Pascal burrowed deeper into the fur he found. He didn't know how far away from the wreckage of the house he was, he just knew that he was most certainly not leaving this fur blanket. Did he want to find Rapunzel? Of course. Was he going to be any use to her dead? No. So his logic was be lucky that there was decent warmth for a chameleon available, and wait out this storm until he could do something.
This was a good plan, until a giant hard something fell on top of the blanket, nearly crushing the poor chameleon while he tried to find a way out of the folds of the fur.
Finally he did, though he didn't know how happy he was about it. It was freezing outside, and while he didn't think it was worth getting crushed, maybe loosing a tail wouldn't have been so bad. He chirped about his discomfort, and a black mass groaned about her own pain.
"Pascal?" Elsa said in surprise, lifting herself off the fur and rubbing her wrists, wincing a tad.
Pascal chirped in confirmation, jumping up off the blanket and immediately regretting it. He didn't know if it was just because it was night now, or if the cold was more intense around Elsa, but it was a lot colder outside than when the wind blew him away.
"Oh Pascal, you must be freezing! Here," Elsa scooped the chameleon up in her hands covering him up in a sort of make shift wind shelter. Pascal shivered a bit. With the wind gone it was better, but Elsa herself was not warm, not at all.
"Pascal, I don't know what to do," Elsa spoke as if addressing Pascal, but really she was talking to herself more. Pascal still chirped a bit to show he was listening, and crawled out from her hands to huddle on her shoulder. Here he could hear better, and also burrow into some of her hair. Plus, Pascal had seen what those hands could do; he didn't really fancy using them as a home.
"Mother's dying, I need to find Rapunzel. But she could be miles away, and I can't see tracks in the snow, the wind must have covered them all. How am I supposed to find her? What if she's hurt? What if they sell her for money?" Snow was starting to fall around the area again, quite heavily. Pascal got her attention with a few quick chirps and a sharp poke in the cheek with his tail. He mimicked the motion for breathing Gothel always did, by raising his hands up his body with an inhale, and letting them fall with and exhale. Elsa did the same, and the snow because to lighten until it stopped completely.
"You're right, I need to control my emotions. Don't feel, don't feel," she chanted her mantra under her breath as the two scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of life.
When Pascal was looking due West Elsa made a little gasp of delight, "Oh look Pascal there do you see it? That tiny glowing dot? It must be a fire, right? I've never seen one from so far away…" Elsa wrung her hands, unsure of her decision. But Pascal knew a fire when he saw one; call it animal instinct. Also, it's not like the search party had anywhere else to go, and if morning came there was no doubt that Rapunzel would be moved again. Pascal wouldn't let her be taken; he saw the looks of that man before the wind separated them. He didn't trust that grown one that was tied to the chair.
So Pascal pointed his tail and nodded enthusiastically, ready to brave the storm.
"Yeah, you're right. There's nowhere else to go," Elsa nodded with determination and started down the hill, the knee high snow not even putting a delay on their expedition.
Flynn crawled back under the purple cloak and tried to wrap some extra hair around his feet. It wasn't comfortable, and if the fire died it became a little less than warm. Not cold enough to freeze to death, but cold enough to keep him awake. So he kept the fire alive that night, making sure the other three didn't freeze and rationing that he would sleep in the sled the whole way to Arendelle tomorrow.
"Can't sleep?" a soft voice spoke from under the ball of hair that was settled to the left of Flynn.
"Well, despite your best efforts Blondie, its still very cold without a fire."
"I'm so sorry, Flynn," her muffled voice said.
"Don't worry about it. It's not like it was your fault. Who knew that the little girl we were trying to find would turn out to be an unstable ice powered witch?"
"She's really nice," Rapunzel sat up and allowed her hair to leave her face, making her voice clear. She offered some extra hair to Flynn, who on normal circumstances would have thought this was a very, very, strange offer. But on this occasion he just thought it was a pretty strange one.
"Thanks," he took the extra hair and wrapped it around his shoulders like royalty did with their fancy scarves.
