A/N: I know. It's been like…almost a month….I know I'm sorry. After my finals were over on the 19th of December….I thought I was free but my mom decided, hey let's have 1,000 Christmas parties with everyone we know! So I couldn't write squat. But I'm here now and I'm really sorry! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or whatever you lovely people celebrate! And have a great New Years! Without further ado, enjoy!
Both girls snapped their heads in the door's direction, both of them instinctively running to the door to try and get it open. Johannes just stood on the other side, his sweaty palms gripping the door handle tightly, contemplating whether or not to open it…and just forget about this whole thing…or discover what he's been missing all his life…his own daughter. Choosing what his sick mind wanted, he left the girls and went back to work….shakily making more jewelry for the passing customers.
"Danielle! Danielle we have to get the door open! It won't open!" Christabel cried, trying to break down the door with her shoulder.
"Bella, it's no use!" Danielle sighed and pulled Christabel away from the door, rubbing her shoulder. "We'll have to find another way out."
"But how! There's no possible way out! This place is like a prison! The only way we can get out is through that door! God, I knew something was wrong with that man!"
"You thought something was wrong with that man?! You were the one who insisted on following him to the back room! Did Aunt Anna teach you nothing about strangers!?" Danielle chided.
"Me?! You were the one who followed me! You could've done something to stop me from going!" Christabel retorted angrily.
"You are not my responsibility Christabel! You are seventeen for God's sake! Grow the hell up!" Danielle yelled and held her head. She never used Christabel's full name…no one did unless she was in trouble or disappointing someone. Danielle had never used it before….and now she felt horrible.
"Well at least I'm not stuck up and petty like you are! All you care about is impressing people and making sure you're liked by everyone! Well news flash Danielle! You'll never be liked by everyone! You'll never get that" She snapped. "All you get is your family!"
"Well at least I'm liked!" Danielle retorted and then her eyes widened at what she just said. "Oh…Bella….I-"
"Just leave me alone." She whispered almost in tears. She walked over to a chair in the corner of the room and sat in it…not once looking at Danielle.
Danielle stood there, watching her best friend think that no one liked her….or loved her….she had never been more disappointed in anything she's ever done. She had tears in her own eyes. All she wanted to do at that moment was pull Christabel into a huge hug, tell her that she loved her and that she was sorry. But she made it clear that she wanted to be left alone…so Danielle would do just that.
~0-0-0-0-0~
Back in King Edward and Queen Genevieve's castle, where Elsa, Leia, Christabel, and Danielle were staying at, Elsa and Leia were dining in the great hall with them, talking about their families, their ambitions, and just their lives. For Elsa, it was nice not to talk about trade affairs for once. Instead of being under stress and tense, she could relax and just have friendly conversation with these people.
"So Queen Elsa, do you-"
"Just Elsa is perfectly fine." Elsa smiled genuinely at Queen Genevieve.
"Elsa", she smiled, "Tell me about your son, Kenneth am I correct?"
"Yes Kenneth is his name." She smiled and looked down. Anyone conversation that brought up her children made her smile without a question. They were her world, besides her sister and husband. Just seeing them every day made her life worth living for and she wouldn't take them back for anything. Though she loved her daughter….her son was her. He was exactly her. Ever since he had been born, he was a mama's boy. He always had to stay by her side, especially in meetings because they would take at least three hours long and for a four year old boy, it was hard being away from mama that long. He'd often hide under the table or just not give a care and sit on Elsa's lap. Elsa smiled at the memories of when he was little only to be broken from them as Lei nudged her arm.
Elsa looked up, embarrassed. "Oh, I am sorry…just lost in thought. My son? Kenneth is…he is wonderful. He is finally a teenager too which is almost hard to believe." She chuckled.
Queen Genevieve smiled. She was 5 months pregnant with her first child and hearing about Elsa talk about her children made her even more excited. "If you don't mind me asking, how did he get fire powers?"
Elsa tensed. "His fire powers do not define him. He is a wonderful young man who has ambition, pride, a good heart, and is intelligent. Most of all, he is independent. He does not let people define who he is. I have taught him from the time he was small to now is that only you know who you are. If you let others decide, you will never know how to do things for yourself. However, to answer your question, they were passed from his father." She said and daintily sipped her hot glogg. She hated hot glogg.
Queen Genevieve nodded…..believing she had offended Elsa in some way. "Your Majesty I didn't mean to-"
Elsa shook her head and chuckled. "No you did none of the sort. I apologize for my abrupt outburst. Something I should work on." Elsa apologized instead.
