Chapter 18: The Girl At The Hospital
Seven years later
"So what do you two think?" the real estate lady asked them.
Jack turned to Elsa. "I like it."
Elsa agreed. Elsa and Jack were currently looking at an apartment to move into. It was a two bedroom apartment complete with a bathroom, kitchen and living room that had wide windows which looked out onto street belong with a park in the background. Elsa took a look out of the window. She focused on two kids playing with a soccer ball near the fountain in the park. Elsa watched as the ball went into the fountain and one of the kids went in after it. Thankfully it was a warm summer's day so they wouldn't freeze in the water.
Elsa turned back to Jack who was looking at her expectantly. Elsa took one more look around the apartment. They had looked at what felt like a hundred apartments and none of them came remotely close to how nice this place was. However, it was expensive and outside their budget. Most of their savings would go into buying the place and the rest probably into renovating it. Elsa didn't like the wall colours and some DIY work was needed fixing up the kitchen.
However, Jack loved the place as did Elsa. Elsa doubted very much that they could find a better place to live. Currently, they were housing at Caroline's house in a small room above the garage. They had been kicked out of their old – rather small – apartment due to their lease expiring. Caroline had come to their rescue and said they could take the room above the garage until they could find a new place to themselves.
"I like it too," Elsa smiled at Jack.
"I'll leave you two to discuss," the real estate lady said.
She quickly left, leaving the two of them alone. Elsa took a small wonder around the kitchen. The kitchen opened up unto the living room. There was even a counter that had white shutters that did the same thing. Elsa opened up these shutters and leaned against the counter. Jack did the same thing but from the other side.
"So," Jack really stretched out the word. "This place," he looked around at it, "could be our new home."
"It's a little pricy," Elsa said with a small sigh.
"Says the heiress," Jack sniggered.
Elsa gave him a look. "I haven't been an heiress in about eight years. Besides, I'm glad that life is over with."
Jack gave her a small smile. "So, should we take it?"
"Hmm, does need some doing though."
"A little here and there," Jack's eyes fell upon some of the things Elsa had already pointed out in her mental notes. "Nothing we can't do ourselves."
"True. So what do you want to do?"
Jack was grinning at her. She giggled. She knew what that grin meant. Together they came up with an offer which they thought would be quite reasonable.
"So," the real estate lady came back. "What did we decide?"
"We'll put an offer down," Jack said.
Together, the three of them discussed the deal. Elsa was quite excited – her hands could barely stay still. This could be the start of their new lives and she wanted to start living that life as soon as possible.
"Ah lovely," the lady said as Elsa signed her name on the offer agreement. "A wonderful place for newlyweds to settle down."
Elsa hand was taken by Jack's and he grinned again at her. They had been married for about a year now. Their engagement had been quick – only a few months – as they wanted to get married as soon as possible. After they both had finished university, Elsa and Jack had moved in together. Three years later, Jack had popped the question. Their wedding was small – only friends and family. During her wedding, Elsa had felt a yearning for the people back in Arendelle. How could she get married without Rapunzel or Merida or…or Anna? Jack had picked up on this and thought they should have travelled to Arendelle but Elsa had been quite adamant in her reply. She had decided long ago that life was no longer a part of her. It had been hard but she needed to do it. She needed to put Arendelle and all who lived in it firmly behind her.
They weren't the only ones of their friends who had gotten married. Astrid and Hiccup had gotten married about a year before Jack and Elsa did. Tooth and Bunnymund along with Tadashi and Honey were both engaged. Tooth and Bunnymund's wedding was the following year. They were both getting more and more stressed as the days go on by due to the stress of the wedding. However, Tadashi and Honey were waiting to get married. They both wanted to travel around the world before they got married. Elsa wondered if they would end up getting eloped in some foreign country which she supposed would be rather romantic.
They left the apartment about half an hour later in high spirits. Elsa was quite excited – she hadn't stopped being excited since the moment they had walked into the apartment. They may have a new home.
Anna raced around with a brush in her hair and her toothbrush in her mouth. She was late, oh she was very late. How could she have allowed this to happen? She had closed her eyes for only a second – well she thought it had been one. Turns out, it had been about forty minutes and thus making her very late. She thought she had taken precautions to avoid this happening again. She must have slept through the five alarms she set to make sure this didn't happen. What was she going to do with herself?
