Happy new year everyone! This chapter is long overdue. I apologize, I hope you are still with me. Perhaps you may read the story all over again just to refresh your mind. Again, thank you for my awesome BETA schurke, even after months lost, still with me to make this chapter more proper :P
"It's about a girl who is on the cusp of becoming someone.. A girl who may not know what she wants right now, and she may not know who she is right now, but who deserves the chance to find out."
― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper
Anna had slept the day away. She felt surrounded by cool comfort and the sweet smell of chocolate. The moment she awoke from her dreamless sleep, she found her source of comfort curled up beside her with a very content smile.
She was cuddling Elsa.
"Good morning, mon ange… or, good afternoon." Elsa greeted with her eyes focused on Anna's face with unusually great concentration.
Anna blushed under her gaze. Although it wasn't her first time sleeping with Elsa by her side, this time however, her stomach churned funnily while her mind experienced a brief short-circuit.
"… hey," Anna replied dumbly with croaked voice.
That concerned the platinum blond vampire who immediately handed Anna a glass of water. Anna accepted it gratefully.
The redhead teen sipped her drink under Elsa's intense gaze. It was a wonder that she hadn't choked midway.
"So… have you been here the whole time?" Anna asked after finishing her drink.
Elsa nodded. "I have been waiting for you to wake up." She offered a playful smile. "You have 274 freckles on your face."
The comment took Anna off her balance. She felt her face burn hot.
Elsa was enjoying Anna's flustered face which had reminded her of an apple. She thought the girl was even cuter when Anna's face had turned same color like her hair.
"Are you feeling better?" Elsa asked, her eyes were searching for any discomfort reflected from the girl.
Anna nodded, didn't trust her own voice yet. Her stomach did a somersault when Elsa beamed her a smile. She should've planned this better.
"I met you… the younger you." Anna finally said. She looked down to avoid Elsa's intense staring on her while nervously biting her lip.
Elsa's hand which had been stroking on Anna's hair halted for a moment. "I see… our first encounter? I still remember it as if it was yesterday."
Anna grinned, "you were shooting ice out of your hand. It was so cool!"
Elsa blinked, "well… you wore very odd attire."
"Olaf was a master piece." Anna recalled the snowman she and Elsa had built.
The memory brought wider smile upon the platinum blond vampire, "Olaf… he loved warm hugs."
Anna scoffed, "and you built that giant marshmallow."
"It actually took me quite time to figure out what marshmallow is."
Anna made a mental note to keep some marshmallows with her in case she was getting swept back to Elsa's childhood years.
"You know I have planned this, or I have planned to make a plan for our first encounter." Anna admitted with dejected tone. "I thought I will meet you in a week time."
"Me too, mon ange. However, I couldn't hold myself when you returned from an undocumented jump. I almost lost it again when I found out you were hurt."
Elsa felt ashamed of her incapability to control her instincts, while Anna felt a bit guilty for making Elsa so upset.
"I wonder what was your plan going to be if I met you later?"
Anna shook her head. "I prefer you are here with me now. I have been waiting for years to meet you." Anna's mind wandered to the blue letters that had been constant reminder in her life. Anna unconsciously threw herself into Elsa's arms and hugged her tight.
"Anna?"
"My plan would've been to give you a warm hug first." Anna murmured against Elsa's shoulder. The redhead teen took a deep breath as she took in the sweet chocolate smell.
Anna couldn't see Elsa's expression but Elsa's melodious chuckle filled her ears. "I like your plan."
They stayed like that for a while since Anna was too comfortable to move and Elsa was too content for having the girl in her arms.
"I would like to know about the last jump…" Elsa began, one of her hand rested on Anna's forearm.
Anna now was fully awake. The memory from yesterday resurfaced from her mind. The fire, stakes, angry villagers, pain, and the red-head vampire.
"Idunn." Anna murmured the vampire woman's name. Elsa's hand on Anna's arm twitched slightly. "I met a vampire named Idunn. She was going to be burnt alive by the villagers. They accused her as a witch… I tried to help." Then she told Elsa everything that had transpired in that jump.
"She cut you?!" Elsa growled when Anna had told her about the cut on her palm.
Anna nodded. "She licked my blood off…"
The fair blonde vampire turned rigid with her jaw clenched. "She tasted your blood." It had taken all her resolve to not fly out the room and hunt down the sire. The vampire had touched and hurt her Anna. How dare, how dare Idunn had licked a taste of Anna's precious blood.
