Chapter 8: Guilty Or Not Guilty

The gun slipped from Elsa's hand and it clattered to the floor. Elsa was panting quite hard as she looked down at the scene before her. Her father was face down on the floor in a pile of blood – his blood. He didn't get back up – he didn't even move. Elsa felt a smile come over her face. That bastard was gone. She didn't have to deal with him anymore. She no longer had to deal with him anymore! She felt like she could do a little jig right there and then or getting out a bottle of champagne and celebrating.

Then suddenly the full realisation of what just happened hit her and it hit her hard. She had killed her father. It wasn't as if it was some accident; she had shot him in cold blood. Sure, he was probably about to kill her himself but nobody would buy that. Everyone would see that she shot him. Sure, she could tell the truth. She could finally tell people what had been happening in the Winters' household for twelve years but who would believe her? Her father had covered his tracks well. There was no documentation of abuse. No concerns were ever raised at school. Her doctor would deny it as it would cost him his license. Nobody would ever believe her.

That thought terrified her. There was no one she could turn to. Elsa felt panic start to erupt in her. What was she going to do? Could she simply get rid of the body? Elsa looked down at the body of her father. There was no way she could carry all that dead weight herself. She would need help but again – who would help her? Who would help her to cover up the murder of her father? Besides, what would she tell people? That he had gone on a business trip and never returned? They would see through that in a minute – there would be no flights charged to his credit cards, no witness who could say that he was at the airport, no flights planned for this week. Could she say he went out and never came back? She could drive the car and abandon it but then her DNA would be found in the car. Besides, the original problem still remained; how the fuck would she be able to move all that dead weight? Cleaning wouldn't help either – one spray of luminol and all her lies would be revealed.

Maybe she could go for a walk – get an alibi – and come back to discover her father's been murdered? Well that would normally be good if her fingerprints weren't all over the gun and the blood splatter on her clothes. There just wasn't anything she could do. She had to think fast. If she didn't, there would be a problem with time of death. The police could question why she waited so long before calling them. Then a lightbulb went off. She had an idea. She would simply say it was an accident – not the kind when she was simply cleaning the gun and it went off. She had a plan in motion.

She left the bedroom and headed downstairs. She needed to act fast. She found one of her father's used glasses on the kitchen bench. She dropped it and let the glass shatter all over the floor. She would use that later. Then she opened the front door. She was going to make it look like her father was a fake intruder. There was no way she could pin this on someone else. She was going to have to take the fall for it but if her plan succeeded, she would be cleared. Elsa breathed hard. She was going to have to play the scared daughter. Elsa picked up the phone and called the police. It was time for the biggest performance of her life. If she didn't play this part well, the police would see right through it and then question her story. That was something she didn't want.

Her call was answered almost immediately.

"Emergency services – how may I help?"

"It's my dad," Elsa cried through fake tears. She pretended to be in distress and hurried her talking pace. She just hoped to god that this sounded believable. "He's been shot – the gun – it all just happened so fast."

"Sweetie, calm down. I need to know your name."

"Elsa Winters," Elsa replied. She then gave her address.

"Okay honey, the police have been notified."

"Thank you," Elsa said.

"Stay on the line. Is your dad breathing?"

"No," Elsa pretended to wail. "I think he's dead."

"Can you preform CPR?"

"Yes," Elsa quickly hurried back upstairs and back into the bedroom. She turned him over and she stared into his blank eyes. There was no life in them. She started to perform CPR (she had a few health lessons on it a couple of years ago) on her father despite him probably being long gone – well that was what she hoped. If he suddenly came to, all her efforts were for nothing. As Elsa was pretending to try and save her father's life, his blood got all over hands, shirt and pants. Maybe that could cover up the blood splatter but even so; there was the small matter of the gun. She could try and get rid of it but somehow she didn't think she could get away with this. She should stick to her original plan.

"Nothing," Elsa pretended to wail into the phone.

"Hold on, the police are on their way."

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Elsa saw flashing blue and red lights appear outside. Elsa went through her lie in her head. She tried not to make it too detailed. If she did, she may end up contradicting herself later. She soon heard footsteps appear in the hallway.

"Up here," Elsa screamed.

There were now hurried footsteps and a couple of men in blue burst into the room that Elsa was in. They found Elsa trying to get her dead father come back from the dead in front of them. Elsa pretended to wail and scream as one of the officers escorted her downstairs. There she found Chief Constable Aland. Normally she would be very surprised to see him here but he and her father were best friends – they went to school together. Elsa knew that her father was responsible for getting him the top spot at the Arendelle Police Force. So it was only natural that he would turn up for a shooting incident at the Winters' household which would normally be a very mundane thing for the top dog at the Arendelle Police to show up to.

"Elsa, honey," Aland helped her to a seat and crouched in front of her. Aland knew her well. He had been around since she was born. He had sometimes been more of a father to her than her real father. "What happened?" He looked at her with concern all over her face.

"I was home alone," Elsa pretended to cry through fake sobs. "I thought dad had gone out. He had said something about going to get ice cream for desert."

"Then what?" Aland asked in a kind voice.

"I was up in my bedroom, reading," she continued. "I heard what sounded like breaking glass so I walked downstairs to investigate. I called out but no one answered. I found the front door open and I panicked. I thought there was someone in the house – there have been a string of burglaries in the area."

"Yes there have been," Aland said quietly. At least Elsa didn't have to make up that bit. The next door neighbour had been robbed just a month earlier.

"So I rushed to my father's room to grab the gun in his safe. I could hear what sounded like multiple people on the stairs. I saw the door handle turn. I didn't know it was dad. I thought it was the burglar coming to murder me."

Elsa dissolved into fake wails. She threw herself onto Aland's lap who patted her gently. He seemed to sympathise with her. Elsa had no idea that her plan was working. Surely, there would be some kind of suspicion although Elsa's hatred of her father wasn't known at all. So there was something that was working for her.

"It's okay Elsa," Aland said. "It was just an unfortunate accident." Elsa raised her head slightly to look into his face. "Let's go back to the station while they work here. You don't want to be around for that."

Elsa shook her head. "No," she said trying to contain her fake sobs.

"Alright," Aland helped her to her feet. "We'll go down to the station where you can give your statement, okay?" Elsa nodded at this. He turned to another officer. "Munter, why don't you grab some clothes for Elsa?"

"Sure thing," Munter said through her smiling teeth.

"Thanks," Aland said.

Aland helped Elsa through the doors of her house and into the street beyond it. All that Elsa could see was the flashing lights of the police cars and the ambulance that had been called to help extract her father's body. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The car ride to the police station was a short one but it seemed much longer. Aland led Elsa into his office and closed the door. Elsa stayed quiet to appear as if she was in shock from it all. Aland made her a cup of tea and placed in her trembling hands. They weren't trembling because of grief; they were trembling because she was feeling very guilty. Elsa just hoped she wasn't over doing anything.