Anna quickly fixed her hair and finished brushing her teeth and tried to find her clothes all at the same time. She nearly tripped – a few times actually – as she tried to put on her pants. Kristoff, who was having breakfast and watching her at the same time, laughed. Anna scowled which only made him laugh harder.
"How about instead of laughing, you help me," Anna put her hands on her hips and gave him glowering look.
"You were the one who slept in," Kristoff spooned cereal into his mouth.
Anna scowled once again before tying her shoelaces of her sneakers. She started to look around and slowly filled her bag with things she needed. However, she was missing something – her pass. Where was it? A dread filled within her. She couldn't remember where she had put it. Oh, if she lost it, she would be in so much trouble. Anna raced around
"Missing something?" Kristoff leaned back in his chair.
"Uh," Anna hesitated. She couldn't handle seeing his smug expression if she told him the truth. "Maybe."
"Is this it?" Kristoff held up her pass. It seemed to have been sitting on the kitchen counter where she had left it the night before. How she missed it before now, she had no idea. Relief crept through Anna's features and she felt a rush of gratitude towards her boyfriend.
Anna rushed at him and gave him a kiss on his check. "Oh my God, thank you so much. I love you so much!"
"Haha, I know," Kristoff said. He returned the kiss and handed over her pass which Anna put carefully into her bag.
Anna rushed out the door and headed out the door to work. Anna worked at the local hospital – Saint Olaf's Hospital – as a nurse in the children's ward and had been for about a year now. She loved her job. It was exactly what she wanted in life. It gave her a purpose in her life and the children always brought a grin to her face. The hospital was about a twenty minute walk from the apartment she shared with Kristoff. She had moved in with him about few months ago. Kristoff had asked her a couple of times before that but Anna wanted to try the independence thing before she officially moved in with him and besides, she wanted to have finished up with university. They had been together now for a very long time and Anna was sure that this was where she wanted to be in her life. She was very happy with Kristoff and he was happy with her.
Anna looked down at her watch. She gulped. She was still running late. How can that be? She thought that she might have made up some of the time but she guessed not. Anna raced down the street. People gave her funny looks as she bolted on down the street but she didn't care. All that mattered to her is that she got to work on time. Anna had a tendency to be late. Even though her boss was kind, she didn't particularly like the fact that Anna turns up late. Well, not this time. She may have been late yesterday and the day before that but they say that third time is the charm.
Anna burst through the doors of her hospital and skidded to a halt in the locker room. She quickly opened her locker and took out her scrubs.
"Well somebody is on time today," came the voice of Zoë.
"I know!" Anna replied as she looked at her friend.
Zoë had also gone into nursing when they had left school. Anna and Zoë had together fought the tides of university and got their nursing degrees. The days they spent at university were some of the best in Anna's life. She had thoroughly enjoyed it. Céline and Audrey had gone a different way in their life. Céline was a journalist. She had made a name for herself over the years as quite a good reporter. She had come to Saint Olaf's a few times and Anna had fun giving her quotes. Meanwhile Audrey had become a graphic artist and was working on a series of comic books.
"We better go before Nurse Mellum blows a casket," Zoë said as Anna pulled out her scrubs and got changed.
Nurse Kaia Mellum was their boss. She was a kind but strict boss. Anna was constantly reminded of Professor McGonagall whenever she saw her. She even had a long emerald green coat that reminded her of the cloak that McGonagall wore.
"We better," Anna said as she pulled her scrub top over her head.
Anna shut her locker door and followed Zoë out of the lockers. They raced down the corridors and found Nurse Mellum handing out assignments to all the nurses around her. She gave them a look as they approached. Anna felt her insides shrink but she took her place among the other nurses.
"Nurse Olstad," Nurse Mellum called while Zoë hurried forward. "You and Nurse Winters are both going down to the ER. You have been requested."
"Requested huh?" Zoë asked.
"I think Doctor Fredriksen has a thing for you," Anna nudged her elbow into Zoë's hips while they both giggled.