"She didn't mean any of this, you know," Rapunzel continued, "We've both been kept at home so long, the outside world is scary to us. But when she feels fear, well…"
"She freezes the whole world?" Flynn offered, a little bitter.
"She defends herself." Rapunzel said pointedly, "and me and Mother. I'm sure if you had ice powers you would use them too."
"Oh Blondie, I'm more a tropical island person. Mountains and snow aren't really my style."
"Well she wasn't asked to be born with snow powers, just like I-" Rapunzel stopped herself and started messing with her hair. Flynn side-eyed her, and Rapunzel tugged at her hair a little more.
"Not that that wasn't suspicious or anything at all Blondie, but I can see you don't want to talk about it, so I'll let it slide. However, I am becoming increasingly interested in your story, so tell me something."
"What do you want to know?" She asked, not in the least bit shy. Flynn chuckled a bit.
"Well I know I'm not supposed to ask about the sister-"
"-Nope"
"Or the being stay-at-home children for your whole lives-"
"-Nah-ah"
"Frankly I'm too scared to ask about the hair. But just tell me this. What in the world happened to you two that made you so afraid?"
"Well…it's a long story," Rapunzel sounded unsure and looked back to where the blizzard once was, though now it had finally dissolved.
Flynn let her contemplate her choice in silence, which was a mistake he realized. She turned with a smile on her face and said in the voice of the best con-man "So Flynn, what's your story?"
"Woah woah there Blondie. You didn't even answer my question yet." Flynn accused, but she merely shrugged, "You can't just ask me that without giving me an answer first."
"I did give you an answer."
"Saying 'it's a long story' is not an answer."
"See now you are changing the rules."
"What?" Flynn felt like he was not only tricked, but also a little impressed. Not that she was stealthy in avoiding questions, but she was certainly fighting for her cause.
"You asked me for an answer, I gave it, and now you won't answer me? What, are you some kind of criminal?"
"A thief, yeah, but I'll have you know it is a well-respected profession in the black market community," and at that Rapunzel actually laughed. It was a small chuckle, not loud enough to wake the kids. But she smiled and laughed and didn't look worried for the first time that night. And she didn't scold him, actually quite the opposite. She looked at him and asked "Why are you a thief?"
"What do you mean why? Why would I be a thief? I have to eat, make money…" Flynn started, but Rapunzel didn't look away. And maybe it was just him, but those green dinner plate eyes didn't seem to be blinking either. Feeling a tad uncomfortable, Flynn squirmed and just kept talking "…and when you're an orphan left with nothing, the world doesn't give you that many options."
"An orphan?" Rapunzel looked genuinely sad, an emotion that no one had ever looked at Flynn before. Not even Anna, the emotional runt who wears her heart on her sleeve.
"Well, it's not that big a deal, that's life Blondie," Flynn stopped looking at her. He never told anyone about that, and not because it was some huge dark secret. He just never had anyone that would be interested in hearing it, someone that would care. It was…strange.
"You can't tell anyone about that," Flynn said strictly. He may have not reveled his whole story, but just a little bit seemed to make him feel more vulnerable, "It would ruin my reputation."
"Ah, we wouldn't want that, would we?" Rapunzel dipped her head and laughed a little more.
"Well a fake reputation is all a man has," Flynn responded, and after some soft laughter found himself with nothing to say.
"I'll- I'm going to go get some more firewood," he took off his hair scarf and laid it carefully down on the snow, making sure not to misplace a single hair. But he kept the far too small purple cloak on, because it was deep in the night now and any time away from the fire was bound to be miserable.
Rapunzel gave a little wave as Flynn trudged through the snow with her winter cloak. There was something about Flynn she liked. Maybe it was because despite his harsh exterior, he still helped the two children sleeping across from her in the mountains. And while he tried not to care, there was just something in the way he talked to her that made her feel like he did actually care, even though he only knew her for a day. But maybe that was just Rapunzel, these were the first people from the real world she has ever met, after all. She might be making them seem nicer than they were, like Mother said could happen.