If they cottoned onto her, then Elsa could be charged with her father's murder. What would be her defence? That she did it to protect herself? The prosecution would have a field day with that. Elsa just had to stick with her story of it being an accident and not think about how she murdered her father – no, she didn't murder him, it was self-defence. He was attacking her and she shot him to protect herself. Was that then murder?

Aland brought up the fact that if wanted a lawyer present, she was entitled to have one present. Elsa nodded slowly as she knew that is what should do. They waited a few moments before Elsa's family lawyer came. His name was Pieter Christeson and he was very good lawyer – he certainly earned his pay check. Christeson quickly got up to speed with the night's events. He didn't look very happy with his best client being found dead but he agreed to help Elsa out. He believed her story straight away. Why wouldn't he? He had no idea what really went on in his client's house.

Aland took her down to one of the interview rooms while Elsa carefully balanced her tea. She hadn't drunk a lot of it. She was too nervous to eat or drink. Aland sat down while Elsa and Christeson sat down opposite him. He told them that the interview was being videotaped for court purposes. Christeson didn't object which Elsa took as a good thing. Aland started the video camera. Elsa felt like the red light was judging her – like it knew the truth. Elsa wrenched her eyes from it and focused on Aland instead.

"So take me through the story one more time," Aland said. Elsa quickly looked up. Could this be because he had seen through her lie? "You say that you were home alone?"

"I thought I was home alone," Elsa said. She just had to be consistent with her story. Nobody would be any of the wiser then. Besides, who could think that the meek and shy Elsa Winters was capable of murder?

"That's right," Aland said as Elsa took a sip of her tea. "So you thought you were alone and you started to hear things?"

"I know it's silly," Elsa pretended to smile a little, "but when you're home alone, you start to hear things – imagine things."

"Oh I know about that," Aland said. "My own daughter is afraid to stay by herself as she believes that there is someone else in the house when she is and she's twenty two." Elsa gave a small laugh. "So, what kind of things did you hear?"

"Breaking glass, the door opening, footsteps," Elsa said. "I got really nervous."

"Understandable," Aland said. "So what made you think it was an intruder and not your father?"

"Because I called out for my dad and there was no answer," Elsa started to sweat. Was Aland questioning her story now? She had thought he had been buying it before but was now a different story? She turned to Christeson who was busy writing things down. He didn't look too worried which gave Elsa some heart.

"Yes," that was all that Aland said. "Then take me through the shooting. You raced up for your father's gun? How did you know it was there?"

"The entire household does," this time Elsa wasn't lying. "He didn't exactly keep it a secret from anyone."

"How did you know the code to the safe?"

"Dad once asked me to put away stuff in his safe. He gave me the combination then."

"Ah I see," Aland said. "So you raced into your father's room, found the gun as you were scared there was someone in the house. Is that right?" Elsa nodded. She didn't dare to speak. "Then the door opened and your father walked in?"

"Well that's the gist," Elsa said. "The door handle rattled a bit before it was opened. I didn't even look at who was coming in. I fumbled with the gun to get it ready and I just then turned and shot whoever it was. I wasn't even thinking. It was just one big blur."

"Okay," Aland said. "Then what?"

"I panicked," Elsa said. This bit was true. Elsa had been panicking, not because she accidently shot her father but because she didn't know what to do with her father's body. "I couldn't believe what I had done. I checked to see if he was still breathing. He wasn't and that's when I called the ambulance."

"This all seems consistent with what you said back at the mansion," Aland said. "I'm just going to go check on the investigation and see how it's going." Elsa nodded as Aland stood up. He brought out some paper and a pen and told Elsa to write a statement.

Elsa took the pen with shaking fingers and started to write out what she told Aland. She made sure not to include any further detail. She didn't want to overdo it. Christeson observed as Elsa wrote out her statement.

"Now Miss Winters," Christeson said and Elsa looked up from her paper, "I don't care what really did happen. I don't care if this is murder or an accident. My job is to defend you, not to judge you. Playing the self-defence card is a good defence. I don't want you to stray from your story. Adding or subtracting anything from what you have told the police can be suicidal to your defence. Understand?" Elsa nodded. "Good," Christeson nodded too. "Now let's go over your testimony."

"Testimony?" Elsa whispered.

"Yes," Christeson said. "I doubt the prosecution will not take this case. Your father was a powerful man. Everyone loved him and they will want someone to blame and that person is unfortunately you. They may be believe that you are a murderer for you but all you have to do is stick to your story – the one you have told here today – and everything will be fine. Okay?"

"Ye-yes," Elsa stammered. Court? Well she saw this coming from a mile away. She had been secretly hoping that court would have been avoided; that the police wouldn't charge her and let her leave. She would have said her little story, everyone would buy it and she would then melt out of sight. Well, maybe that last bit will have to wait.

Aland came back into the room just as Elsa was signing her statement. He picked it up and read through it. He looked pleased with what he read.

"I phone your sister's school," he said. "She should be here soon."

Anna, the word radiated through her brain. She had forgotten about her sister. What would she make of all of this? Would she believe her story or call her a murderer? Elsa started to sweat a little. Elsa rubbed her sweaty palms against her bloody clothes.

"Let's get you out of those bloody clothes," Aland said noticing that Elsa was still wearing some bloody clothes, "and into some fresh ones."

Elsa could only nod. She stood up with Christeson standing up next to her. It was all in the hands of fate now. She had told her story in the most believable way she knew how. It was time to see if it worked.

Anna awoke rather suddenly by someone shaking her awake. Anna looked up and saw one of the perfects over her. Anna wasn't sure which one it was nor did she even care.

"What's the time?" Anna said groggily as she checked her clock. It was only half past seven. It was a Saturday and being woken early (which Anna defined as anything earlier than one in the afternoon) wasn't something that Anna liked. She considered it to be a crime.

"Headmistress wants to see you," the prefect said.

Anna sat up. "What?" she whispered.

The Headmistress wants to see her? But why? Anna cast her mind around for a possible reason. She hadn't done anything to warrant being sent to her office, had she? Anna thought that maybe her father had called about something – maybe Elsa had finally told him the truth about Hans. Elsa knew that Anna was still in contact with him. She could have told their father about it at last.

"She doesn't like to be kept waiting, now move," the prefect said. She threw Anna's dressing gown onto Anna's bed. Anna picked it up, feeling rather nervous as she did. "She said it was important."

Anna threw on her dressing gown and placed her feet into her bunny slippers. Anna followed the prefect down the many corridors of her school until they came to Headmistress Stjerne's office. The prefect knocked and then opened the door.

"Anna Winters for you," the prefect said.

"Thank you Hilda," Headmistress Stjerne said.

Hilda stepped backwards and allowed Anna to enter the room. Anna took a seat in front of Headmistress Stjerne. She was still trembling. Anna couldn't think of a possible reason why she was summoned to see her.