Elsa committed a very low growl, controlling her temper while she was holding Anna in her arms.
Anna unconsciously rubbed her wrist which had been injured the night before. She was confused when she found that her bruise and cut were gone.
Anna looked up at Elsa, her eyes were asking for confirmation.
"You are fine now," Elsa brushed Anna's cheek with her cold knuckles. Anna's heart skipped a bit which the blond vampire had mistaken as fear. Her little human must've been very scared to have encounter with her sire. "You are safe." Elsa's voice was full of conviction and determination. Elsa's hand slid down to Anna's wrist. She felt calmer as her hand felt Anna's warmth and pulse.
"It was year 967. I have jumped more than a millennium." Anna continued.
"That's too far away." Elsa agreed, frowning while remembering the last time Anna had jumped too far back to the past. "No wonder you were so exhausted."
Anna let out a frustrated sigh. "I wish I could control this better. How do I control the jumps?! What if the next jump happens while I'm in the middle of showering and I end up naked in the Jurassic era?!"
Elsa was amused but then getting slightly irritated. She didn't like the idea of anyone or anything seeing a naked Anna. Dinosaurs or not.
"That will not happen." Elsa couldn't suppress her chuckle despite that. "I'll make sure you fully clothed and equipped for jumps. We have your journals about jumps you have made and will do in the future."
Anna pouted. "If you guys have that then you surely should've known about my last jump."
"You have left several jumps undocumented, Anna." Elsa said with chiding tone. "It is our weakness, we call them undocumented jumps."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "So, I'm not that good in keeping record then."
Elsa smiled. "Your notes have been meticulous and useful. It is obvious that you have left some jumps unrecorded intentionally. Why that is, only your future-self knows."
"When is my next jump?" Anna asked.
"It would be a week from today, unless we have another undocumented jump between that. Don't worry, we are making some preparation for your next jump. You will get 'special assignment' from Miss White, Belle, and me after school."
Anna's eyes widened. The special assignment sounded like extra homework for her.
"It is not homework, dear." Elsa shook her head, her blue eyes twinkled.
Anna gasped, "I thought Belle was the mind-reader!"
"It is not so hard to read your expression."
"I will keep practicing my poker face then." Anna pulled her best of nonchalant expression.
Elsa chuckled. "What you need to practice on now is swimming and some reflexes."
Swimming. Anna groaned. She had been learning and practicing to swim for years now. The blue note had struck her nerve that had driven her to have swimming lesson. Now she could swim breaststroke, freestyle, and even backstroke. She was almost flawless in the water.
"I can swim." Anna said almost smugly.
"We will be the judge of that." Elsa tapped the red head's nose playfully.
The rest of the day had been spent by cuddling with Elsa. She found herself getting spoiled with treats and candies from both Belle and Elsa. Even Merida had sent her regards with huge box of licorice and chocolates. The red-head teen had been on the edge of sugar rush when Miss White came interrupted the girl's sugar consumption.
"You two should've known better than that. A human girl can only handle so much sweets." The scene was too comical as Anna watching both powerful vampires getting scolded by her history teacher. Anna didn't know Miss White really well. But from what Elsa had told her, the woman was the one who had healed Anna's injuries yesterday.
"But Anna is so happy eating the fudges." Elsa said with determination as if it was the ultimate reason to justify her deed. In the background, the red-head nodded eagerly, secretly hoping Elsa would win the case.
Rapunzel only glared at her since Elsa was a lost cause before turning to Belle. "And what's your excuse, Belle?"
The brunette vampire cleared her throat. "According to my research, sweets and chocolates contain substance that could restore human's depleted energy and mood…"
"Also rotting teeth, sugar rush, and an upset stomach." Rapunzel continued Belle's speech. The woman turned at Anna who still had sprinkled sugar on the corner of her mouth from a donut. It was too adorable and from Elsa's look, Rapunzel had figured as why the two vampires had pretended to be oblivious about the sugar stain left on the young girl's cheek. Rapunzel rolled her eyes.
The sweetness was too much in this room, literally and figuratively.
"You three are talking like I'm not here." Anna pouted on her bed which was littered with several plates and candy wrappings. The only one thing lack would be a Christmas tree.