Anna and Kristoff seemed really nice too, though Kristoff was quieter and Anna was more excitable. And it was cold out, very cold. Rapunzel wished she had gotten to leave when it was actually summer. But still, it was nice to even be under the cloud cover rather than the roof of their ice house, and to feel wind and be able to listen to different breathing patterns. All she could was imagine how amazing it would be when she actually got to town-
"Rapunzel!" a very familiar voice whisper-shouted at her. Rapunzel turned quickly with a large smile, hardly believing it, "Elsa!"
"Are you hurt, are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Elsa pulled up her too thin dress and trudged up the rest of the hill. Rapunzel stood, though did not move, as she was still safely wrapped in her hair.
"I'm fine Elsa, how did you find us, where did you-"
"I saw the fire," Elsa looked past Rapunzel at the sleeping reindeer and two kids, who haven't stirred. They must have been heavy sleepers, even in the cold.
"Oh and you brought Pascal!" Rapunzel didn't even bother whispering; she thought that Kristoff and Anna should meet their new companion. Pascal crawled out from underneath Elsa's collar and onto her shoulder, chirping with joy. Elsa held out her hand and allowed him to crawl on it, transferring him over to Rapunzel's much thicker and warmer hair.
"Oh Pascal I'm so glad you are alright! I knew Elsa would take good care of you," Rapunzel nuzzled her friend affectionately.
"Rapunzel, come on. Let's go while they're asleep," Elsa grabbed Rapunzel's sleeve, not her skin, and started tugging her down the hill.
"Wait, wait, Elsa!" Rapunzel tugged her arm free, "I've been having the most amazing time! They have a sled that is pulled by a reindeer; it goes faster than you could dream. And those two sleeping are Kristoff and Anna, they are on a search of their own. I even met someone else, and I think- I think he likes me," Rapunzel was shivering a little bit now, from being so away from the fire.
"The man who you tied up before right? He's the only one not here. Come on Rapunzel, let's go," Elsa reached up for Rapunzel again, but this time Rapunzel pulled back before Elsa could touch her.
"Elsa please. They'll take us to the town! Flynn promised to take me back home too. You're already outside!" Rapunzel encouraged her sister, trying to draw her back closer to the fire and to the party.
"Mother is dying, Rapunzel," Elsa didn't take a step forward, but she did stop whispering, "She came back all cold, and older than I have ever seen her. Her hair is so white, and her skin looks like…" Elsa paused to find a word, but falling short she just used her hands to try and gesture what Rapunzel had to guess was tired.
And Rapunzel was ready to go with Elsa without question. If mother was dying, then it wasn't an option was it?
"Hey, whose this?" Flynn asked from behind, dropping his load of firewood onto the fire.
"Oh," Rapunzel turned, "Flynn, this is my sister, Elsa."
"Whose what where?" Anna mumbled, stirring finally with the loud bang of the firewood and Flynn's own voice. Kristoff also nodded awake with a very loud yawn. And while Rapunzel knew she couldn't go to town, she though maybe she could stay the night.
"Guys, this is my sister, Elsa. Elsa, this is Flynn, Kristoff, and Anna," Rapunzel grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her to the fireside. Elsa retreated her hand quickly, Rapunzel didn't even notice that she had grabbed bare skin.
"Well I hope you're here to apologize," Flynn remarked with a smirk, to which Rapunzel couldn't help but smile, while Elsa shied away.
"It was a joke Snow Queen, don't worry. Your sister assures me you are as gentle as a ladybug,"
"Flynn," Rapunzel said, half scolding. She noticed how uncomfortable Elsa was getting with the attention.
"Elsa, you're name is Elsa," Anna jumped up, no longer half asleep, no longer seeming cold.
"Y-yes," Elsa looked at Rapunzel, nervous. Rapunzel nodded with encouragement.
"Elsa, my name is Anna! You won't remember me because you were taken before I was born, but we're sisters!" Anna basically had to jump to take steps through the deep snow, but the 12 year old was not put off by it. She left the warmth of the reindeer and the fire in her summer clothes without even a shiver, her excitement for finally meeting Elsa driving her enough.
"N-no, I'm Rapunzel's sister," Elsa said, and Rapunzel eyed Anna with a warning. She could not let Elsa know they weren't actually sisters, not now and not here.
