't startle Belle. Even after all the girls were locked up, Belle was thinking only of two people.

"Rapunzel? Cinderella?' she said as Gaston tugged the girls out of the cell.

"Hmm?" Rapunzel responded. Cinderella turned her head.

"Promise me that I'll still have you with me tonight. I like your company. You're my friends." For the first time in days, Belle smiled gloriously.

Cinderella and Rapunzel shared a worried look. They nodded yes, but Belle could see they were reserving their true thoughts on the matter.

They were right to be worried. Either of them could be killed in an hour's time. Heck, Belle could be killed in an hour's time. Things could turn even worse in an instant. There wasn't a damn promise they could make and expect to keep for certain.

Belle was calm, but she couldn't be calm for long. She was in the calm before the storm.

• • •

Jasmine didn't even know why she had to go see the fight today. She had already been drawn this round. Her part was over. She just wanted to stay in the cell and wait for Aladdin to show up on his magic carpet – she was too tired to try and escape. She wanted Genie to poof in and take her out of there.

Why hadn't Genie shown up yet?

The thought troubled her enough to trip up her feet, and she almost slipped onto the pale freckled redhead behind her, the one who had been arguing with Jasmine's escort yesterday. When the girl caught and righted Jasmine, Jasmine thanked her in Arabic. She probably didn't understand, but hopefully she could tell from Jasmine's tone what had been said.

The stadium was packed, as always. Jasmine gauged by the roar of the crowd how much blood-thirst was swelling in the stands. It wasn't too bad. As much as yesterday at most, and a record low at least.

When the girls had settled in their viewing chamber, Jasmine realized she was standing right next to Mulan. She remembered that name – Mulan. The girl who had killed first, and the girl who had suffered first (the person she murdered was granted a clean execution; it wasn't too tortuous). She was kind of a legend by now, Jasmine imagined.

At least she had done her job without goring her opponent senselessly.

Jasmine cut her train of thought on the chance that she might get sick. Besides, the announcer had started speaking.

"Welcome all to the third match of Round 1!"

The crowd cheered.

"You know the drill, ladies and gentlemen, so let's get straight to it. Miss Megara, draw the name of our first competitor."

The audience was still deafeningly loud, but there were quiet murmurs bubbling around the room. After a quarter minute the announcer came back on.

"And Meg has drawn! The first competitor is… Anna!"

Jasmine felt the pale freckled redhead (the one who had caught her, the one who had argued with her escort yesterday – yes, that one) stiffen immeasurably as her chains were undone. And it might have just been Jasmine's feeling sorry for the girl, but she could have sworn the viewing chamber became a few degrees colder.

• • •

Anna felt that. Anna definitely felt that. It got colder. It wasn't just her mind playing tricks – the other girls felt it too. Anna could see them looking around. The buff guy undoing her chains looked around. Maybe it hadn't reached the audience, but they were probably a little chilly too.

Elsa was somewhere close by… close enough to send chills when Anna was sentenced to fight.

So why the hell wasn't she saving Anna from her nearly certain death?

• • •

"And now Miss Megara will draw the name of the second competitor!"

Rapunzel waited nervously with the other six girls who had yet to fight. She wouldn't really mind if she had to fight now. At least that way, she'd be guaranteed that she wouldn't have to fight Belle or Cinderella or that crazy-ass redheaded girl who was usually in the full body restraints. Rapunzel shuddered. No, definitely not her.

The audience was being painfully loud, so loud that the announcer had to clear his throat to get their attention. "And Meg has drawn, ladies and gentlemen! The second competitor for the third match of Round 1, the one who will fight to the death against Anna, is… Cinderella!"

Rapunzel deflated. She knew that she could probably handle herself in a fight – she was pretty handy with a frying pan, after all – but she didn't know about Cinderella. She had to just hope for the best and wish her good luck. At least she hadn't been pitted against someone too friendly or too unfriendly.

Rapunzel was rooting for Cinderella, but one painful glance at Belle showed that she was worried out of her right mind more than anything else.

This fight would be crucial to Cinderella's survival, of course. But Rapunzel had the feeling that Belle wouldn't be doing so hot if Cinderella lost either.

