Elsa 9
He led the way toward his office. I memorized every twist and turn, so I could figure out where we were.
Once we arrived at our destination he motioned at two empty wooden chairs sitting against the wall, "Please take a seat."
River and I sat down silently. My mind was racing, trying to put pieces together.
Frollo swept toward the door with a concluding, "I want absolute silence." The slam of the door echoed as I sat waiting until he moved far enough out of earshot.
At the same time, River and I turned to each other bright eyed.
"What did you see?" River asked excitedly.
I took a deep breath "Something is going on. I saw Heather and Pocahontas talking before Heather ran off flushed saying she had to be somewhere."
"Heather? You mean Ravenclaw, sweet to the bone Heather?" River's eyes scrunched up.
"Yep, the one and only. That's who I was following until you scared the dragon out of me."
"Oh… ya sorry about that." River chuckled.
"After that I lost her, until I heard a door down the hall. I peeked around the door to find Frollo talking to someone. Some middle aged man. I couldn't see anything."
"Did it sound like a teacher? Or Professor North?"
"No. I hadn't ever heard the voice before. They were discussing a plan they had with someone called the 'Dreamcatcher'."
"What plan?" River's eyes were continually growing.
"I don't know. All they said was someone was having a meeting tonight."
"And Frollo is somehow connected in this? How can Frollo be connected in anything? I thought he was more of a solo creep."
"Yep he is a part of the 'EQ'. Whatever that stands for."
"The EQ…" River trailed off wheels turning.
Nodding my head, I too fell into thought until the fact that we were currently sitting in Frollo's office facing detention sunk in.
My eyes grew wide "Oh my gosh! I got you in trouble! I'm so sorry!"
"Yes, this is possibly the worst thing to ever happen to me." River said with a roll of her eyes.
I smiled gratefully at River as Frollo burst back into the room trailed by none other than my sister.
My eyes grew, "What are you doing here?"
Frollo swung to face us, "Didn't I say silence?" We all shut up and faced him. A new obsession captured my attention. Why is Anna here?
Having collected River and I, the entire group headed out. The cool fall breeze bit my face, as we made our way outside. Nobody dared speak as Frollo's ominous figure led us to Ralph and Felix's stone, circular huts.
Ralph was the first to emerge from the larger of the two, with a smoke stack poking out the top. His bulking silhouette was almost menacing against the warm firelight inside.
"You have the night's shipment?"
"Five scoundrels have very kindly volunteered to aid you tonight." Frollo gave one last triumphant look before turning about and heading back into the safety of the school.
Anna whispered to Hiro excitedly as the five of us slowly made our way to Ralph. I'm positive she is clinically insane. Ralph sweeps us inside the large hut.
Inside, there was a bunch of furniture shoved in. Along the wall on the far side sat the fireplace with a large metal pole fastened horizontally. Next to the fireplace sat lots of pots and pans of all shapes and sizes stacked haphazardly. To the left was a large bed with the covers wrinkled and one pillow resting on the floor. In the very center of the room was a round table with four wooden chairs, two of which were smaller and elegantly carved while the other two were slightly larger and more crudely fashioned. Craftily placed into the curved wall on the right was another door. One that led out onto the wooden platform connected to Felix's hut I assumed.
Felix appeared in that round doorway as my thoughts glanced over it. Taking one look at us he smiled warmly before adjusting his tool belt.
"Glad we have some help tonight." Felix considered for a moment before he continued, "Ralph why don't you take half the group and get those Mushroom people counted? I can take the other half to heal the injured Kitsune."
Ralph scowled and looked at his hands sheepishly, "Felix, you know the mushroom people don't like me."
"They like you just fine, and this way you have a couple nimble helpers."
Ralph met Felix's kind, blue eyes, before smiling and nodding.
He bulked up and asked, "Who's going with me to take on these pesky mushroom people?" The five of us looked at each other unsure.
Finally Hiccup spoke, "I will come with you Ralph."