"Girls," Nurse Mellum looked at them with a disproving glare on her face, "there is a time and place for gossip and this not that time nor is it the place."
"Sorry," Anna and Zoë both said.
"You better be. Now off you trot."
Anna and Zoë both hurried off. The instant they were out of earshot, they both burst into giggles. Sometimes Anna thought that they never have really grown up.
"So, I gather by the looks on both your faces that you found your new home?" Caroline asked Elsa and Jack.
They were sitting at Caroline's sitting room. Elsa and Jack were sitting on the couch while Caroline sat next to them on her usual comfy armchair. She was pouring them some tea while they ate some cakes. Elsa loved Caroline's cakes. They had the taste of a warm home and friendly grandmother.
"Was it the one on Hawthorne (1) Circle?" Pippa asked.
Pippa had dropped in on her mother, brother and sister-in-law. She lived in the main area of Burgess in a small apartment she shared with a maths teacher by the name of Stanley Heron. Pippa was teacher's aide – that's how she met Stanley. However, Pippa worked in the English department rather than the maths department.
"Yes," Jack replied. "Hawthorne is five minutes from both our jobs and Jamie lives right around the corner which is a bonus."
Jamie Bennett lived with his long term girlfriend Emma Stevenson. Elsa and Jack often went round to their place for dinner most weeks. When Elsa first met Jamie, she remembered being quite nervous. This was one of Jack's oldest and dearest friends, not to mention that he was the hero of Jack's history. However, it turned out that Jamie was just as nervous meeting her. According to Emma, Elsa was really the first girl that Jack ever connected with or was serious about. That made Elsa feel a lot better because that was exactly the same way she felt about him.
Since their first meeting, Elsa felt like she had known Jamie and Emma for most of her life. Well, it might have had something to do with Jack always talking about Jamie. Jamie knew about Elsa's past – Jack had mentioned it to him – but Elsa didn't mind. This was Jamie Bennett after all – the hero of Jack's tale. She felt like she was lucky that Jamie had been in Jack's corner that day.
"But it's like half an hour from me Jacky," Pippa pouted.
"Yet somehow, I will survive," Jack said which made his sister scowl.
"So," Caroline gave her two children a look before turning to her daughter-in-law as if she hoped to get a sensible conversation going which she often didn't get when her two children were in the same room, "did you put an offer in?"
Elsa put down her tea before answering. "Yes, we decided to even though it's a quite a bit outside our budget."
"Ah well," Caroline said. "You could come across a thousand of homes that will be within your budget and may be nice or good but they may not have that special something that you are looking for."
"Indeed," Elsa said. "It did sparkle for me."
"Sparkle?" Caroline grinned at her. "Well then, it must be something special."
"It does need some work though," Elsa said. "I'm sure that Jack and maybe Bunnymund or Jamie could help there."
Suddenly Jack's phone started to ring. Elsa jumped at the mere sound of it. Thankfully she had put down her tea so it didn't slop all over her. That would have been fun.
"It's the real estate lady," Jack whispered at her.
So soon? Elsa didn't know what to think. This could either mean two things; either they hated their offer at the mere sight of it and this was a 'sorry but they rejected your offer' phone call or it was the 'they loved your offer' phone call. Elsa didn't know what one was more likely. She felt like with their luck it was the former.
"Well answer it," Elsa said in a whisper of great urgency.
Jack seemed so excited that he seemed to have forgotten to answer his phone. His checks reddened as he quickly answered his phone. Elsa tried to listen in but it was quite hard to hear what the real estate lady was saying and Jack had forgotten to put it on speaker mode. Jack kept saying words like "yep", "yeah" and "uh-ah" which didn't give away anything. Elsa wasn't the only one waiting on edge – Pippa and Caroline were too.
"Thank you," Jack suddenly said before hanging up.
"Well?" Elsa asked expectantly.
Jack's face split into two. "We got it."
Elsa could have done summersaults. She gave him a small kiss and grinned at him.
"We have our new home," Elsa said.
"We do indeed."
"Congrats guys," Pippa said. "I thought you guys would be stuck living over the garage for ages. Damn, I owe Tooth ten bucks…on a completely different bet," she added under the glare from her brother and sister-in-law.