• • •

Anna was displeased but not surprised that of on the Duke of Weselton's cronies was leading her down to the arena. Hans was here, she was here, so of course they were here too. Anna just wished Kristoff or Sven or Olaf would show up.

Or Elsa. She could really use an Elsa right about now.

The buffer of the two cronies grabbed Anna by the arm – and, swear to God, he growled at her – and brought her to a great metal door. He heaved it open to reveal a vast dirt arena with two little carts, one on Anna's side and another clear on the other half of the battleground. There were two large mirrors on one side and an audience on the other three. Anna knew the angle of her view from the holding chamber and concluded that the mirror was the same pane she usually had to look out of. It was some sort of mirror that was only a mirror on one side.

A blonde girl about as old as Anna emerged from the other side, escorted by the other crony, when the announcer spoke. "Anna, Cinderella – choose your weapons!" The crowd began roaring again (they had calmed down for a while there).

The man pushed Anna closer to the cart. Anna looked at him grumpily. "What was that for?"

"So you'd grab your damn weapon before the other girl starves to death, that's why."

Anna didn't bother arguing. It would be pointless to argue, even if she had just gotten to the stand, and there was no need to push her.

She really needed Elsa. She could tell the air was colder and so could everyone else, but it wasn't a very directional cold. Anna had no idea where they were hiding her sister. She'd just have to play along.

• • •

Across the arena, Cinderella was already rummaging around the cart for some weapon she could recognize. There was a sword, but there was not the slightest chance that she could wield a sword. A lot of other weapons she couldn't identify, a few knives… she was pretty handy with a needle and thread, but that wouldn't help her even if there were some in the cart. What would she do, sew her enemy into submission?

Actually, thinking about it, that would be pretty brutal. Sewing parts shut… Cinderella was genuinely terrified at the circumstances that would make her genuinely consider those things.

The cart was a lot larger than it seemed from the outside, and in one corner of it Cinderella imagined for a hot second that there was a broomstick. She grabbed it. It felt like a broomstick, but it was longer and had painted stripes in places. It was a bit better balanced. Perhaps it was from an incredibly high-class broom or something.

"And Cinderella has chosen the staff as her weapon, ladies and gentlemen! What a classic – and quite unexpected, if I may say so. This is sure to be an interesting fight."

As Cinderella held her staff (apparently this was a staff and was at no point in time part of a broom), a violent thud rang from the large mirrored walls on one side of the arena. Another thud, and then another… and then a crack. A loud and resounding crack, and a skinny flurry of snow erupted from the long slit in one of the two mirrored walls.

• • •

"Elsa!" Anna screamed so loudly that she nearly banged her head on the cart as she brought her head up.

"Shut up!" The Duke's crony shouted. He acted authoritative, but Anna could see the genuine horror on his face before he whipped around to inspect the incident for himself. The crowd had fallen silent – everyone was watching and waiting, whether they knew it or not, for Elsa to make all hell brake loose.

The snow poured out of the gap, faster and faster, at greater and greater volumes. More, more, more, blast upon frozen blast. Elsa had to be up there. One after the other, blast, blast, blast. Half the arena was littered with the white dust, and Anna could feel a few flakes reach all the way over to where she was standing.

Then the bright blue crystals of ice started turning purple, then red. A large cloud formed, a sinister crimson thundercloud, and engulfed Elsa's snow streams. It pulled them in, tighter and tighter, until finally all sense of action imploded and the crack was resealed with a definite clap. There was silence.

It was a few seconds before the announcer came back on. Fifteen at least. "Umm… sorry about that, folks… we were just having some difficulties with our staff and all, but things are back under control now." The announcer was obviously trying to draw attention away from that. "Anna, choose your weapon."

• • •

Elsa was slammed against the back wall of her private viewing chamber. The heavy shackles that were already bruising her wrists and ankles crashed into each other, cutting her legs and arms and chest. It was only a matter of time before her face was hit in one of these bouts.

Jafar sealed the crack shut and conjured a dagger. He held it up to Elsa's throat. He muttered furiously, "What the hell was that all about?"

"My sister is out there," Elsa spat back. How did she even have the strength to speak? "That's what."

Jafar leaned in closer and grit his teeth, tightening his grip on the dagger. "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

Elsa said nothing.