"Anna," when Headmistress Stjerne spoke, it wasn't in her usual strict tone but in a kind one. This took Anna completely by surprise. She wasn't use to this tone from the headmistress. "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you." Bad news? Anna didn't like the sound of that one bit. What could have happened? Had something happened to her dad or to Elsa? Anna was starting to think that was where the conversation was going. "It concerns your family – your father and your sister." Anna was starting sweat even more. This wasn't sounding like something Anna wanted to hear. Headmistress Stjerne took a long pause and then sighed. "Your father was shot last night."

"What?" Anna said. Her mind went numb. Shot? "But he's alright, right?" Anna was talking very fast, almost feverishly. "Right?" she added again. Headmistress Stjerne didn't say anything. Instead she gave Anna a kind smile. Anna sunk into her seat. She knew what the look meant; her father didn't make it. No, this couldn't be happening. Her father couldn't be gone. Tears streamed down Anna's face. "How?" Anna somehow managed to say through her sobs.

"Your sister accidently shot him," Headmistress Stjerne said. Anna sat up straight. Her sister had done this? The sister who Anna thought that was one her side? Her sister had gone and taken a gun to their father's head? "But it was because she thought he was an intruder," Headmistress Stjerne quickly added. It seemed like Headmistress Stjerne knew what was going on in Anna's head. Anna didn't hear any of this. All Anna heard was that her sister shot her father.

Anna's entire body filled with rage at her sister. She had taken away the one person that Anna loved more than anything in this world. Anna could never forgive her for that.

Elsa was having the roughest time. The news that her father had been shot by her had spread like wildfire over Arendelle. Everyone seemed interested that one of the most powerful men in the world had been killed. Elsa was just glad that nobody saw her as a murderer. She had no idea why but people seemed to accept her story that it had been an accident. Of course it helped that everyone knew that Elsa was a sweet girl who wouldn't hurt a fly. Christeson was very pleased with this. He said it would help her image when this came to trial. Elsa just wanted it to be over and done with. She was sick of the whole affair. She hated lying but knew if she told the truth, nobody would believe her and she would be going to jail for murder.

Elsa had spent the night on a couch in the police station. She couldn't go home and she couldn't find the energy to leave. Rapunzel and Merida had come in first thing. They had heard about it from their parents. They didn't ask Elsa anything but instead, just gave her a hug. They seemed to accept her version of things and didn't question anything. The person Elsa was really worried about was Anna. Would she believe her? She was due anytime today. Aland has told Elsa that she was coming later today. Her school had granted her an extended leave.

Elsa's eyes fell on Aland who was talking to a few of his detectives. She wondered what they could be discussing; the detective was showing Aland some piece of paper which they both seemed very interested in. Elsa wondered if it was some kind of lab report like the testing on her clothes or some piece of evidence from the scene. Elsa couldn't think of some forensic evidence that would contradict her story. That's when Elsa heart sank – the glass on the floor of her kitchen. She had said in her statement that she had heard glass breaking and she had said that her father must have broken a glass in the kitchen. That glass would have both of their fingerprints on it. Maybe Elsa could explain that away saying that she gotten it out for her father or she had used it after her father somehow.

Elsa started getting panicky about other things like the blood smears on her clothes or her father's positioning when he died. Surely, the distance he travelled would indicate that Elsa knew who she was attacking? Elsa just hoped that the investigation wasn't going to reveal anything. All Elsa had to do was not look guilty. The minute she started behaving weirdly was the minute they would look at her as a suspect.

Aland brought her some lunch when the clock struck twelve. Elsa asked him how things were coming but he didn't say anything as it was "police business". Elsa didn't like the sound of that. Could he have found something that contradicted her story? Well Elsa already had come up with some things that could be found. What stopped the police finding them? Well maybe they won't dig any further. All Elsa could do was hope.

Elsa was resting on the couch – the same couch she hadn't moved from in the past fourteen hours – when she heard a commotion happening outside. Elsa wondered what it could be. The first thought she had was that it was Anna arriving. Sure enough, when Elsa looked up, she saw a familiar strawberry blonde hair making its way through the crowd of people. Aland was waiting for her outside his office. He opened his arms and Anna fell into them. Aland invited Anna into his office which she accepted. Another officer took Anna's luggage for her and headed out the door with them. Maybe he was going to take them to Anna's hotel. There was no way Anna was going to go home now.

Elsa watched the office door. She wondered what was being said. Aland would take Anna through what had happened and explain what was going to happen. Anna would cry and collapse in Aland's lap. Elsa was sure that was going down at this very moment. Well she hoped that was going on. Anna could be yelling and screaming accusation about her at Aland. The mere thought of that was enough to make Elsa sweat.

Elsa felt the minutes drag on and on. Elsa started to get thirsty so she left the little room she was in. She knew she should stay in there and out of sight but she would have to face Anna sometime. With all the police around, this could be a good or bad thing. If Anna did shout something that sounded like an accusation then it could be taken seriously but if she did, Anna couldn't do much. Someone would pull her off, surely. Elsa's eyes moved slightly and spied on Rapunzel and Merida who were still at the police station. They were talking to their own parents. Merida was nodding about something. Elsa wondered what everyone was talking about. She felt like they all knew something and she didn't.

The rest of Elsa's family was also here. They had all seen Elsa and weren't too impressed with what she did although they did accept her story without question. They all knew that Elsa wasn't capable of murder. Elsa could see her Uncle Klaus talking to her grandmother about something. Maybe they were talking about Anna.

Elsa was at the water cooler when Aland's office door opened. Anna stepped out. Her face was red and puffy. Her eyes were filled with dread. Anna spotted Elsa standing only several metres away from her. Elsa tensed herself up. She was hoping that Anna was going to rush at her to give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

Elsa wasn't prepared for what really did happen.

"You fucking murderer," Anna screamed as she raced at Elsa. Elsa was shocked to hear these words come out of her sister's mouth. Anna started to slap Elsa with everything she had. "You killed him, you fucking killed him! How could you?"

"Anna," Aland shouted but Anna kept attacking Elsa. Elsa had put her hands to defend herself but that didn't deter Anna one bit. She was using every little bit of strength she had to beat the crap out of Elsa. Aland wrapped his arms around Anna's waist and picked her up. She was still screaming and crying. Anna tried to resist Aland's grip but it was no use. Aland was much bigger and stronger than her. Her struggling was in vein. "Anna, calm down," Aland told her. "It was an accident."

"It was no fucking accident," Anna screeched through her tears. "She's lying! I know she is. She killed him!"

"Anna!" Aland said. "It was an accident."

"Liar!" Anna screamed at the top of her lungs.

Elsa took this opportunity to slowly slip away.