Merida was not having a good day. Firstly, she found out that her normal job coaching kids in archery down at the local rec centre had been cancelled due the position already being taken. She would always do the holiday programs but somehow this year 'her services would not be required'. Then her coach was in a grumpy mood and made her do extra work. Whatever was causing his bad mood was enough for Merida to pay for it. Then, once she got back home, she found her triplets brothers – Harris, Hubert and Hamish – needing a ride to Hubert's ice hockey game which Merida had thought her mum was going to take care of. Her brothers often got into trouble whenever they got together. They may be thirteen now but they certainly still acted the way they did when they were five. They would always go and do dangerous stuff – stuff that Merida knew would get them trouble. However, her brothers did do their best to help her whenever they could.
Merida ended up taking her brothers to Hubert's ice hockey game which she wasn't too thrilled about. She was supposed to be practicing. She was hoping to make the Olympic Archery Team this year (she had the previous time but she didn't get a medal) and since her coaching session was cut short, she needed to make up the time. She just wanted the hockey game to be over with so she could go home and continue her practicing. However, the game didn't last long. About half way through it, a fight broke out. Merida hadn't been paying much attention to the game (she had been fiddling on her phone) but she got the semi-gist of what the fight was about. Apparently one team captain of the other team thought that a member of Hubert's team was cheating. It started with a few choice words from each team and a couple of shoves before it blew up into a major fight. By the end of it, quite a few people ending up being hurt.
So that's how Merida had ended up having to drive Hubert to the ER at Saint Olaf's Hospital because he had broken his leg when someone pushed him over and he fell onto the ice. Once they had arrived at the hospital, Merida had called both her parents but neither one of them could make it for a while so Merida guessed she would have to take charge for the moment. Merida had been there for about fifteen minutes already and Merida was getting a little frustrated. They were packed today due to both ice hockey teams taking up the ER. Merida only hoped that they would be soon.
"Merida," came a voice that Merida recognised.
Merida turned around and, to her surprise, saw Anna walking towards her. Merida had completely forgotten that Anna was working as a nurse now. In her mind, she was still the little girl that often asked Elsa, Rapunzel and her if she could play with them. It seemed odd to her that Anna was now a working adult complete with her own apartment and boyfriend. Merida smiled at Anna as she approached.
"Hello Anna," Merida said. "Fancy meeting you here."
"It's not so weird considering I work here," Anna gave a small laugh. "So what is up with the little guy?"
"Hubert got into a fight at his ice hockey game," Merida said. "He broke his leg."
"So now you're waiting?" Anna replied and Merida nodded. "Maybe I can help with that. Hold on while I go get the doctor to examine the leg."
"Thanks Anna," Merida was grateful that Anna came along when she did. Who knows how long they would have been here for? Hubert was in a great amount of pain and Merida wanted that to be taken care of as soon as possible.
While they waited for Anna to return with the doctor, Merida's eyes fell upon a girl who was sitting at the next bed. She didn't look any older than about five or maybe even six. A man – who looked quite dominating – was standing by her bedside. The man – obviously the girl's father – gave Merida a funny feeling, almost a frightened feeling. Merida shivered as she looked away from the man. Her eyes fell upon the girl again. A doctor came over and started talking to the girl and her father. The father looked like he was trying to dismiss the doctor and hurry out however the doctor ignored him.
Merida didn't know why she was so interested in these people but something was telling her to continue watching them. The doctor pulled up the girl's top and revealed a number of bruises. Merida gaped at them – one even looked like a hand. It shocked her to the core. The doctor glared up at the father who was looking a little shifty. As Merida looked away from the girl, her father and the doctor who looked like he was getting ready to call the police, something was nagging at her but she didn't know what or why.
"All ready," Anna's voice tore through Merida's thoughts and brought her back to earth. Merida looked up at Anna who was standing with a tall gentleman with short, cropped brown hair. He had a kind face and had a white coat on. He was obviously the doctor that Anna went to fetch. "This is Doctor Fredriksen."
"Hello," Doctor Fredriksen said. "I hear someone has broken their leg. Let's take a look shall we?"
"And schedule a CT scan?" Anna asked.
"And schedule a CT scan," Doctor Fredriksen nodded to Anna. "Also an MRI to make sure there is no head injuries."