Much to my relief and disappointment, Hiro and Anna quickly offered their services and the four made their exit. Felix then faced the two of us and motioned for us to follow. We made our way out of Ralph's hut and into Felix's. Felix's hut was a contrast to Ralph's cluttered one.
Though smaller, the space was maximized by careful organization. Instead of a table in the center, there was a large cabinet off to the side filled with supplies. Felix made his way across the room to this cabinet as River and I stood awkwardly off to the side.
Felix swiftly opened different drawers and collected the necessary tools. As he grabbed vials of liquid and needles and thread he spoke, "Do you two know what a Kitsune is?"
River and I looked at each other before I timidly responded, "It, or should I say she, is a creature that can at will transform into a fox."
"The older they get the more wise and powerful they become." River finished for me.
Felix closed up the pouch he had filled with medical supplies and hooked it to his belt, "Sounds to me like you know what we are dealing with. Let's go."
Getting a good look at River still covered in food, he paused with a frown, "Now that won't do." Spinning a spell he cleaned her off then started towards the door and we silently followed.
The three of us headed out into the clear night once more and made our way to the edge of the foreboding forbidden forest. River and Felix continued in, but I faltered a moment at the edge.
The forbidden forest. The place I have been told it is too unsafe to ever enter. Let's send the delinquents in to die. We don't need them.
With a deep breath I took the step through the curtain of darkness, then jogged to catch up with River and Felix. My approach caused River to lift her eyebrows. The three of us traveled a good way in until Felix stopped and started checking the ground. River and I watched on curiously, not sure what he was looking for.
Finally, Felix popped back up, "I found the track. Try to be as quiet as possible. We don't want to spook her."
We edged our way through the forest now, climbing over roots and wincing as the leaves crackle underneath our feet, until we saw the faded glow. Standing in a dried creek of sorts was a grey and white fox. She wore a vermilion mask that spread up onto her ears and made an appearance lining her tail.
It was clear she was favoring a leg and I realized, it wasn't paw prints Felix was tracking, it was her crimson blood. The Kitsune's head was down. The three of us quietly made our way over to her. As we were climbing down into the empty creek I accidentally kicked a small rock.
The Kitsune, alerted, looked at us with fear in her strangely hazel eyes. With that, she forgot injury and took off full speed.
"I'm sorry!" I called as the three of us took off after the fleeing Kitsune.
She was too fast, even with an injury, and didn't leave any paw prints in the soft soil. We quickly lost sight of her, yet Felix didn't seem to be shaken. We moved at a quick speed, making a sharp turn every once in a while until I didn't know which direction to go to get out.
We saw the dim light coming from the Kitsune before we saw the fox itself. She had her back against a small cliff and was menacingly growling in our direction.
Felix carefully approached with his hands open in front of him, "We are here to help you."
The Kitsune growled once more before light wrapped around it. This light was brilliant and blinding. I took a step back and shielded my eyes. When I was able to look back, there sat a girl about 18 years of age. She had long fluid sepia hair that reached her hips. Her perfect skin was a creamy shade and she wore a long white dress. Entangled in her arms was a vermilion, diaphanous shawl and her feet were dressed in silver flats.
She sat on the ground her face twisted in pain. The only thing that made it clear she was the fox were her clear Hazel eyes.
Felix had stopped as she made her transformation.
Her eyes glowed a yellow before returning back to hazel again, "Do not come near me." She called in smooth voice as clean as water.
Felix looked at her left leg torn down the side with blood spilling out, "You are hurt. I can help."
Her eyes flashed again, "No. I do not trust you." She looked over to where River and I are standing. "The girl may approach." Her Hazel eyes locked with mine.
I looked unsure at River who gave a reassuring nod, then at Felix who handed me the bag of supplies. I took a deep breath and confidently made my way to where she sat.
Feeling slightly awkward and unsure I asked, "What is your name?"
Being this close I could see the fear and pain on her face, yet it was absent from her voice, "Althea."
"Ok Althea. I'm not exactly sure what I am doing so he is going to instruct me. Is that ok?" She nodded once holding eye contact. "Ok, Felix. What am I supposed to do?"