Aland sighed as he rested his knuckles on his desk. Being the Chief Constable – the top of the police food chain – his office was huge. There was a big mahogany desk which faced a large see-through door. Behind the desk was shelves filled with books and accolades. On his desk was piles and piles of cases but he was only interested in one; the Winters' case.

He sighed again as he opened it. Inside was the police report; the lab's findings, photographs of the scene, analysis of Elsa's clothes, analysis of the murder weapon. He picked up one of the photos. It was a photo of Adgar Winters lying on his front. His legs were straight but one of his arms was sprawled out in front of him while the other rested by his side. There was a large dark red stain around him which indicated how much blood had leaked out of him. Aland stared down at photo. Agdar Winters had been his friend for over thirty years. It was hard to think that he was gone. It didn't seem real. He was sure that Adgar was going to walk into his office like he always did.

Aland always imagined Agdar fighting his way to the end. Maybe heart problems or something. But he always imagined this forty or fifty years into the future, not today and especially not dying by being shot. It was further complicated by the fact that the shooter wasn't some punk who wanted money or someone out for revenge, it was his daughter; his eighteen year old daughter.

Aland didn't know what to think about all of this. He had Elsa's statement in front of him as well. He looked through it, carefully flicking through the pages. Nothing about her statement seemed off. The tests – which had been rushed through as Aland wanted the results as soon as possible – showed that she had in fact shot the gun, the blood spatter evidence matched her story of shooting him and then trying to resuscitate him, the call for the ambulance and time of death showed that Elsa called the police immediately. There was a glass that had shattered across the kitchen floor that had both Elsa's and Agdar's fingerprints on it which would account for the sound of breaking glass that Elsa heard. The door had been found open – it had been that way when they had arrived on the scene – which would freak anyone out if they had found it like that.

There wasn't anything that he could discover that could contradict Elsa's story. Aland believed her straight away when he heard her story. To him, Elsa wasn't the kind of girl to go randomly shoot her father. She didn't have a motive – money could be one but Agdar gave her everything she wanted. Elsa just panicked and acted without thinking. Everyone does it but this time it resulted in a death.

However something worried Aland. Anna had accused her older sister of being a murderer. She had screamed at her, hurt her even. Aland didn't understand where this rage was coming from. Everyone else understood that it had been an accident but not Anna. Did this mean that Anna knew something that Aland didn't? Perhaps there was a reason why Elsa would want to kill her father and Anna knew it. He didn't know what went on every minute in the Winters' household. Perhaps Anna had seen or heard something? Aland shook his head. He was being stupid. Anna was just grieving and lashing out. She needed someone to blame for this mess and she decided to choose her sister.

It was an accident. That was all.

A Few Weeks Later

Elsa was walking through the halls of the Arendelle Courthouse. She was wearing a black blazer over a white blouse with a black pencil skirt, nude tights and black high heels. Elsa was told to look professional by her lawyer. She felt like she accomplished this. Her lawyer was dressed in a dark suit which matched his dark hair with a blue tie to bring out the blue in his eyes.

She had been charged in her father's murder. Apparently an arrest had to be made and so Aland had told her that she was under arrest. She posted bail the very next day. Christeson had told her that her case was just proceeding as more and more people believed Elsa's story. The shooting of her father had swept over the city overnight. The case had become a sensation. It was going to be followed by every person in Arendelle. That kind of publicity was putting so much pressure on her that she thought she would explode. Elsa didn't know how much more she could take but for now, she had to take it. So that was why Elsa found herself in the courthouse one day.

She then walked into the courtroom and she took her seat behind the defendant bench. Christeson took a seat next to her. He then poured them both some water. Elsa took a sip and looked up at the empty judge's seat. She was nervous. She was shaking so much that her water slipped out of the glass and onto the wooden bench. Christeson patted her shoulder and gave her a smile. He seemed confident about what was going to happen. That made Elsa feel a little bit better knowing that he seemed to think that things were going to go their way.

Elsa's eyes shifted sideways. A tall man wearing a light grey suit was standing behind the bench where the prosecution sat. He was trying to open his brief case which seemed to be a little stuck. He eventually managed to open it and pull out some folders that he placed neatly on the bench.

Elsa had met him before. He had introduced himself as Gerard Steenberg. Elsa didn't know what to make of the man. He seemed a little…too cocky for Elsa's liking but Christeson said that this should be an open and shut case. Most of the work was already done for them; the coroner had declared Adgar Winters' death to be an accident, the police hadn't found any contradictory evidence against Elsa's story and Christeson thought that Elsa would make a good witness on the stand.

Behind her was her family. When she swivelled in her seat she got kind smiles from her family except from one; her sister. Her sister was sitting cross legged and had her arms folded so tightly, Elsa was sure that the blood flow would be cut off soon. She was glaring at Elsa which made Elsa feel very comfortable. Elsa could almost feel tears coming to her eyes. She quickly turned away and started to sip some more water. It didn't help one bit; she still feel Anna's eyes burning through the back of her head.

"All rise," the bailiff said.

Elsa quickly got to her feet and the judge – Judge Jostad – walked to his seat and took a seat. He was another friend of Elsa's father. He really made the right friends. The judge told everyone to sit and they did.

"On one count of murder," the judge said to Elsa, "how do you plea?"

"Not guilty, your honour," Elsa said trying her best to sound convincing and not to stammer.

"Does the prosecution wish to proceed?" Judge Jostad asked Steenberg.

"Yes," Steenberg said. He looked down at his notes. "I call Chief Constable Edvard Aland to the stand."

A few moments later, Aland who was dressed in a very nice and respectable suit was sitting in the witnesses' booth. Elsa was sure that Aland was on her side. He believed her…right?

"Chief Constable, can you tell the court today what happened on the fourteenth of August?" Steenburg asked.

"We got a call around twelve forty three am, it was a distress call from the defendant," Aland answered. He repositioned himself to get more comfortable. "We arrived at the scene less than five minutes later, around twelve forty eight am. We found the door to be open and the defendant in her father's room trying to preform CPR on the victim who was later pronounced dead at the scene by the paramedics."

"Then what happened?"

"I took Miss Winters back to the police station to get her out of the house. There Miss Winters made her statement to the police."

"What did Miss Winter say did happen?"

"She said that was home alone and believed there was an intruder in the house so when she felt like someone was breaking into her father's bedroom, she turned and shot her father."

Out of the corner of Elsa's eye she could see Anna's fists clench at Aland's statement. She was still clearly in the same state of mind she had been in for the past few weeks. That hadn't budged an inch. Elsa turned back to the judge.

"Did you find any reason to doubt Miss Winters?" Steenberg asked with his back to Aland as he faced the court.

"No," Aland asked.

"What about Item J on page fourteen," Steengberg said holding a photograph that had been taken at the scene. "Which clearly shows that the victim had taken some steps into the room which means that Miss Winters waited to shoot him?"

Elsa started to squirm in her seat. She had been worrying about that. Elsa just hoped that this didn't faze Aland.