Anna sat on the chair next to Hubert and logged onto the computer. Merida couldn't help but notice Anna's login username and password – awint072 was her username and her password was "open door". Merida gave a small chuckle before she turned away. Anna ordered a scan for Merida's brother.
"Alright," Anna said. "Time to go up."
Merida watched as they led her brother up to the scanning machine. Merida wasn't allowed to go with him so she headed off to the waiting room with her other two brothers. Once she got there, her mother – Elinor – and her father – Fergus – was there waiting for them. The second they saw each other, they raced for each other to give a giant hug.
"Is Hubert okay?" Merida's mother asked. She looked very nervous as did Merida's father.
"Yeah," Merida said. "Just a broken leg. Well that is what we know so far."
"From the fight?" Merida's father asked.
"A fight?" Merida's mum looked shocked.
"Yes," Merida replied. "Don't worry, it didn't get too serious."
"I think I might have a chat to the coach," Merida's mum said. "A fight can be dangerous."
"Yeah, it can be," Merida said.
Jack was in the kitchen of his new apartment. Before he and Elsa could move in, they had to fix up the place a little. Elsa had created a list of jobs that needed to be done before they could move in and Jack was eager to start living his married life. At the moment, he was fixing up the kitchen cabinets. Elsa's eagle eyes had noticed that they needed fixing as some looked like they were coming off their hinges and the handles needed replacing. Jack had already gotten new handles and now was in the process of changing them. He wasn't alone; Bunnymund was with him. He was installing new hinges. Jack knew it wouldn't take the pair of them long to fix it. Perhaps a few hours at most as there weren't a lot to do. Well for this job anyway. Elsa will probably have a list of new jobs for them tomorrow.
"So is Tooth with Elsa?" Jack asked Bunnymund.
"Yes," Bunnymund said. "Tooth loves to decorate and she was glad at the chance."
Elsa had gone colour picking. Jack hated looking at colours – he knew he was in safe hands with her choices. He was happier doing up the kitchen. It was a lot easier than choosing a colour from a series of colours that all look the same to him.
"I'm glad Elsa has it under control," Jack said. "She always knows what to pick."
"You're not avoiding her are you?" Bunnymund quickly sounded serious.
"What an absurd thing to say," Jack looked shocked.
"I mean you guys had some difficulties when you were first married," Bunnymund quickly went back to screwing in the hinges.
Jack sighed. "We had a difference in opinion, Elsa and I. I thought that we should take a trip to Arendelle before we were married but Elsa put her foot down."
"Arendelle? Back to Elsa's home town?"
"Yeah," Jack sighed again. "I thought she should tell her family back there that she was getting married."
"But Elsa doesn't want to go back. I can see why though."
"Yeah, I can too. I just feel like a wedding should be surrounded by the people she loved."
"I don't think she loves them." Bunnymund said.
"I don't think that's true," Jack paused. "The way she talks about her sister, she does love her."
"Anna?" Bunnymund paused too as he thought about it. "Yeah, true."
"One day, she has to go back," Jack said. "She needs to face them all sooner or later."
"Yeah she does. Thankfully this is all in the past."
"Is it though?" Jack wasn't so sure. He was certain that Arendelle and Anna would come up in another conversation at some point in their future.
"What colour?" Elsa held up a series of colour charts.
"What does Jack like?" Tooth asked.
Elsa and Tooth were staring at paint samples, trying to decide on a colour for the living room area. Jack had refused to come stating that the kitchen needed work but Elsa knew he was just bored at looking at colours.
"I think he wants some kind of green or blue," Elsa said. "I'm in favour of a blue, personally."
"I think a shade of blue would look nice in your living room," Tooth started to flick through the colours. "Oh, I like this one, and this one, oh and this one, and this one too." Tooth pointed at the colours when she said it.
"That's not much help Tooth if you can't decide," Elsa laughed.
Together they poured over several different colour charts. Eventually, Elsa chose a few different colours that she got test pots for. She couldn't wait to start trying them out. It was quite exciting all this. She wanted to get the apartment ready as soon as possible. She wanted to start her married life because at the moment, it was put on hold which was not ideal.