He stared at the burnt hole in his bed. He looked at his hand as the word 'monster' ran through his head. Locking his door for the thousandth time that day, he ran back over to his bed and touched the burnt hole. Tears voluntarily ran down his cheek and he fell on his needs, needing his mother there with him to help.
Then there was a knock at his door.
"Kenneth? It's Aunt Anna….can I come in?" Anna's sweet voice asked.
"Aunt Anna…now isn't a good time." Kenneth answered brokenly.
"Now." Anna asked more firmly.
Kenneth took a minute and got up, opening the door to see his one and only Aunt Anna standing with two mugs of hot chocolate and some marshmallows. He gave her a small smile and let her in, stepping out of the way.
"Thank you honey." She said and walked in, immediately stopping in the middle of the room when she saw his bed. "Uh…."
Kenneth quickly threw blankets over it and turned around to wipe the tears out of his eyes. Anna frowned and set the tray on Kenneth's desk and walked over to him and immediately pulled him into a hug. He slowly returned the hug but once he did, broke down crying.
Anna sat them on the bed and let him sob into her chest. When Elsa wasn't around, Anna was like his mother. She was always there to comfort every family member living in that castle. It was like she always knew the right thing to say no matter what the situation. Danielle shared that characteristic with her.
She rubbed his back soothingly and rested her cheek on the top of his head, letting him know that she was there and it was okay to cry. The thing about Kenneth was that in order to calm down from his feelings, he had to cry, and he always knew exactly where to go to do so.
"Shh….baby….tell me what happened." Anna whispered and kissed the top of his head, feeling horrible that her only nephew was pretty much struggling with his life.
"I-I couldn't…I just…got mad…a-and…then….th-then….I wanted to break s-s-omething….someone….I-I couldn't…s-so I b-burnt it...I-I'm so sorry Auntie Anna!" He cried and let her hug him tightly.
Anna frowned and pulled away, making him look her in the eye. "Kenneth…why were you angry?"
He sniffled and looked away from Anna's gaze. He was too ashamed to look her in the eye. "I've come to the point where, like mom with ice, I can create fire whenever I want to. When I was younger I was only able to….you know…produce my fire only through my emotions….now I can do it willingly….I can do it willingly and I hate it!"
Anna looked at him in confusion. "Why….would you hate it? Now you're in control of it."
"No I'm not! I don't know how my powers work! One moment I'll be laying in bed and then the next moment my bed is on damn fire!" He yelled, almost like he was angry at Anna for asking that.
Anna winced at Kenneth's sudden outburst. Thankfully she had experience with this when Elsa was in the stage Kenneth was in at the moment, but it still frightened her. She had no powers, she couldn't sit there and tell her distressed nephew that she "understood" how he felt because she didn't. She had no idea. But she knew she had to try. He was her sister's son.
"Kenneth….I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Alright, so you don't feel in control of your powers anymore…alright…look when you're feeling distressed or angry and you can feel yourself becoming heated, you know what you need to do?"
"What?"
Anna smiled. "Love."
"Love?"
"Okay not that you don't love….but when you get heated you need to remember to love. Your mother kept her powers to herself for thirteen years and when she finally learned that love thaws, she could control her powers. So…if love can thaw…then…."
"Then love can cease fire as well?" Kenneth guessed.
Anna smiled and pulled him into a hug. "There's only way to find out."
Kenneth nodded, understanding his Aunt's point, but still hesitant and completely terrified of the unknown….of what he was capable of.
Dear Kenneth and Evangeline,
My loves, I miss you two so much. Being in the Northern Isles is lovely but it is not as wonderful without you two here. I despise waking up not being able to walk down the hall to see your angelic faces, but however, I will be home in less than a week and I am ecstatic to see your faces! I hope you two are taking care of your Aunt Anna like I asked because she is the only woman along with you, Evangeline, so Kenneth, I need you to help. You two also need to take care of each other because it is what's right. If you are wondering how I am doing, my answer would be good. Besides missing you all, the hospitality here is wonderful and I get to spend a lot of time learning about their culture and the way dad was raised. I know you two are not as interested as I am but nevertheless, it is quite fascinating. If you are wondering, yes, if you two were here I would drag your rears around the Northern Isles so you could look at the history with me. I have just gotten word that I must attend a boring old meeting with Queen Genevieve so this is where I say good bye. I love you too very much and I promise I will be home as soon as I possibly can. Stay safe my loves and remember everything I told you.