Jafar suddenly lowered the dagger, as if he'd given up. "I don't know how else to discipline you, Elsa. You're a royal. A queen, even! And you can't even follow orders." Jafar shook his head.

He was playing some kind of trick. He was always playing some kind of trick. Elsa said nothing.

"Your sister is going to be very disappointed in you, Elsa," Jafar continued. Total bull, of course. "You should really be more considerate. What if that had to be the last thought she ever thinks?"

Elsa tensed. "You leave Anna out of this!" Elsa had to try breaking through again. She had to. For Anna.

Jafar cracked a smile. "So that's it, then. She's in it already." From a cloud of red dust he created a hand to shove Elsa back onto the viewing glass. It was a large wall of a window, and Elsa had her scarred face smeared right up next to it.

Elsa said nothing.

Jafar crouched down next to where Elsa was heaped and ran the dagger down her arm without piercing the skin. "Now, watch!" Jafar stabbed the dagger through Elsa's clothes and into the ground, pinning her in place, before leaving the viewing chamber to once again observe from the outside the protective steel door.

• • •

Anna was presented with a vast array of weapons that she hadn't touched before in her life. It didn't even matter; all Anna could think about was Elsa.

She was there. Not just there, but here, within eyeshot of the arena, behind one of the long mirrored walls. Anna was just a couple hundred feet from reuniting with her sister. She just had to find how to get there.

It was a great vertical distance to climb; she couldn't just use a rope with a grappling hook. There were no stairs, and the ramp Anna had apparently used to get down to the arena was probably studded with other buff guards.

Think, Anna. What would Kristoff do? Anna's stomach clenched. Kristoff…

The crowd started getting restless, and some started booing. Okay, not some. Most. Most had started booing. The Duke's crony punched Anna on the shoulder.

"Hurry the hell up, bitch."

Anna grit her teeth and sucked up the pain form her shoulder. She had to be strategic about her choice… there were some string like things near Elsa that Anna could barely make out. Perhaps they were supporting ropes of some kind, and Anna could burn them down. At least she would be doing something.

The crowd was roaring and the announcer said some rude thing. The crony punched her again.

Burn the ropes down… ah! Anna reached for a torch, a nicely sized mob torch that seemed robust enough to keep a flame going. She could burn down the ropes.

"Finally!" the announcer said, "We have our weapon!" The crowd stopped booing. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is in fact not a club but a torch. A simple torch, but a rather violent torch. Of course, our assistant in the arena will have to light this weapon for Anna."

The crony pulled out a little silver box and flipped the lid open. He struck his finger against a wheel on the spout – and a flame burst into existence.

Anna stared wide-eyed at the fire box as her torch was lit. The crony smiled. "It's called a lighter. Sort of a reusable matchstick. They're teaching me all sorts os things here."

Anna rubbed her eyes with her unoccupied hand. What was this, where fire leapt from little metal pocket boxes?

Anna watched the flame dance up and down on the torch's end. She moved the torch left, and the flame moved left. She moved the torch right, the flame moved right. It was shockingly easy to control, for maybe her third time ever holding a torch.

Hmm. She was like an inverse Elsa, in a way. She controlled fire.

• • •

"Ladies and gentlemen, members of the audience, I think we are ready!" The crowd began roaring again, for the third day in a row.

Cinderella examined her opponent from afar. She didn't seem too bad. That torch was terrifying, but she was sure her staff could protect her well.

Unless it caught fire.

Hopefully, Cinderella wouldn't have to worry about any of that. She'd talk the other girl down, or she'd simply knock her out. She didn't have to kill her.

Cinderella's stomach knotted. Knock someone out? That she had the nerve to think… but she needed to, didn't she?

She had to, lest she be tortured. She would prefer to not be tortured.

The announcer came back on. "Let the third match of Round 1… begin!"

And, immediately, Cinderella's opponent made a mad dash for the far side of the arena.

• • •

Anna ran faster than she had ever run her whole life. Even faster than when she'd run from that snow monster Elsa made. Even faster, this time towards Elsa, her torch whipping its flames feet behind her.

She could see the ropes, but they just disappeared into the ceiling of the arena. They were at the very edge of the stadium, right up against the wall. Anna had a chance.