"Put down the chocolate, Anna." Rapunzel chided with commandeering tone. She might as well point a gun to the girl.
The giddy red-haired girl complied reluctantly.
"Judging from the amount of sweets you have consumed I think it will be okay for you to attend class tomorrow." The history teacher sighed not even bother to check the girl for sugar rush ailment. She couldn't heal that kind of affliction.
"Party pooper." Anna murmured lowly that only two vampires could hear her. Elsa and Belle smirked with amused glint in their eyes as Rapunzel only could guess of what the girl had said.
Elsa hoisted Anna up from bed and gently led her to brush her teeth. The three older women shared glances with each other, which clue for Belle and Rapunzel to leave the room. Elsa would tuck Anna personally to bed, no question asked.
"White, you realize that you start acting like Anna's mother, right?" Belle nudged the woman after they finished settling the girl to bed.
"The girl needs proper adult human to supervise her. She is too young to be gallivanting between times." Rapunzel said casually. "I know you, Elsa, and Merida have been her guardian between her time adventures, but surely she may snap in the future."
"Next thing you would surprise me with 'what is your intention to my daughter' speech to Elsa." Belle flashed her friend a knowing smile.
Rapunzel threw an incredulous look at Belle, "I thought it is more your thing than mine. You are the one who has been hell-bent to protect the girl's chastity." Rapunzel laughed a genuine laugh. They both had crossed the dormitory path and now were walking around the school building toward the school laboratory.
"She is 14!" Belle shrieked. "But you have a point. She is too important for me."
Rapunzel gave Belle a criticizing look before saying, "I know but she is destined for Elsa… and that vampire has very amazing control, considering those vampire urges…"
Belle opened the laboratory door for Rapunzel and stepped aside. "That is the sole reason I trust her enough to be with Anna now." She pulled a lever on the wall and then blast of light filling the room.
Rapunzel had been in the room for several times now but she would never get used to with the amount of metal devices, tinkering tools, even a mini rocket launcher in the room. The room was designed as advanced laboratory which hidden two floors deep below the main building. The previous king had arranged everything for Elsa and her companies to have full access on the latest technology and equipment in Arendelle.
"Let's start preparing for Anna's next jump."
.
Anna had missed her first day of school but Belle had said that student's orientation wasn't that eventful and she would only catch up for introduction in class today.
Somehow, it felt weird to witness centuries old vampires were walking down the hallway of school corridors. It was weird in good way since those vampires were inhumanly gorgeous and instead of walking, they were gliding elegantly like royal queens from Middle Ages.
Both Elsa and Belle were truly a spectacle to behold among the students and staffs. Therefore, Anna felt a little bit intimidated while she was following both women steps toward her classroom. The red-haired girl recalled the previous conversation which had happened half an hour ago in Ms. White's office.
"Please explain to me why you two are going to 'escort' Anna to my class?" Ms. White had both her arms crossed in front of her body, raising one of her eyebrows to both vampires fearlessly.
Elsa gave a soft smile while looping a pair of her arms around Anna's shoulder, giving a cue for Belle to handle Ms. White's question. Anna couldn't help but blushing so hard with her heart beating uncontrollably until it brought concern on Elsa's eyes.
Belle shrugged. "Today is Anna's first day. Her first step of high school life, we think it's very important moment in a human's life journey, especially the education path."
Anna almost forgot how sometimes Elsa, Belle, and Merida would take exaggeration as the new extreme in some aspects of her life.
Meanwhile Ms. White was throwing Belle a glare as if the centuries old vampire had grown a second head. "Seriously?"
"Anyway, we don't want Anna to be late on her first day of school." Elsa cut in both arguing teachers. Thankfully the wall was pretty thick and no one would be able to hear their bantering and conversation. The sweet smile Elsa had was again, a cue for both women to end their bantering.
"I can find my own class you know." Anna offered. She could bear herself as audience no longer. She was almost 15 and perfectly capable to walk to class on her own.
Elsa and Belle exchanged glances for a second and then they both let out a light chuckle. "Not a chance." Belle said.
Thus the reason of why Anna was walking the hall tailing the two most gorgeous teachers in school to her history class. Elsa had offered to hold her hand but Anna had refused instantly. She wasn't a kid anymore, holding her teacher's hand to class would be totally weird in another level.