All my love,
Mama
Time was frozen. It seemed like they had been trapped in the back room of the shop for years. Neither of the girls wanted to look at each other. They were guiltier of the way they shouted at each other than the actual situation they were in. Afraid of breaking down into a puddle of tears, the two of them sat there, useless in their own ways.
Christabel sat on a dusty, old brown chair, her back facing Danielle and her forehead resting in the palm of her hand. Way too many thoughts were going through her head. Though she should be figuring out how to get the hell out of there, she was more concerned on making sure she fixed things with her cousin first. However….she didn't want to- at least at the moment. Something was building up inside her….some rage. She wanted Danielle to know that she had hurt her and that she was in no mood for forgiving her. But then again, she wanted to badly to break down into tears and hold Danielle in her arms, telling her how much she loved her and how sorry she was for being so naïve. Something was holding her back…something was telling her that it was a bad idea….
Danielle was leaning against the wall. She placed a hand over her stomach and sighed. She was starving. They hadn't eaten since early that morning. Thoughts were running through her head as well. Though she loved Christabel, she wasn't the one on her mind at the moment. Johannes was the one on her mind. Something about him….so strange….so mysterious yet so familiar. It was like they had this unspeakable bond. The way his chin was longer than a normal person….they way his eyes sparkled…kind of like hers. She could see in those eyes that there was a secret…a dark secret. She wanted…she needed to find out more about him. She couldn't do that behind a closed door though. She needed help….help from her best friend.
"….Bella I-"
"Save it." Christabel coldly cut her off. "You said quite enough today."
"Bella I'm sorry…I'm sorry I said those things to you…I just…I'm stressed and when I get stressed I-"
"Enough Danielle!" Christabel shouted. "I have no interest in hearing any bullshit apologies from you right now.
"It's not bullshit, Bella! When I feel bad about something I did, I always apologize and I always mean it! Why can't you just…leave it alone!"
Christabel stood up and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at Danielle. "Leave it alone? How would you feel if the only person who understood you and thought loved you told you that you weren't liked!? My mother was told that one time by the former Prince Hans of the Southern Isles and she told me it was the most disheartening thing someone has ever said to her! I mean, besides Aunt Elsa saying no to build a snowman, but that's not the point Danielle! You hurt me really badly and I'm not ready to talk to you yet!"
"Well then how do you expect to get out of here, huh?" She yelled and held her forehead.
"I'll figure it out." She replied emotionlessly and went back to the door, jiggling the knob repeatedly. Groaning in frustration, she kicked the door with her feet and it made the smallest hole. Christabel smiled and jumped up and down. "Yes!"
Danielle ran over to the door and got down on her knees and looked through the hole. "…..It's so dark…..Bella, I don't think anyone'll know we're here….and I don't think yelling is a smart idea."
"Nice job, genius." She mumbled.
"Look I'm just trying to help and if you're going to be all cocky then don't bother asking me for anything!" Danielle snapped, immediately causing Christabel to shut her mouth.
"We need to find something sharp or pointy or heavy." Danielle stated and began looking around the room.
"Why?"
Danielle sighed. "Because our frail shoulders will do absolutely nothing."
Christabel's eyes widened in disbelief as she hugged herself. "Wait…are you gonna break the door down?"
"No I want to hold sharp, pointy, and heavy things because it makes me happy, yes I want to break the door down!" Danielle chided.
"Can you not sass me for like, two minutes?!" Christabel yelled.
"Well stop asking stupid questions if you don't want stupid answers!" Danielle retorted angrily.
Christabel rolled her eyes and sat back down. "I don't need this. You can figure out a way to get out of here yourself."
"Good. A lot will get done then." Danielle mumbled and continued looking in the room.
They needed to get out. With, or without each other's help.
A/N: Okay filler chapter which is crappy of me because I waited so long. I was going to have action in this chapter but everything that happened needed to happen in order for it to make sense in the next chapter. I hope this made everyone at least a little happy and I hope everyone has an amazing New Year! Don't forget to review!
DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?! COME ON LET'S GO AND PLAY! I NEVER SEE YOU ANYMORE, COME OUT THE DOOR, IT'S LIKE YOU'VE GONE AWAY! WE USED TO BE BEST BUDDIES, AND NOW WE'RE NOT, I WISH YOU WOULD TELL ME WHY!