It wasn't long before she was chopping through the slush Elsa had made. It wasn't very high, maybe a few inches at most, but it was enough to slow Anna down and to make the sandy floor of the arena disgustingly wet. Slushy.

"And Anna sure seems to be taking an unusual approach," the announcer said. "Running away from her competitor. My guess is that she's trying to confuse Cinderella, and she's sure doing a heck of a good job."

Anna spat at the announcer mentally. No, that was not why she was running. Anna picked up her foot from a particularly thick snow pile – a foot at least – and found her foot to be turning red. She was getting closer, where the snow was thicker. The torch raged on, and Anna raged onward.

• • •

Cinderella stood in place looking like an idiot. The redhead (Anna, the announcer had called her) had obviously gone insane. What did she even hope to do by going over there? It made no sense.

The crowd was just as confused as Cinderella, and they were starting to get a little restless. Cinderella had to do something or she'd wind up getting the same treatment as that Chinese girl.

Cinderella shuddered. She had turned away when it happened and it still gave her chills. She just remembered the face of the dark girl next to her, and that was enough.

No, she couldn't dare disappoint the audience. But she was doing just that by planting herself like a lame mute, and it was getting worse by the second.

So Cinderella made a decision. She would have to run, and she would have to run now. She wouldn't kill the girl (and probably couldn't kill the girl), but maybe she could talk her down. Get her to play dead or something. Whatever she could think up in a split second would be fine.

Cinderella ran, to cheers from the crowd, towards the wall that had just erupted snow. She was trying to be rational, but the world around her had gone mad.

• • •

Anna collapsed at the wall, defeated. She was exhausted; she had never run so far or so fast her whole life, and for what? For metal cables. Metal fucking cables. Geez, you'd have thought she would see that from a mile away if they weren't all covered in sand. Stupid sand.

Anna still had her torch, and it was burning madder than ever. It was a quarter gone at most, but probably way less than that. It was an odd sensation, her hand being next to fire and her feet having soaked in icy sludge. She was done.

How could she burn the ropes if they were metal? You can't burn metal! And with a panic, Anna realized that the other girl was charging at her with a staff raised high above her head as if she were giving a brutal performance.

"And the roles have switched, ladies and gentlemen! Now Cinderella charged at a stunned Anna, and right up against the stands, too! It's your lucky day if your seat was in section B!" Anna looked up and behind her, but there was a wall. Judging from the other side of the arena, though, Anna could tell there were people seated practically above her.

Anna didn't care about the crowd or the announcer. They weren't in her way. This girl, the one charging at her through the slush, the one with her staff raised high… she was. Anna would try to find some way to get to Elsa peacefully if she could. But, in all honesty, Anna didn't care how she would reunite with her sister. She just knew she had to. She had to; it was her only shot.

She had to find Elsa. And if there was anyone in her way, she'd burn that person. Elsa could freeze people's hearts… Anna would roast their skin. If it brought her closer to Elsa, it was worth it.

• • •

Cinderella charged extravagantly, flailing her staff around threateningly. The crowd loved it, and it would keep Cinderella alive for a bit longer.

Rapunzel? Cinderella? Promise me that I'll still have you with me tonight.

Belle's words rand in Cinderella's head. Lord, that seemed ages ago. But Cinderella knew that she had a responsibility to a girl that had in just a few days considered Cinderella her sister.

Cinderella wouldn't be like her stepsisters were to her. She wouldn't depress Belle, and she wouldn't kill Anna.

Finally the time came for Cinderella to make her move. Anna was within feet of her, so Cinderella struck the ground near her with her staff. It was an intentional miss, but the redhead seemed genuinely excited by it. She shouted some words in some northern language and stood up.

• • •

Anna had tried torching the cables without luck, and was thus left to fight for her life.

Her opponent had obviously never used a staff before. All the better for Anna. She dodged blow after blow, until one struck her in the chest.

Anna flew back into the wall of the arena, the wind knocked out of her. The torch, miraculously, stayed alight, but Anna was barely holding it. It was a wonder she hadn't burned herself yet.

• • •

Cinderella hated herself for not missing that shot. She said sorry in German a million times, but Anna couldn't understand her. But the show had to keep going until Cinderella could figure something out. She struck left and right and up and down, but never on Anna herself.

Anna gripped her torch more firmly and righted herself, dodging Cinderella's fake blows so much that on occasion she walked right into them.