I heard Felix sigh in relief but didn't dare turn away from the girl in front of me, "Apply pressure to the wound, get it to stop bleeding."
Pulling a hand towel out of the pouch that seemed to be charmed to be a lot bigger on the inside, Professor Doctor uses this charm a lot, I pressed the towel against the wound and waited for the next instructions.
"In the bag you will find a small vial of green liquid." Althea held the towel on her leg as I dug through the bag until I found the small green vial. I recognized this now. Nurse Pabbie has some in her office.
"This should clean the wound. I do warn you it's going to hurt a little." Althea set her jaw as I removed the towel and sprinkle the potion on top. Althea flinched just ever so slightly. Once the potion was gone, I turned to Felix "The wound is deep. Should I use a healing spell?"
"Unfortunately, her magic is such she is left unaffected by our own. If she were just a couple years younger perhaps, but it looks like you are going to have to stitch it up by hand."
"Great." I whispered under my breath.
"I trust in you. You can do this." Althea said and I instantly knew I could. Being in her presence was comforting. I ruffled through the bag until I found the needle and suturing thread.
I turned toward Felix again, "How do I-" Althea reached out and touched my temple and I suddenly knew how to do it. My eyes grew wide to meet a twinkle in hers. Without another word I set to work.
My body moved through the motions executing everything precisely as it was to be done until her leg was completely sealed.
She gave me a warm smile, "Thank you." I nodded at her.
Felix piped up from behind, "There should be one more vial in there. She must drink it."
I grabbed out the last object inside the bag and handed her the pinkish liquid. She looked at it and gave me a disgusted face before accepting the vial and drinking its contents.
"That burns a little on its way down, doesn't it?"
I smiled, "I wouldn't know." We simply looked at each other a moment before I finally asked, "How did this happen?"
Althea's demeanor shifted at this question, "Something is stirring in these woods. I feel a new dangerous presence here." She paused. "Yesterday night there was a boy. One of those yellow and black ones and he was blond. I didn't get a very good look at him, but it seemed he was there for a meeting. He had entered a clearing that was clearly being used as a camp. Naturally, I was in my fox form and it seemed someone decided to go hunting. An arrow appeared out of nowhere and struck my leg. I fled."
"Yellow and black? Do you mean Hufflepuff?" I asked, the gears in my head spinning a mile a minute.
"I don't know what a Huffle Puff is. I'm sorry."
"No it's ok. That's just how our school is split up, into different houses with different colors."
"If this Huffle Puff is yellow and black similar to how you are wearing blue and brown, then yes. A Huffle Puff."
Nothing was making any sense. I shook out of the state and realized the girl was eyeing me strangely now.
I smiled, "Thank you for telling me. Do you need any help getting home?" I looked around at all the trees that looked exactly the same and mumbled, "Wherever that is."
The Kitsune smiled, "I trust you Elsa, but not enough to lead you back to my den."
I looked at her confused, "How do you know my name?"
"Similar to how I know that one is named Melody. Girls minds work so clearly, even yours my dear. They speak to me in a way and hold such power. I suppose it's one of the gifts of the Kitsune." I stood a moment shocked as she also stood, "I suggest you take a step back for this part."
Once I stood next to River again she gave a small wave before the light wrapped around her. Her sleek fox form stood in her place. Her eyes glowed once more before she ran off into the darkness.
Felix turned toward us, "Good work Elsa. I'm glad you were here."
I smiled slightly before my face returned emotionless. I didn't know what to think. River and I followed Felix out of the darkness.
When we got to their huts Ralph was already back and Anna, Hiro, and Hiccup were nowhere in sight. The moon rose high in the sky and I caught myself yawning. Felix dismissed us and River and I made our way to the castle.
We both looked straight ahead as we spoke, "So a Hufflepuff boy. How many blonde Hufflepuffs are there?"
I shrugged, "but that meeting was last night not tonight. It was kinda eerie how similar what she said about 'something stirring in these woods' was to the sorting hat's beginning of the year song." I thought for a moment wondering if I dared bring up the blank sheet of paper. One look at River, and I knew she wouldn't laugh. "Earlier I found, well actually Marshmallow found, a blank piece of paper."