But Anna, despite being young and excitable, was not an idiot, "I know it sounds crazy, but Rapunzel also can't remember when you came into the family. And my parents are missing their daughter still! She was taken when she was 2, she had hair so blonde it was nearly white and snow powers! Who else could it be? I'm sure of it, sisterly bonds! Can't you feel it too?" Anna was very close to Elsa now, nearly grabbing her hand.
"Ginger," Flynn said in a sharp voice, "back off a little."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Anna took one jump back. Kristoff remained by the fire with Sven, out of sight and out of the way. Rapunzel couldn't help but think it was more than shyness, but seeing that Elsa wanted space and Kristoff was observant enough to give it.
"Rapunzel," Elsa took Rapunzel out of her thoughts, "please, let's go."
"Go? Go back to that ice house?" Anna shook her head, "no no, come with us! Oh Mom and Dad will be so happy you're alright! You can melt the winter and we can tell the whole town you're still alive! They might even make it a national holiday," Anna drifted off into thoughts of what an amazing day that would be.
"Elsa, let's just spend the night. It's cold out there, I can't move like you. But we can stay with these people, they are our friends. Mother will be okay until morning, I promise," Rapunzel said in all seriousness. As everyone in their household knew, she never broke a promise.
But Elsa still shook her head, "What if you don't come back, what if you leave me? What if you leave Mother? No, no," she started loosing control of her breath, Rapunzel could hear it becoming shallow and fast.
"Elsa, Elsa!" she ran over and grabbed both Elsa's hands, "Breathe, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Nice and deep. Come on." And as Elsa tried to focus her emotions, Anna snapped back to reality.
"Hey, what's going on?" She jumped forward, moving in nearly as close as Rapunzel, "Can I help? What's going on? Tell me what to do."
And Elsa, nearly on the verge of tears, shook Rapunzel off to run a little down the hill. Snow was starting to fall again, but it was as if Anna didn't notice. She ran after the older girl, shouting above the growing wind, "You don't have to be afraid! Don't panic!"
"I can't!" Elsa screamed swirling around hands forward, unknowingly or not releasing her fear and anxiety out on the party. Rapunzel shouted to get down, and she saw Kristoff force Sven down into the snow.
But Flynn didn't listen. He bounded forward, reaching Anna and putting his body in between her and Elsa. The ice power that Elsa released hit him square in the chest, forcing him to shiver violently and fall to his knees.
Elsa, mortified, ran. And Rapunzel, conflicted about where she should go, who she should follow, remained in the snow as her sister ran off into the dark, alone, and Kristoff ran to Anna's side.
"Hey Blondie," Flynn called from the snow. Rapunzel pushed herself up and moved liked lightning to his side, her choice made. She would go after Elsa eventually, but she had to prioritize.
"Oh no, Flynn, are you alright? How do you feel?" Rapunzel took her lengths of hair and piled it on his chest. He looked at her one eyebrow raised, but did not reject the hair. It must have been warm, after all.
"So are you sure your sister is 15? She packs a punch that could rival some thugs I know," Flynn remarked cringing as he tried to sit up.
"Stay down. Okay, Flynn, I'm about to sing. I need you to trust me, alright? Just trust me, I know what I'm doing," Rapunzel put her hand on his shoulder and forced him down into the snow. Some of his hair was turning white, though Anna and Kristoff, who were fixated on her, didn't notice.
"Also," she said before starting, "try not to freak out," Flynn looked at her with wide eyes and Rapunzel cringed back. But she began her song none the less.
It was strange singing it for someone who wasn't Mother. She had never sung it to anyone else before, not even Elsa. Not even when she was so sick Mother was considering taking her to an actual doctor in the outside. Mother always told her that there was a time and a place for her song, and that Elsa would be able to take care of herself. If you sing the song for a reason like sickness, you are only making the person weaker, she said.
But now Flynn has been stabbed by ice, and that wasn't the type of thing someone could bounce back on their own. So Rapunzel closed her eyes and sung her song, her hand constantly on Flynn's shoulder to make sure he stayed still.
