Morph || Anna

Anna, unshakable even in the presence of someone as influential as Liesel, fell apart after seeing Prince Hans. She hadn't known, hadn't even guessed what his presence could do to her. Yes, she wanted to fight him, but she also felt like crawling into a hole and hiding until she could be sure he was gone. And he had the audacity to stand there and pretend he was worthy of any amount of trust from any of them. And Elsa, her one and only sister, had believed him. She knew what Hans was like, and she still believed him. It hurt almost as much as just having him nearby.

After he'd been bound and escorted out of hearing range, the two groups had proceeded to exchange information. The revelation that it had been almost a month outside Liesel's entrapment was difficult to get her head around. It had been less than a week. How could it be more than a week elsewhere? Hours later, Anna still hadn't wrapped her head around it.

She walked briskly through the castle, trying not to worry about what she'd do if Liesel noticed her. Their plan had to work, and it all relied on her getting in and out quickly. Kristoff was around, somewhere, following Liesel from afar just in case she decided to return early. Anna patted the pocket with the key Merlin had given her: enchanted to match the lock of any door, but only once. It had to be enough to get her into Liesel's lab, and Geric's description had to be enough to recognize the potion Liesel used to change her appearance.

They had all agreed: they couldn't fight her when she could potentially turn into any one of them. Anna would keep it stored somewhere, and tell no one, not even Elsa or Kristoff.

Anna made it to Liesel's hallway without trouble. A few servants noticed her, but she doubted any of them would tell Liesel immediately without being forced to. She didn't hold their loyalty when she wasn't enchanting them, and what reason would she have to ask before anything had been done? Once the potion was gone, there would be nothing she could do.

On the chance it was unlocked, Anna jostled the doorknob on the off chance it had been left unlocked. It hadn't.

"What are you doing here?"

Anna spun, expecting to see Liesel in disguise, but it was only Geric. The boy didn't look angry, only curious.

"Nothing," Anna laughed. "Just exploring, like we did the other day. I guess this one's out of bounds though!"

"You don't like her either," he said.

"Er, what? Liesel? Isn't she your… guardian?"

"I think she's the reason my mum's dead."

Anna's fake smile fell. "I'm so sorry. I hadn't realized."

Geric didn't respond to her condolences. "So you don't like her either, right? She took your home, I know. I asked the servants."

Geric's sister couldn't be trusted, she was too young. But could Geric?

"No, I don't."

"Good."

Geric stood and waited.

Anna stood and waited for Geric to leave.

"You have a key, right? It would be silly to come here without one," he pressed.

Anna decided waiting for the kid to leave wasn't the right move and pulled out Merlin's magic key. The door swung open. Geric walked in ahead of her.

"What are you looking for in here?"

"The potion you mentioned last time."

Geric gestured for her to follow, pausing only for a moment to stare at a patch of clean tile flooring.

"What's wrong?"

"The body's gone," he said.

"Body?" In horror, Anna wondered if Geric had actually seen Liesel kill his mother in this very room.

"There was one, a couple days ago. A blonde lady that Liesel kept in here. Don't know why."

Anna didn't have any response to that, only grateful that it hadn't been anyone Geric knew. Hopefully no one that Anna knew either.

"Thanks for sharing," she said politely. "Do you know where the potion is?"

"There." He pointed to a row of glass jars on a counter and a cauldron still full with a similar looking substance. A notebook with pages of notes lay beside it.

Anna skimmed the pages. Liesel was revising. Yes, she had the version of the potion she'd been using. According to the notes, it wore off in an hour, and could only transform her once into someone she had collected a sample from. The one in the cauldron, was one much stronger.

Unlimited change. Anna shuddered. She'd be able to change individual features at will, whenever she wanted, without ever having to rely on the potion again. Assuming it worked.

She tossed the notes in the fireplace, letting the embers catch and roar into a proper fire. The pages wilted and crumbled to ash. She eyed the potions on the shelves. She couldn't toss those into the fire: she didn't have enough knowledge to know if they'd explode. Unfolding the burlap bag she'd brought with her, she started piling the jars in. They didn't clink like normal glass, Anna guessed because of some sort of spell protecting them from shattering.

Geric watched silently behind her.

"What are you going to do with all that?"

"Hide it. That way she can't pretend to be someone she isn't."

There was only the cauldron left. Anna poured the potion into an empty jar, and hoped that washing it out with water would clear out the rest. Last jar in the bag, she took one last glance around the room.

"Anything else I could get rid of?" she asked.

Geric shook his head. "I don't know about anything else in here."

Good enough. Anna followed Geric out.

"I hope you win, Princess Anna," he said, and disappeared back into one of the rooms.

Anna hoped so too. She also hoped she hadn't made a mistake in trusting him.

As she was leaving, she heard the sign. Kristoff's voice, intervening in Liesel's path back.

"You'll have to excuse me," Liesel said to him. "I don't have time to speak with you right now, even if it is on Princess Anna's request."

There was nowhere to go. She wasn't in Liesel's private hallway anymore, but she was still suspiciously close for an enemy, and carrying a bulky package. There was no way Liesel wouldn't check.

No doors led away, but a cart meant for pushing food waited at the side of the hall, and Anna had to take it. She shoved the bag under the cart's tablecloth but not before grabbing a jar at random and taking three deep gulps. It didn't taste good, but it didn't feel like poison either. She wondered who she'd turn into, what random person Liesel had taken a piece of hair from.

Liesel's voice, increasingly irritated, grew closer, and Anna's body had yet to change. She pinched her arm, poked at her nose, as if that would rush the process. She glanced at the jar she'd grabbed, and noticed the lack of a label. It was the one she'd filled. The one that should, if functional, give the user the ability to change themselves.

It had to work. As much as she didn't like Liesel, she wished her success on this very potion. Anna pictured brown hair, pictured her nose growing broader along with her shoulders. And she should be taller, too, that would be nice. Maybe brown eyes?

Liesel turned the corner. Anna pushed the cart. Liesel didn't spare a glance for her, and neither did Kristoff who was still following and insisting on taking Liesel to show her some urgent disaster in the kitchens.

Anna hid her smile. Liesel's weapon could be used against her.

"Absolutely not!" Kristoff said. "You're not going to be bait, Anna."

"It's not the dangerous kind of bait. Liesel doesn't have a reason to hurt her brother. If I'm pretending to be Hans, what's the worst she'll do? She never hurt Hans, even when pretending to be Hero, did she?" Anna looked over at Hans. He shook his head.

"Fine. Once you've gotten her out of the castle, then what? We still don't have a plan to defeat her. She'll just freeze time for herself, and get away."

"But she'll have to let go of the city. Would she really give up her control that quickly?"

Kristoff looked over at Merlin, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I've been testing some things with time. It's not so hard to control time for yourself, slow it, make it faster. It's a bit harder the larger the space you want to control. And it's impossible to change time for more than one place at once."

"Again please?"

"If I decide to slow down time for Anna, I can't speed myself up. If Hero wants to freeze time for herself, she'll have to stop slowing time for the city. And once she lets go of the city, it would take her hours or even days to take it back again since it's such a large area."

"So this could work to get the barrier down?" Elsa asked.

"It could. It might even take Hero some time to recover after letting go of such a powerful time spell."

"Then it's up to you, Anna. If you want to go through with this, we'll support you."

Anna didn't just want to, she would insist on it. She wanted to be a hero and not a victim for once.

The plan was simple. Anna disguised as Hans would get Liesel out of the city where no one could be hurt by the fight. Elsa, Merlin, and all of the knights (wearing earplugs in case that helped them resist Liesel's magic) would be waiting there. Hero wouldn't stand a chance.