River raised an eyebrow as I continued, "At least I thought it was a blank piece of paper. In the bottom right corner were the initials JS, but nobody in our room has those initials."
"Remind me everyone in your room." River asked slightly excited.
"Ummm… Heather, Pocahontas, and Franny. Why?"
River sighed, "Nevermind. I don't know, let's think about this tomorrow. Good night darling."
"Night." We split at the main steps, River heading down into her common room and I doomed to climb a million steps to get to mine.
When I finally reached the top I met the door knocker. He didn't seem too pleased to see me.
"If you have three of these you have three, if you have two you have two, if you have one you have none. What am I?"
Usually I am quick at finding the solutions, but after tonight's adventure I just can't think.
"You want to give me a little hint, since it's late and I'm tired?"
"You see I would, but it took me an hour to unfreeze earlier, sooo uh no."
I furrowed my brow, before rolling my eyes with a sigh, "I doubt you would have given me a hint whether or not I did that earlier."
"That is true, but I still don't appreciate it. Do you want me to repeat the riddle again Arendelle?"
"No, just give me a moment." I rubbed my temple in frustration. Not a single plausible thought popped into my head, "I honestly have no idea."
"What a bummer. Might want to get comfortable, it's going to be a long night."
I glared at the door then made my way to the wall. I plopped my body against it and slid to the floor. What a night for this to happen. I gently banged my head against the wall.
I had just closed my eyes, desperate, when I heard the common room door creak open. I jump to my feet composing myself, praying whoever has come to my rescue at this time of night hadn't seen. When I looked up I found none other than Tadashi smiling kindly at me. My face burned in embarrassment.
He winked, "Wow I think I'm witnessing the first time Elsa Arendelle got stumped on a question from the door knocker."
I followed him inside sheepishly, sure I heard the door knocker sigh in disappointment, "Yeah, it was a doozy of a question I guess." We stood just looking at each other a moment. His kind eyes made me feel as awkward and embarrassed as ever. "How did you know to come to the door? I'm assuming you don't just poke your head out every night."
He laughed, which was nice to hear, "No. I was working on…" He waved his hand in the direction of the common room table now splayed with papers, "on something and I heard you against the wall. When it grew silent I figured I should go check it out."
Looking awkwardly at the floor, "My knight in shining armor." I felt the urge to get the conversation off me, and foolishly took a step toward the papers he was poring over. "Is fourth year so hard you have to stay up this late studying?"
He confidently, yet urgently went to his papers and swept them into a neat pile which he then grabbed hiding them from view, "Oh it's really nothing, just something I've been, um working on." It was his turn to look sheepishly at the ground.
I had forgotten sleep now as curiosity burned inside me. Tadashi was a part of the nerdy inventors group which included fourth years Gogo and Honey lemon, fifth years Wasabi and Fred, and sixth year Martha and sometimes Rory when he's not being pulled around by his Gryffindor girlfriend. Anything Tadashi put together was sure to be amazing.
"Please? For the sake that we are both insane enough to be here at midnight?"
Looking at his papers without really seeing them, he finally relented. Placing the stack of papers on the table, he and I sat on the blue 1920s lounge couch. I gently lifted the top paper, on it was a detailed plan for a wind up toy.
Numbers were strewn about the page noting dimensions and part numbers. The toy was carefully sketched to create a detailed view of its inner workings. Placing the paper back down again, I looked at the next one showing a simple watch broken down into its basic elements. The farther into the stack the more technical and robotic they got.
I sighed in wonderment, "they are beautiful."
He offered a small shy smile. Once I reached the very bottom he grabbed it before I could get a good view and tucked it safely into his leather satchel. I eyed him as he did so, but didn't dare press him on it.
I turned my attention back to the papers in front of me, "So you designed these? Drew them out?"
"Yes. The first couple I used my toys to get a feel for it." He gave a small laugh, "My parents used to get so mad that I would take them apart." He paused looking at his plans. I noticed a glint of pain in his eyes.