"Not necessarily," Aland said. As Elsa hoped, this didn't faze Aland. Aland was a pro at court. "Agdar was a tall guy. He could take large strides which means that by the time he entered, his one step could mean why he was in the bedroom rather than by the door."

"I see," Steenburg said. He twiddled a pen between his fingers. Elsa didn't like the look on his face. "Why was Miss Winters in her father's bedroom?"

"She was scared and she was heading to arm herself as she believed someone was in the house," Aland responded.

"Tell me Chief Constable, if she was so scared, why didn't she ever call the police to send help?"

Elsa's heart sank. That was something she was not expecting. Of course that was going to be discovered.

"Well maybe Miss Winters didn't have time to call the police," Aland said. "Maybe she was arming herself to go call the police."

"Perhaps," Steenberg said. He didn't seem to delve into it further. Elsa knew that he was letting the idea that Elsa may have shot her father fester in the brains of the jury's mind. He was being clever. Steenburg continued to ask questions about the lab reports and Aland discussed what they showed. Elsa didn't need Aland to tell them what they showed. She knew what they showed; that Elsa had shot and killed her father. The question was; did they believe that it had been self-defence or think that it was murder?

"Chief, did you find any evidence to contradict the proscution's theory that Miss Winters murdered her father?"

Aland shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "No," he finally said. This didn't make Elsa feel any better.

"That's all Chief Constable," Steenberg said after Aland had finished his part.

Steenberg sat back down and Christeson stood up.

"Chief Constable," Christeson said. "Did you find any evidence to contradict my client's statement that she had believed there was an intruder in the house?"

"No," Aland said. "Everything was consistent with what Miss Winters said happened that night."

"Did you find any evidence of a motive?"

"None," Aland said firmly. "There was the possible motive of money but Miss Winters was well provided for, had a decent income from her father and no evidence of any kind that she had been cut out of her father's will."

"Thank you Chief Constable," Christeson said. "That will be all."

Aland stepped off the witness stand only to be replaced by the coroner when she was called. Steenburg asked her about her findings when she performed the autopsy. The coroner confirmed that Agdar Winters died from a single bullet wound to the chest. She then described the pathway of the bullet which was consistent with someone Elsa's stature shooting at the victim. When Christeson had the opportunity to cross examine, he decided not to and so the coroner was allowed to step down. Other witnesses that were brought up were a couple of other officers who were at the scene, a couple of neighbours who heard the gunshot and…

"The prosecution calls Anna Winters to the stand," Steenburg said with a smirk.

Elsa sat up straight. Why would they be calling Anna? Elsa swivelled in her chair and stared at her sister who was refusing to look at her. Anna got out of her seat and headed up to the witness stand. Steenburg waited a few seconds before he addressed Anna. Those few seconds seemed to be the longest in her life.

"Miss Winters," he said, "what is your relationship to the defendant?"

"She is my sister," Anna said simply. There was no emotion in her voice.

"According to another officer's testimony," Steenburg said referring to one of the police officers who had taken the stand earlier, "your entire family is behind your sister."

"Was there a question in that counsel?" the judge asked.

"I'm getting there you're honour," Steenburg said. Elsa felt anger rise within her. Steenberg really was a slimy character. Her gaze was fixed, however, on her sister who was still stubbornly looking away from her. Anna was staring at Steenburg with a blank expressionless face. "Miss Winters, you were witnessed assaulting your sister when you found out the truth, why was that?"

"Because I believe she murdered my father," Anna said with anger coming to her voice. She was no longer able to keep an expressionless face. It contorted into something twisted.

"Why is that Miss Winters?" Steenberg said. "Why do you believe that when no one else in your own family does?"

"Because I know my sister," Anna said simply.

"Chief Constable Aland mentioned he couldn't find a motive," Steenburg said. "Can you provide one?"

"She was jealous of me," Anna said. Well Anna wasn't lying there, Elsa thought bitterly. Anna had everything that Elsa ever wanted; she had a life that wasn't tainted with hatred and abuse.

"How do you know this?"

"Because I could see it in her," Anna said. "She always hated me and so she decided to do the one thing to hurt me; she killed our father to take him away from me."

Elsa felt even more rage within her. How could her own sister think something like that?

"No more questions Miss Winters," Steenburg said.

Christeson stood up. "Miss Winters isn't it natural for siblings to not always have a perfect relationship?"

"I suppose," Anna shrugged.

"So really in fact, my client and yourself had a perfectly normal sibling relationship?" Christeson faced the jury.

"She sent me away," Anna said. "When I was about to start school, she made our father send me away to boarding school."

"Why do you think that was – if such a claim is true?"

"I overheard it."

"Miss Winters, we misinterpret a lot of things in our life, could you have simply misinterpreted what your sister was talking about?"

"No," Anna said firmly.

"Wasn't it a long time ago?"

"Well yes," Anna said. She seemed to struggle a bit. "Well maybe then."

"That will be all Miss Winters."

Anna stepped down from the witness stand.

"Prosecution rests," Steenberg said.

"Very well," the judge said. "We will resume tomorrow."

Elsa was glad to step out of the courtroom and into some fresh air. She and Christeson were standing outside the courthouse on a series of steps that led to the front door. The cool winter's air whipped around her but Elsa didn't even feel it. She had never been able to feel the cold although Elsa would give anything to feel it so that she could feel something other than anger.

"Don't worry," Christeson said. "That sounded a lot worse than it actually was. We haven't given our side yet."

Elsa nodded. At the exact time Anna walked down the courthouse's steps. Their eyes met for a second.

"It was clever to turn sister against sister," Christeson said.

"She's not against me," Elsa said. "She's just grieving."

She just hoped that was true.

The next day, Elsa found herself back in the courthouse. She hadn't slept at all the previous night. She had been too worried about what was going to happen. She was too nervous about whether or not the jury believed Anna or not. Elsa watched as Christeson called Rapunzel to the stand. Aland had already been recalled to the stand to testify about the fact that there had been no physical evidence to support the prosecution's argument that Elsa had murdered her father in cold blood. Aland had been quite convincing; she had seen some jury members not changing their gaze from Aland. Christeson always says that juries love to hear about DNA and other forensic evidence (mostly thanks to shows like CSI, Forensic Files or Bones) but since the prosecution didn't really have any that couldn't be explained by Elsa's story, Christeson was feeling quite confident. All he had to do was argue Elsa's state of mind that night.

"How long have you and the defendant known each other?" Christeson asked Rapunzel who was on the stand to testify Elsa's character.

"Oh for years," Rapunzel said. "We are very good friends – in fact I would say she is my best friend."

Christeson smiled. "Would you say, that in your opinion, that my client isn't capable of murder?"

"No," Rapunzel stated. "Elsa is like the sweetest thing. She wouldn't hurt anyone unless she was forced to."

"Like in self-defence?"