When she opened her eyes she could tell that the hand on shoulder wasn't necessary. All three of them, the two kids and the grown man, were so in shock it seemed they couldn't move.
"Rapunzel, what was that?" Kristoff was the first to speak.
"I- have magic hair that glows when I sing…" Rapunzel admitted to not just one person but three. How Mother would have strangled her.
"Uh-huh…" Flynn said, still not even trying to move.
"And…it also has healing powes," she continued, looking at Flynn to see if there was any visible improvement. The streaks of white in his hair remaind.
And then she saw the shift in his face that showed a man read to scream.
"Pleasedon'tfreakout," she said quickly, holding up her hands in defense.
"I'm not freaking out, why are you freaking out?" Flynn's voice seemed at least an octave higher than normal, "I'm just very interesting in your hair and the magical qualities it possess how long has it been doing that exactly?"
"Rapunzel that is so cool!" Anna jumped up and punched the air, "Why didn't you tell us that's what all that hair is for? Thatisaweosme!" she was bouncing around while Rapunzel answered.
"My hair's done this…forever," she giggled a little as Anna squealed in excitement, "Mother said when I was little, people tried to cut it. They wanted its power. But when it's cut, it turns brown and dies," she bent her neck and pushed down her hair to reveal the one, very short strand of brown hair on her head.
"That's why I-" Rapunzel sighed, "we never-" she didn't want to finish the sentence.
"That's why you never left the tower," Flynn finished for her, still sitting in the snow. And then he shuddered over.
"Flynn!" Rapunzel lifted him up by the shoulders and looked at his hair. More strands were turning white.
"I thought you said you healed him," Kristoff said with concern, coming over to help lift Flynn to his feet.
"I- I tried. I never had to use the healing powers to heal someone hurt by Elsa before. My magic must not work against hers," Rapunzel tugged at her hair nervously. Maybe she should try again, an extra song never killed anyone. She couldn't make it worse.
"I know someone who might be able to help," Kristoff said before Rapunzel made her second attempt.
"Really?" Rapunzel asked.
"Yeah, if we leave now we can reach them by the time the sun rises. Come on, everyone in the sled," Kristoff hoisted Flynn over his back, who protested in saying he was just fine to keep walking, he wasn't dead yet. Kristoff seemed to enjoy the power the 16 year old had over the 26 year old.
"Rapunzel, come on. You'll need to keep him warm with your hair," Anna said, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward.
"Wait, wait! What about Elsa?," Rapunzel looked onto the horizon. The sky was starting to lighten.
"We can find her together. If we can get to Kristoff's family by the time the sun is in the sky, we can surly be back here with a healthy and happy search party by noon."
"His family?" Rapunzel said, intrigued to say the least in meeting more people.
"You'll love them, they really rock!" Anna said, a huge smile plastered on her face. Kristoff let out a chuckle from the sled, where Flynn was still pouting.
"And also, they live very close to town! We can go back to the castle, grab warmer clothes, check on my parents-" Anna stopped with eyes wide open and mouth still trying to form words "parents, my parents, in town, they don't know!" she slapped both her hands on her cheeks, "Oh my gosh! I need to check on my parents! The town! We have to go!"
"Wai-" Rapunzel began to protest again, but with enormous and very surprising strength for any 12 year old, Anna grabbed Rapunzel's wrist and dragged her to the sled, where Kristoff hoisted her up into a seat, and all three passengers helped pile her hair in, using it as a blanket.
"Don't sweat the healing thing Blondie, your hair is one of the most top notch blankets this side of the country," Flynn commented snuggling down and closing his eyes.
"I- is this what kidnapping is?" Rapunzel leaned close to Flynn's ear so that Kristoff and Anna, both cheering on Sven to ride faster, wouldn't hear.
"Yeah, for two kids their moral compass is already pretty skewed," Flynn smiled a bit, "maybe that's why I like them," and he fell asleep, curled under Rapunzel's hair with white and brown hair ruffled in the wind.
Author's Note: Hello, I am here to apologize for being the worst at updating. If you are reading this though, thank you. My goal is to get it finished and done by New Year's, so we'll see how that goes. I hope this month is filled with productive updates!