Trying to change the subject, I asked, "Have you built any of these?"
He snapped out of his phase and I wondered what his confident exterior was hiding, "Oh yes." He shifted through the papers until he found a small electronic Donkey Kong that was depicted to move its arms in a smashing motion. "This one I made for Hiro when he was five. He loved that game so much."
I smiled, "Really? That's so cool. My mother used to make dolls and she taught me how. When my sister was born I was determined to make her the perfect doll and I wanted to do it all by myself. I admit mother had to help with the needle part but I picked everything out and sewed it together including the impossible button eyes. It was crude, nothing like this, but Anna loved it. She named it Baymax and carried it with her everywhere." I found myself staring into his kind brown eyes before looking down.
"Does she still have it?"
"No, no. Not anymore that was so long ago." I smiled a closed lip smile, even though my heart burned ever so slightly. "How about Hiro? Does he still have Donkey Kong?"
"Yes. He loved it so much he begged me to show him how I did it. He has a shelf full of his own video game characters he made now, but Donkey Kong was the very first on that shelf." I nodded in a slight awe.
His relationship with Hiro was everything I ever wanted with my sister, yet couldn't have. I needed to get out of here before my emotions get the best of me. They always have a way of ending the good moments in my life. Even if this one is slightly painful, it throbs wonderfully.
Looking at the clock, I found my excuse, "Oh my gosh it's getting really late! We ought to go to bed." I felt like he could see through my words, but he didn't question it.
"I think I'm going to stay up a little longer, it was nice talking to you."
I smiled and gave a small wave, similar to the one Althea gave me earlier, as I made my way to the stairs. Looking back, he had pulled the paper he was currently working on from his satchel and was deep in thought.
I climbed the steps quickly until I reached my dark room. My roommates were all sound asleep, so I made my way to my wooden chest.
Opening it carefully I looked through the contents until I found what I was looking for. I pulled out an old doll, one that was stitched sideways and had with button eyes.
Holding it tightly I brought it to my lips and whispered, "Oh Baymax, thank you for watching over Anna." With my eyes closed I held it there for just a moment longer breathing in the memories before adding, "and thank you for watching over me."
Anna 8
"Come with me now." Frollo leads the way to his office. He pushes open the door, and I can see two other students occupying the only chairs in there. River, still plastered with food, and grinning like Frollo is in her office, instead of the other way around. And a wide-eyed, fearful Elsa.
She looks at me. I look at her. And in unison, we say "What are you doing here?"
Frollo snaps at us, then leads us back out into the night, towards the Gamekeepers huts.
"What do you think he's gonna do to us?" I whisper to Hiro
"I don't know. My brother and his friends say that Frollo has been asking North to let him build a pen in the Forbidden Forest where he can keep students overnight for detention, instead of giving us over to Ralph and Felix."
I glance ahead. Frollo has lengthened his lead, River and Elsa are closer to him than they are to us, and Hiccup is the only one within earshot of us. He keeps looking back at us as we whisper, silently asking us to shut up. "I'd like to see him try something like that. I'd love to see his face when he runs into our 'guardian angel.'" I wink at the boys.
Hiro laughs lightly. Frollo's head snaps in our direction, and Hiccup starts coughing loudly, covering for us. Frollo turns back to the huts as he marches up the steps. The wind picks up and bites the back of my neck before we get into the warm, if cluttered interior of Ralph's hut. And then, far too soon for my taste, we head back into the cold night.
We walk along a weak excuse for a trail. Hiro, Hiccup and I scan the trees around us, looking closely for any sign of our new friend. Hiro's the one who spots the large green eyes first, and he gets our attention by poking and pointing. The Night Fury is following us, about twenty feet back, and maybe five feet to the right side of the trail. I share a concerned look with the boys before we turn back to Ralph. We can't let him see the dragon. After twenty tense minutes, we arrive in a small clearing. The moonlight spills like silver dust into the forest, and I stop in my tracks and gawk at what I see.