Everything was mad.

• • •

Elsa watched her sister be assaulted from high above. She couldn't bear it. Anna! She mentally screamed. Get up!

She had a plan that she had been weighing the consequences of for some time now. She could use some ice to cut a circle out of the glass wall – a discreetly cut circle. She'd send an icicle down or something to pin Anna's opponent in place, just so Anna would have time to run away.

It seemed too risky before. But now, far too long into the fight, Elsa began seeing flecks of red below, and she grew angry.

Perhaps now it was worth it.

• • •

Cinderella became frustrated. Sit still, Anna! She kept trying to miss only to have Anna 'dodge' the blow and end up walking into the next. Either that, or Cinderella was really just that bad a shot.

She wasn't cut out for this, and she was exhausted. But she kept hitting, and Anna kept 'dodging.' The torch, Cinderella noticed, was still alight.

Then there was a little clank behind her. Far too quiet for the audience to hear, apparently, but definitely noticeable. Anna noticed it.

The next moment, Cinderella found she couldn't move.

• • •

Elsa watched Anna like a hawk. Move, Anna! Run! The other girl was frozen in ice below the ankle such that the surrounding slush concealed the block.

• • •

That was Elsa, Anna thought. And she thought more: if she killed this girl, the guards would come and take her away, right? Perhaps closer to Elsa.

It was a long shot, but it was worth it. Anna needed to get the hell out of here, and Elsa was her only hope of doing that.

Anna eyed her torch, and then the blonde. The flame glinted off the other girl's eyes. It was the last thing that ever would.

• • •

Belle watched, horrified, mouth agape, eyes streaming acid tears that carved canals into her grimy face, as Cinderella, her friend and escape partner and sister and support, was cast aflame by a sadistic redheaded girl of equal size with little hesitation and for seemingly little reason other than to drive Belle mad.

Everything was so mad.

• • •

Elsa watched, horrified, mouth agape, eyes streaming icy tears that built ridges into her cracking face, as Anna, her sister and sanity and reason for being, cast aflame an innocent blonde girl of equal size with little hesitation and for seemingly little reason other than to witness a death.

Everything was so dead.

• • •

"Oooh, that was brutal folks!" the announcer said excitedly. "Absolutely brutal! What a choice of weapon, people – what a choice!"

Anna shook her head fiercely as what she just did dawned on her. There had been a bright campfire here just moments before. Then the girl, screaming in agony, had fallen into the slush and sizzled out. Parts were charred, and parts were fleshy. Anna looked away.

Those guards had better bring her to Elsa. They better had. All the terrible things Elsa had attributed to herself seemed like child's play.

Anna snubbed her torch. Elsa wasn't a monster, as some had called her. She was misunderstood. Anna – there was the monster. She killed a girl. Why? To find Elsa? Would she find Elsa? And if she did, would it have been worth it to kill this girl?

Anna was a monster. Yes, it would be worth it. Anna thought only of Elsa as the Duke's cronies entered the arena (cautiously, this time around) to fetch Anna and the corpse.

***Author's Note***

So yeah, Anna and Belle are pretty much batshit crazy right now. I figure they've seen enough violence in their lives to know it's real and can't be thought away, while not having enough experience to be dull to it. Also Elsa… let's see what ends up happening there.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. First of all, it was the end of the semester (exams and all), and also this ended up being a long ass chapter. I hope the 4000+ words makes up for it! I think it's the largest chapter I've ever written.

And now to address the elephant in the room: Eilonwy. I'm going to be honest, I had to Google her name. I've never even seen the Black Cauldron. If so many of you think it's worth a watch, I guess I'll watch it, but I can't promise that Eilonwy will become an integral part of the story. Sure, I might give her a cameo, but only if I've seen the movie so I know what the heck I'm doing. Sorry for the disappointment, but I hope the story is still enjoyable without her.

So there it is. A lot of insanity going on with the original princesses, but not much outside of that.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing! Tell me what you think about the story and the fight. Just for tracking's sake: Mulan, Jasmine, and Anna have won fights, Snow White, Ariel, and Cinderella have lost, and Aurora, Belle, Merida, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, and Tiana (in no particular order) have yet to fight. I'll try to update faster this time!