"Exactly like that."

Rapunzel was allowed to step down after that. Steenburg had denied the request to cross examine her (although he had cross examined Aland again to reiterate that the evidence matches up with Elsa killing her father). Merida also took the stand along with Elsa's cousin Astrid Winters, her Uncle Klaus Winters and her grandmother Ingrid Winters to talk about her character. The jury seemed to like the idea that Elsa had her friends and family behind her – well most of her family anyway.

Finally Elsa took the stand.

"What is your name for the court?" Christeson asked.

"Elsa Idun Winters," Elsa said. She started to shake but she told herself to stop. Christeson had said that nerves were a sign of guilt.

"What is your relationship to the victim?"

"He is my father," Elsa said. She tried to keep her answers simple and to the point. Christeson had said that clarity was a very important factor when testifying; it allowed jury members to understand what she had to say.

"Can you tell us, in your own words, what happened on the fourteenth of August?"

"I thought I was alone," Elsa said doing her best to stay staring at Christeson and not let her eyes drift to her sister. "Dad had said he was going out for a bit – I thought he said was going out to get some ice cream for desert." Elsa paused for a moment as she formed her words clearly. If she made one mistake in her testimony it could open up the doors for interpretation whether or not her words were true or not. "I was alone in my room. I thought I heard the door opening which was strange as I believed dad had only just left. I went downstairs and called out. There was no answer which I thought was just as strange. I saw the front door ajar. Some panic arose in me but I pushed it back down. That's when I went back up to my room. I then heard the sound of breaking glass and I thought that was bizarre. Then I heard footsteps and to me it sounded like more than one person.

"That's when I was panicking. I thought there was someone in the house. I thought that there was someone in my house rummaging around drawers. Maybe even come up the stairs, find me and take me hostage or kill me. Fear was consuming every pour of my body. I raced down the corridor to my dad's room; I knew there was a gun in there. I don't know what made me go for it but I did. The threat of losing my own life was controlling my actions. Human bodies are designed to survive and my brain was in full survival mode.

"I fumbled with the gun in my panic. I looked behind me and I saw the door handle go backwards and forwards as someone was coming in. I made sure the gun was loaded and ready to go. The door opened and someone walked in – I didn't know who it was, I just acted on impulse. I fired. Then I realised who I had fired at." Elsa let out a fake cry. It was very believable. "That's when I saw my dad's face as he realised what had happened. I didn't mean to shoot him. I thought it was someone coming to kill me." Elsa dissolved into fake tears. The jury looked at her with sympathetic eyes which Elsa took as a good sign.

"Thank you Miss Winters," Christeson said.

Christeson nodded at her then took a seat.

"I have no questions for this witness," Steenburg said which Elsa was surprised at. She was sure he was going to rip her story apart but one look over at the jury told her why. The jury saw her as a scared and panicked teenager who made a mistake. The jury would just hate him for distressing her further.

"The defence rests," Christeson said.

A few hours later Elsa found herself back outside the courthouse with Christeson. She couldn't stay still. Her fingers were drumming her body while her foot was tapping the ground. Christeson was on the phone to his wife. He was telling her how great the day was in court. Elsa knew that if Christeson wasn't worried, she shouldn't be worried. But it wasn't going to be Christeson that was going to go to jail if they came back with a guilty verdict. It wasn't going to be Christeson's life that would be over. They needed to come back with a not guilty verdict. She needed them to come back with an innocent verdict. She needed to get on that plane and go to Burgess now.

"You can calm down Elsa," Christeson said. "The jury loved you. They saw you for who you were; a victim. They didn't see you as a cold blooded killer."

"I think I might go to the bathroom," Elsa said very quickly. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. It was just making her nervous.

She quickly re-entered the courthouse and headed straight to the bathroom. She gripped the edges of the sink and stared into the mirror. She thought about the last time she was in this position; in the bathroom ready to collapse. It was when she was willing to end it all. She didn't know if she didn't regret doing it. But she did know that if she did, he would have won and not her. Elsa focused on herself in the mirror. She saw a terrified person staring right back at her. It didn't surprise her to see that. She had seen it way too often.

She turned the tap of the sink and let the water flow out. She threw water onto face destroying her makeup as she did but she didn't care. She just let the cool water splash onto her face. She closed her eyes for a few moments and let the water cling to her face. She grabbed some wet wipes out of her purse and used them to rub the ruined makeup off her face. She then splashed some more water into her face. She rubbed it into her face as if trying to wash away the guilt she was feeling. She looked back into the mirror. She did kill her father. They were all wrong when they said it was an accident. She could have put the gun down but what would have happened if she had? Her father would have probably murdered her. He would have gotten away with it. He had proof that she wanted to leave. He could have said she had run away. The police probably wouldn't have investigated. Adgar Winters had them all in his pockets. But when she wasn't lying when it was self-defence; she needed to protect herself.

Elsa continued to look into the mirror for a few more seconds before she grabbed a towel hanging on a hook and used to dry off the water off her face. When she looked into the mirror again, she saw a towering dominant figure behind her; it was her father. Elsa screamed and dropped the towel she was holding. She quickly turned around and saw that she was still alone in the bathroom. She held a hand over her heart; it was thumping very loudly. She was taking heavy breaths in as she stared around the room.

He's dead, Elsa told herself as she slid down onto the floor. He's dead and he's not coming back. He can't hurt you anymore, she told herself over and over again. He's gone. He's dead. Elsa remained on the floor for a few more seconds before she had the courage to get back to her feet. She gripped the sink again but refused to look back into it. Then she raised her chin and saw just her reflection staring back at her. Did her guilt manifest into her seeing things or did she just see her father's ghost?

Elsa took out her makeup from her purse started to reapply it. Focusing on doing her makeup allowed her take her mind off seeing her father again. Elsa had just finished doing her makeup when the door opened and Anna walked in. She stopped dead when she saw that her sister was in the bathroom as well. Elsa thought it would be best if she packed up her makeup and left Anna alone. She didn't need another scene like the one at the hospital. She quickly put her makeup back into her purse and then headed to the door. Elsa's hand was on the door handle when Anna spoke.

"You fucking lied on the stand," Anna said.

Elsa whipped around. Anna was staring into one of the bathroom mirrors. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Elsa could feel tears coming to her eyes as well. Anna was right; she had lied.

"No I didn't," Elsa whispered.

Anna whipped around to face her older sister. "You fucking bitch. You killed him. You know that." Anna pointed a shaky finger at Elsa. "You took him away from us. He was a good man and you murdered him."

Elsa just blinked. "You really didn't know," she whispered. Anna really didn't know. Elsa had hoped that she had some kind of inking of what had happened but she guessed that she didn't.

"What?" Anna snapped.

"Never mind," Elsa said quickly.

"No tell me," Anna said. "You were going to say something and I want to hear the great Elsa Winters speak."