Belle smirked upon hearing that particular bit of Anna's thought. The red-haired teen grumbled in annoyance on Belle's casual trespassing into her mind.
"Obviously we have to mind our actions around you while in public." Belle said when they reached a deserted corridor. The reminder was meant more for the platinum blond vampire than herself. "However, you can come to us whenever you need, remember that."
Anna had mixed feeling about the statement. In one side she felt relieved that she could be near her favorite vampires, but on the other hand, would she be able to experience a normal high school life?
"What is normal?" Belle stopped mid-step and turned her body to face Anna. Elsa glanced curiously toward her brunette companion. "What kind of normal high school life do you want, Anna?"
Anna was like a deer on headlight, she shifted her gaze on Elsa, asking for help. Surely with her time-traveling ability she knew she couldn't be normal like other kids in her ages.
"Belle, stay away from her head." Elsa understood right away that the girl was uncomfortable.
"I was merely asking…" Belle defended herself, lifting both her hands up, sign of surrender.
Anna occupied her mind with some cute puppies images in order to defending her mind.
Belle mused. "Smart."
She had history as her first and second period in the day. Since Anna had enrolled with spectacular credits in the subject, the school had given her opportunity to join the advance history class for mostly juniors and seniors.
No one she knew attended the class, not even one familiar face. Thankfully Ms. White had pointed at a desk on the corner exactly near the window for her.
After settling her textbook, Anna shifted back her attention to the topic of the day. The class had started 15 minutes ago.
On the whiteboard there was a writing, '1912: most memorable tragedy'.
"Okay class, I think some of you may know what we will discuss today," Ms. White gestured at the whiteboard.
Anna took 3 seconds to ponder before figuring out the answer. Apparently almost of all the students in the room needed less than that to guess.
"The unsinkable sinking ship." One of them, a girl with wavy brown hair and olive-skinned body piped in.
Ms. White gave the girl a look of appraisal, "Excellent, Jasmine. However, abandon all thoughts and romantic aspects that you have watched from the movie. In my class, we will study and discuss the true history." The blond teacher smirked. Anna guessed that Ms. White seemed to be in her element now. "So everyone, let's go down with this ship."
Meanwhile, the red-haired teen was recalling her last conversation with Elsa about supplementary lesson for her jump preparation.
Ms. White was writing the word 'TITANIC' on the whiteboard with some kind of determination.
Anna had a bad feeling about this.
.
Her day was not necessarily bad. She came to know several kids from history class. There was Jasmine, the girl who answered Ms. White's question and Meg, the cheerleader with strong sense of justice. It was her luck who had made her end up with two girls in history study group.
Jasmine was a nice girl. She was polite though Anna tried not to notice all expensive brands the girl was wearing from head to toe. Megara, the cheerleader was rather kind and caring, beneath the scowling and complaining about political and status quo in the world nowadays.
Of course they both were juniors, 2 years senior above her.
"It is curious thing to have a freshman in Ms. White's class. You must be really smart." Jasmine commented while they were shaking hands, introducing each other.
"I would say the girl is special, Jas. Didn't you see that Ms. Anderson and Ms. French escort her to class?" Megara responded with snapping tone which made Anna flinch. Although after that the cheerleader appraised her with smile. "Welcome, to Arendelle high, freshman. You can go to us if you have question or anything."
At least she had 2 friends in school now.
After class ended, Ms. White requested her to stay a bit longer.
"What's your next class?"
Anna took out her schedule paper. "P.E with Mr. Weselton."
Rapunzel grimaced. "Good luck with that. I will write you a note of why you come late, so don't worry."
Anna shrugged. "I don't mind. I hate P.E."
Rapunzel motioned a chair across her desk. She pulled up some books and papers before handing it to Anna.
"I have gathered all historical information about Titanic ship. Even Merida managed to snatch a copy of the ship's blueprints."
Anna threw her a puzzled look. The books were at least more than a thousand pages with countless extra papers. "But you assigned us homework to gather fresh perspective on Titanic tragedy."
"True," Rapunzel nodded affirmatively. Her blond hair shone like gold under morning sun which had made it through the window. The older woman sighed audibly before continuing. "My bad, I thought you have already known about this."
"About what?"
"Your next jump is 1912, to the RMS Titanic."
.
.
A/N: Are you still with me? Updates would be more sporadic right now, at least until I settle with my new life schedule. But I'll keep writing :)