The the clearing is a bustling metropolis. Shelf mushrooms were plastered to the trees, almost three feet high. They had little round holes cut in them, and some had lights shining out. Patches of enoki mushrooms grew along the fringes of the clearing. What I thought was moonlight was actually a soft light coming from the holes of dozens of morels mushrooms, spaced evenly throughout the clearing, illuminating the most adorable sight. Dozens upon dozens of tiny, white creature roamed the clearing. They looked like button mushrooms, with little round arms and legs. Their eyes were tiny black dots, set over little mouths. They wore no clothes, but they didn't seem to mind. I heard a little squeak down in front of me, and I watch one of the mushroom people run away from us and into the village, squealing loudly.
"Did we scare them?" I turn to Ralph.
He set down his pack and was digging through it. "Nope. They're just really excited." He pulls out two clipboards and two sheets of stickers. He hands the stickers to me and Hiro, and one of the clipboards to Hiccup. He keeps a clipboard for himself. "Now that that little guy is spreading the word, they're gonna start flocking this way. They're gonna line up in front of you two," he points at me and Hiro, "And you're gonna put a sticker on them. Hiccup and I will do the counting. Orange stickers for adults, green for the kids." Looking down at the growing lines of mushroom people, I can see smaller ones being lead by bigger ones.
"Okay, but what are the stickers for?" Hiro asks
"These little guys are one of the friendliest types of creatures in the forest. They love census day. The stickers keep them from being counted twice over and messing up the census. Now enough chit-chat, let's get to work."
The census goes surprisingly fast. We're only working for a little under a half an hour when we can't find a single unstickered mushroom person in the village.
"Hiro, what are you doing?" Hiccup asks as we're packing up
Hiro whirls around, turning away from the mushroom people he was playing with and hastily shoving his wand in his pocket "Nothing."
Ralph comes over, picks Hiro up with one hand, and moves him aside, showing a cluster of excited mushroom people running around wearing vests and pants, with their head sporting colorful dots. Ralph gives Hiro a flat stare "Seriously kid? Super Mario Bros?
"What? They like it!" The clothed mushroom people are being swarmed by their excited peers, and soon the vests and pants have been spread around, every one of them is trying to try them on.
Hiccup and Ralph both roll their eyes, and I giggle before trying to stifle a huge yawn. Ralph looks at me, then at a huge wristwatch. "All right miscreants, it's late enough. Time for you all to head into bed." We follow him back to the castle, arriving before Elsa's group. When we get inside, Hiro and I say good night to Hiccup, and have a few minutes to walk with each other before we have to part ways.
"Crazy day, huh?" I say.
"You said it. Can't wait to get started on our project, can you?" He gives me a gap-toothed grin
"Nope. I hope Hiccup gets permission to use Gobber's workshop." We come to a split in the corridor. Gryffindor Tower is to the right, Ravenclaw Tower to the left.
"Me too. Goodnight Pigtails." Hiro says, pulling lightly on one of my braids.
I swat his hand away, grinning at him "Night, Tooth-gap."
One of Hiro's hands goes to his mouth after he hears his new nickname. Then he grins again to show he's not offended.
I trudge up the stairs to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and she's very indignant when I wake her up to give her the password.
"Fairy light." I murmur.
"Well isn't that nice, waking me up like that. I hope you're proud of yourself young lady." She grumbles. And she keeps grumbling, but I ignore her, and I stumble into the common room. Astrid and Merida are on the couch, asleep in front of the fire. They must have been waiting for me. I feel a twinge of guilt as I shake them awake.
"What took you so long?" Astrid glowers as we sneak up the stairs
"An' wha' happened to ya lass? You're filthy." Merida adds.
"I'll tell you guys in the morning." I moan. I'm so tired I'm slurring my words. I'm dimly aware of my friends climbing into their beds as I slip my shoes off. I drop my cloak on the ground, and something falls out of my pocket. I stoop down, and pick up the Ravenclaw tie. Oh yeah. This thing. I'm curious about it, but I push that aside as I drop the tie into my boot. Then I collapse onto my bed, fully clothed and smeared with dirt and sweat, and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