"Just leave it," this time it was Elsa snapping. She wasn't about to pour her heart and inner feelings out to Anna. If Anna wanted to believe she was a murderer, then so be it. Anna wouldn't believe her anyway. She would just think that Elsa was making up things to get herself off the hook.

The door suddenly opened and their cousin Astrid came in. She looked at her cousins with a curious expression. She knew that she had interrupted an intense conversation.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked.

"Just fine," both Elsa and Anna said at the same time.

"Alright," Astrid stretched out the word. She knew they were lying. "The jury is back."

Elsa felt panic rise once again within her. This was it. Today was going to be the day whether she would be set free or be locked up. She followed her cousin and sister out of the bathroom and back into the courtroom. Anna took a seat with Astrid. Anna was still looking quite upset at her but Elsa couldn't concentrate on that at the moment. She had more important things to worry about.

Elsa took her seat next to Christeson. She wiped her sweaty palms against her skirt. She watched the judge take his seat. Her eyes shifted to the jury. Her life was in the hands of twelve men and women. The foreman – a woman – stood up when she was asked to by the judge.

"Has the jury reached a decision?" the judge asked them.

"Yes," the foreman said.

"May the defendant please rise," the judge said to Elsa and she took to her feet. She was trembling as she did. The judge looked over at the jury. "On the count of murder, how do you find the defendant?"

The foreman looked over at Elsa and they locked eyes. There was a second as Elsa tried to stare into her soul – to see her mind. The foreman looked back at the judge.

"Not guilty," the foreman said.

Elsa thought she had heard this incorrectly. She had been so sure that they were going to read out a guilty vote that she had her mouth open to correct them. Christeson stood up to shake her hand. Everyone cheered at this decision. Elsa still felt like it wasn't real; that somehow the foreman was going to go 'psych' and laugh at her.

"Miss Winters," the judge said. "This court has found you not guilty. You are free to go."

Christeson patted her on the back and they left the courthouse together into the roaring crowd of flashes as journalists tried to get a comment out of her. As Elsa walked past her family, she could see Anna's face; it was shocked and angry. Elsa tried to hide her tears as she walked with Christeson. She forced her face to smile. She had done it after all. She was going to get the future she had always dreamed. That made her smile for real.

Two Weeks Later

Anna stood with Hans in an old graveyard outside the Arendelle Church. The rain splattered down onto them but Anna didn't care. She didn't even feel it. She was staring at the gravestone in front of her; her father's. She wiped some tears away from her eyes as stared at the grave in the ground.

The funeral was over. It had taken place a few hours earlier. They had all ambled in the church that was just under a kilometre away from where Anna was currently standing. The church was packed until it was bursting at the seams. Everyone wanted to pay their respects to her father. The church was decorated from head to foot in flowers. Anna had sat up at the front of the church with her family. Anna couldn't stop staring at the large coffin that was at the front of the church. It had white lilies decorating the top of it. The priest stood at the top of the church and started the service. Anna cried into her Uncle Klaus' shoulder the entire time. They then walked out into the graveyard where Anna with her family and family's friends watched as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Anna stuck to her uncle as she kept crying into his shoulder. It wasn't until the reception, which took place after the service, did Hans take over; Anna practically collapsed into his arms at the reception. She thought it was sweet that he had showed up for her.

Anna just continued to stare at the grave. She was feeling angry. Her dad had been taken from her way too early. The reason for this was her sister, Elsa. Elsa hadn't turned up to the funeral – in fact Anna hadn't seen her sister since the day they announced that she was proclaimed innocent; a decision that Anna had disagreed with but she had let it go as the justice system had found her innocent and she had to believe in the justice system otherwise she might go crazy. But her rage never left her. How could her own sister not turn up to their father's funeral? If that didn't say guilt, she didn't know what did. However, a small part of her was glad that Elsa didn't show. She didn't think that she could handle her sister at the moment. If Anna laid eyes on her, she would probably kill her.

Anna walked away from the grave with her hands in her pockets. Hans was following her but he was a step behind. He kept sending her nervous looks. He was worried about her. They returned back to the reception – Anna had needed some fresh air and so Han had taken her for a small walk and somehow ended up at the grave. When Anna walked back into reception hall, she collapsed onto a couch with Hans by her side. He stroked her hair and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. It wasn't long after that did Hans get a call; it was his brother. It seemed important as a concerned expression crossed his face.

"I'm so sorry Anna," he said. "That's my brother. Dad wants all of us for an emergency board meeting concerning a takeover."

"That's fine," Anna smiled at him. "Go. You've done so much for me today. Thanks."

"You sure?"

"Yes," Anna nodded.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes," Anna smiled again. "Go."

Hans smiled, gave her another kiss on the check before he left the room. Anna wasn't alone for very long; Kristoff came to join her. Anna found Kristoff to be very easy to talk to. Even though he was Elsa's friend, he had come to support her and not just Elsa. Kristoff engaged her in some conversation which Anna was glad about; it gave her something other than the funeral to think about.

Eventually Anna decided enough was enough. She was tired and wanted to go home – well not home, she was checked into some flashy hotel since she couldn't stand to be in that house anymore. Kristoff offered to drive her home since everyone else was busy doing one thing or another. Anna was glad of this and a few minutes later she found herself clambering into Kristoff's car.

"The car's probably not what you're used to," Kristoff said, looking a little embarrassed.

"It's heaven," Anna said. She was glad to see the inside of a car that didn't cost more than a down payment on a house.

Kristoff blushed. "So to your hotel?"

"No," Anna had an idea. "Elsa's hotel."

Elsa was sitting in her hotel room that she had been in since the day she had killed her father. Nobody had been back at the Arendelle Mansion since the shooting. Everyone couldn't stand being there just now. Elsa, meanwhile, was sitting on a couch in some flashy hotel room in the centre of Arendelle. She had remained there since the shooting to avoid the press and everyone in Arendelle. She just wanted to be alone for a while until she figured things out. Her plan to get to Burgess had been put on hold due to the court case and then she hadn't found any flights. She had been checking practically every minute of every day since she had been found innocent but nothing had been posted. She gathered from this that not a lot flights headed out that way. No connecting flights either; she had wanted to fly to the States and then to Burgers but nothing.

A knock on the door interrupted Elsa. She had been sitting on a chair in her hotel suite sipping on some red wine when she heard the knock. She got up and opened the door. When she did, she got a shock. It was Anna and Kristoff. Elsa could have dropped the glass she was holding. What on earth were they doing here?

"Where the fuck were you?" Anna said barging into her hotel room.

"Come on in," Elsa whispered. She looked at Kristoff who gave her a shrug. Elsa turned to her sister. "What do you want?"

"I want to know where were you – have you been drinking?" Anna added when she spotted the glass of red wine in her hand. She looked disgusted at what she saw. "Have you been celebrating dad's death?"

