Anna's first day on the job consisted largely of being ridiculed by her overseers for being "too lazy", with many of them using choice words to describe her working habits. When she did choose to put actual effort into what she was doing, she ended up wecloming dust mites into her nostrils, causing her throat and nose to feel more clogged than a toilet on Thanksgiving. The only upside to this was the distinctive "aroma" of the prison being blocked by her nasal passages, but the inability to smell proved to be strangely depressing, and she found herself in an even bigger mope than usual by the time she was done with her shift.
She sat on a bench in the rec yard and longed for the feeling of rain on her face as the clouds in the sky teased her with the promise of a potential shower, but all they did was stay up there looking bored with themselves. Things were rather quiet today, with most of the prisoners apparently not having any desire to be outdoors, but the few who were outside talked amongst themselves and didn't pay her any mind. Nowhere to be seen was Rapunzel, who probably hadn't budged from her cell since Anna last saw her. Poor girl. It almost felt like a burden having to feel sorry for her, as Anna had fantasized about unleashing physical violence on her more times than she could count since their first meeting. How long ago was that? Time seemed to move at the pace of a snail's extended vacation in prison, and though she was sorry to say she had already managed to lose track of it, at most it only could've been a few weeks ago.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?"
Anna turned up to find Giselle staring down at her, with a broken sunglasses with one of the lenses missing on her face and carrying what appeared to be a beach towel.
"That depends. Is any day a 'beautiful one' here?"
"Every single day is a gift from the heavens, you silly!" She laid the towel on the ground and curled up on it, resting her head under her hands like she was a rich British girl on holiday. "Especially when I get to spend it within breathing range of you."
"Gee, you must really like me. Careful with that. I am allergic to flattery."
Giselle responded with a giggle which sounded like a drunk bird chirping.
"Your modesty humbles me! You know, I think that's why I have so many dreams about you. Forces of greater power than our own have big things in mind for you, Anna. Big things."
"If you're talking about your alleged 'magic', Dr. Felix talked with me about that. It sounded like a clinical condition more than anything. And one which you don't have much control over."
"It's a blessing from the heavens." Giselle pointed up, lowering her voice as though worried God might hear her tattling on him. "Sure, Dr. Felix has his own silly name for it, but he went to college and had to come up with logical explanations for these things. He calls it 'Foresight' or something. I prefer to think of it as knowledge that is given to me about what is to come. It's a burden, but I share what the girls need to hear. I think that's why so many of the women here enjoy my company."
"Okay. Fine. Let's say for the sake of argument that Felix is right and you can see the future. What's so special about me?"
"Oh, only everything." She exhaled and rubbed her stomach as though coating it with imaginary suntan lotion. "You are the most important inmate in Frozen Heart Prison. People will die fighting over you, and you will kill fighting for them."
"Yeah. Now I know you're full of crap. Two killings was more than enough for me, thank you very much. Just between us, my days of taking lives are behind me. But don't go spreading that, I am trying to build a reputation for myself."
"That's exactly what Bloody Mary said about you. She told me you were a 'one time only' double-murderer. She was at my cell this morning, asking some questions. First time she ever did that, actually. She was very interested in what I had to say."
"I'll bet she was." Instinctively, Anna's hand went to her shoulder pocket to make sure her shiv was still safely stored there in case Merida happened to be nearby without her knowing it. "Am I allowed to ask what she was inquiring about?"
"Oh, she wanted to know if I had ever dreamed about her dying."
"And what did your 'magic powers' do to enlighten you about that?" Merida must've not watched many horror movies prior to her incarceration, since the number one rule of fortune tellers was to never ask them how long you had left to live.
"Well, there wasn't much I could share. I've had dreams of her trying to escape from here, and they all end with someone falling to their doom." She shot her head towards the top of one of the prison's towering walls. "Very scary way to go, but also very short, so I guess that's a plus. But I don't know if she's the one who kicks the bucket. I just know someone will meet an early grave if she ever attempts such a thing."
"Wait, you can tell that someone will buy it, but can't say who?"
"It's not like I get these visions in hi-definition. Sometimes it's more like watching a VHS tape which has been played back more than 500 times. The picture can be kind of fuzzy."
"Doesn't seem like a very useful skill if you don't have a clue what's going on with it. Did Bloody Mary say she'd be back to interrogate you again?"
"Oh, interrogate is a strong word. No, I think she wants to be friends! In fact, she said she'd return to my cell every morning from now on until I had more 'satisfying' answers for her."
It was, of course, inevitable that someone like Merida would seek out Giselle's power (assuming she actually had it) for her own devious intentions. It also seemed like it stacked the deck against Anna's favor when it came to minor little things like her survival.
"Say, Giselle? You like me, like?"
"Oh, very much. And please, 'Sunshine' is my name now."
"Sunshine. Okay. Listen, Sunshine, what if I asked you not to talk to Bloody Mary anymore? Would you do that?"
"I'm not sure." She pulled her shades down from her face to where they dangled under her nose. "You have no authority over me, do you?"
"Well...no...unless..."
Wait. The first time she had encountered Giselle, hadn't she made an offer to be her...?
"Sunshine, has anyone taken you as their 'bitch' yet?"