"No," Elsa said quickly even though that was exactly what she had been doing. Yes, she had been toasting that son of a bitch's trip to hell but she wasn't about to say that to her younger sister any time soon. Anna practically worshipped the ground that Agdar Winters walked on. Shattering that, wasn't going to be something that Elsa wanted to do.

"You have," snarled Anna. "I don't believe this. I do not believe this. I am fucking going out of my mind and here you are, celebrating dad's death."

"Anna, get the fuck out of my hotel room," Elsa suddenly found herself shouting at her sister. She didn't know where that came from but she didn't need to explain herself to her sister – or anyone for that matter.

Anna didn't do anything but fold her arms. "No," she snarled. "I want to know why you didn't show up at dad's funeral? Was it because you are glad that he's dead?"

"Anna, get out," Elsa screamed at her. Elsa didn't know why her temper was rising but it was and it was rising very quickly.

Anna took a step closer to her. "You fucking bitch. How dare you do this to me! First you kill our dad in cold blood and then you fucking don't even turn up to his funeral. What is the fuck is wrong with you?"

Elsa didn't know why but she snapped. Suddenly it wasn't her younger sister yelling at her. Suddenly it was her father. Anna had transformed into her father. Elsa didn't know what made her do it. She just did it. Elsa suddenly lashed out in the only way she knew how; physically.

"Elsa!" Kristoff shouted.

Elsa suddenly found herself being pulled off her sister by Kristoff. She looked down at the scene. She had been beating the crap out of her sister. Her nose was bleeding and some visible bruises on her face. Elsa stumbled backwards in shock. What had she done? Why had she done it? She had done the exact thing that her father would have done. She had turned into her father; the one thing she had vowed she would never do.

Elsa then raced out of the hotel room without a single word or glance at her sister. It wasn't long till she was at her old house. She needed to get out of Arendelle. She needed to get to Burgess and she needed to get to it now before she did something else she regretted.

A few days later

"I'm telling you Jack," Bunnymund said to his friend. "Jules is a great girl."

"I don't know," Jack said as he walked up the stairs of his dorm. "We dated in our last year at school and now that we're at university…I don't know."

"Oh, Jack is getting cold feet," Tooth laughed at him. She grabbed Bunnymund's arm and linked it with hers. Jack smiled at the pair of them. Sometimes he would wish that they would just get together already but Bunnymund was afraid to admit his feelings for someone and Tooth didn't want to get involved with someone like Bunnymund who was a bit of a player at times.

They headed into the corridor that contained the dorm room that Jack shared with Bunnymund, Tooth, their friend Tadashi and Sandy. Tooth had it tough sharing a room with a bunch of guys. She would often complain about the things they did like leaving dishes out or making total messes throughout the door but Jack knew that she wouldn't want to live with anyone else. Jack knew that she secretly loved to live with them. Jack walked along the corridor to his room, taking out his keys as he walked. That's when he noticed what was going on in the corridor; he had spotted a blonde girl standing outside the dorm room opposite his, it had the door open which revealed the insides of the room. There were several large cardboard boxes outside and the girl was loading them into the room. Jack was surprised to see someone moving in. He had thought that Honey Lemon, Gogo and Astrid were the only ones living in there this year but he guessed he was wrong about that.

"Hey," Jack said to her. The girl looked up and smiled at him with shining blue eyes.

"Hey," she said.

"Need some help?" Jack offered, guesting to the cardboard boxes as he did.

"No thanks, I got it," the girl said, lifting one of the boxes and placing it on the kitchen counter in the door room.

"So I gather you're new to BU?" Jack said.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I gather that you are too?"

"Yeah," Jack gave her a smile. "I live across the hall, so if you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thanks," the girl said. "The same goes to me if you need anything."

Jack smiled at her for a few seconds.

"I'm Jack, by the way," he extended his hand out.

"Elsa," the girl said taking it and giving it a shake.

A/N: Okay first off, I may have lied when I said Thirst was getting updated next - huge writer's block at the moment for that story but I will get round to it, so super sorry. Also lied on Jack's entry - he was supposed to be in chapter 3 and then chapter 7 but now finally in chapter 8, he has arrived. I hoped everyone has enjoyed his small introduction - more in the following chapter. The court scene may not have been the best but I thought it worked for the current situation since no one knows about the abuse and it could have been tough to prove. Anna's reaction may come at a surprise to people but she's not going to have a heart to heart with Elsa - at least not yet. Remember that Anna has no idea what is going on with her sister so her reaction is probably justifiable. Also that scene with her and Elsa was intense - it seems that finally Elsa did lash out at her sister. But at least Elsa is now in Burgess with Jack, so Jelsa can now officially start at last. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this update. Please review =)

Reviews:

Guest: Well yeah, it was her intention to kill herself but other things happened. Yeah, Elsa can't use abuse as a defence but she still used self-defence as the reason to justify her actions. Jack's not going to come in at the very end, this story has a lot more to go.

WeridWerewolfFan: Thanks so much! Well that scene may not come at this particular time. No sisterly-bond moment just yet. Jack's not going to be a teacher sorry. Haha, the cup is going to come home with the All Blacks. We slaughtered France and we're not going to stop there.

Guest: Sorry no. You may have to wait for that.

Kylabecky2003: Thanks so much. Yes, obviously Elsa is going to Burgess and meets Jack. Anna will come to her senses but when? Who knows! Kristanna is going to happen but Hans is just in the way at the moment.

ZERO-xxx: Yes she did act in self-defence and it looks like she got off the hook. She also got to BU and maybe she will fall for Jack - cough- -cough-. Hopefully you did enjoy the small cameo of Jack in this chapter.

QueenMaylina8Candy: Thanks so much! Also, wow, what a compliment!

SMrFreeze: Thanks! Jack's in this chapter, hopefully you enjoyed the big reveal. Jack may begin to be the happy guy but he has a past which will help him connect to Elsa.

ElsaWilson: Sorry for the lengths! I just happen to write a lot. Thanks!

Calmdownmari: Well she got into a little trouble but she's free at last!

ElsaTheSnowQueen2: Thanks! It does look like things did work out for Elsa.

sanaa11: Yeah it is a little but hopefully not too much. Thanks so much!

Silent reader: Yeah she did, she didn't really have a choice though. Thanks! Well Elsa isn't really a 'murderer' in that sense as it was self-defence.

Guest (MixyBell): Well maybe as Elsa had to be acquitted. Jack's arrival is now - hope you liked it.

Ziabee99: Haha, thanks so much. I'm glad you enjoy those scenes, they are fun to write. Yeah that scene was very intense - so back and forwards (will she get away, will he win - that kind of thing) but thankfully Elsa did come out of it. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the chapter. It was a little bit of an emotional roller-coaster. Yeah I did use real life emotions - going to uni wasn't easy as school was quite sheltering for me. Again thanks and wow, that's great!