"I've never known someone so keen to paint their own living room," Tooth said as they exited the colour shop.
"It's like living The Sims," Elsa said as she examined the test pots she had bought. "One of the best parts is designing the house."
"True, very true," Tooth laughed.
They both clambered into Elsa's car. Once they got all sorted, Elsa pulled the car out of the carpark and onto the road.
"I hate this stupid traffic," Elsa muttered to herself while drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as they waited in a massive queue to get onto the highway.
"Elsa," Tooth suddenly said, "can I asked you something?"
"You just did," Elsa hummed as she tapped on the steering wheel.
"You and Jack….you guys are okay now right?"
Elsa turned to face her friend. "What on earth makes you say that?"
"Well, you guys did have a rough patch."
"That was over a year ago," Elsa said. "When Jack and I got engaged."
"Yeah, but I wanted to make sure. I know we haven't discussed it much. I hope it's all in the past now."
"Yeah," Elsa sighed. "It was about Arendelle."
"Arendelle? That's where you were born right?"
"Yes," Elsa said as she turned the car towards the traffic lights. "Jack wanted to go visit, y'know, tell them all we were engaged."
"Because he wanted your family and old friends at the wedding right?"
"Yes," Elsa nodded. "However, he didn't understand that life is done and dusted with. I have put them in the past and there they'll stay."
"Are you sure?" Tooth looked concerned. "I mean, they are your family and friends after all."
"True but I have a new family and friends," Elsa said with a small nod at Tooth. "I think my old ones should stay in the past."
Tooth looked like she wanted to argue further but she shut her mouth. It looked like she had realised that it would be pointless. Elsa was glad of this. She didn't really want to talk about this anymore. Arendelle was in her past and Elsa wanted to keep it there.
"What's the matter with you Merida?" Rapunzel asked her. "You've been very quiet all night."
Merida and Rapunzel were in a local bar, enjoying what was left of their Friday night. Merida had come straight from the hospital where Hubert was now – in a shiny new cast – resting for the night. He would be allowed to come home tomorrow. Rapunzel, meanwhile, had come straight from work. She was an art teacher at the local school back home in Corona and loved every minute of it. Merida had been in a daze ever since she saw that little girl at the hospital. Merida had no idea why.
"What do you mean?" Merida asked her friend.
"I think in the couple of hours we have been here, you haven't said more than three words to me," Rapunzel looked at her friend with a concerned look. "You are okay? It's not Hubert you're concerned with are you?"
"Oh I know he will be fine," Merida said, "but it was a shock to see him on the ice in pain."
"It would be," Rapunzel sighed. "I wish I had a couple of siblings."
"No you don't," Merida said. "They are tiresome."
"Oh but you love them really," Rapunzel laughed.
"True. Oh speaking of siblings, guess who I ran into at the hospital."
"Um," Rapunzel looked like she was thinking hard. "One of Ariel's sisters?"
"Nope, try again."
"I have no idea Merida, just tell me."
"Okay, okay. It was Anna."
"Anna?" Rapunzel looked slightly confused for a moment before it clicked. "Oh right! She is now a nurse. Golly, it seems so weird for her to be a grown up. I remember her when she was five years old."
"Me too," Merida said. "It was just a shock to see her again. I haven't seen her in years."
"Probably not since Elsa's trial," Rapunzel said.
Elsa…something about her seemed to jaunt something in Merida's mind but she didn't know why. The little girl swam again in her thoughts. What was the connection between Elsa and the little girl? It was driving her mad. Merida looked back at Rapunzel and found her deep in thought to. When Elsa's name had been mentioned, both of them were very quiet. It had been eight long years since Elsa vanished off the face of the earth with nothing from her. Birthdays and Christmases ticked on by and still nothing.
"Where do you reckon she is?" Rapunzel suddenly asked.
"Dunno," Merida said as she drank her beer. "Wherever she is, I hope she's happy."
"Me too," Rapunzel said. "Do you think she will ever come back?"
"Who knows?" shrugged Merida. "She may not want to considering what had happened when she was last here."
"You mean the shooting? But that was an accident!"
"Her sister doesn't think so."
"Anna was in pain and looking for someone to blame and she found Elsa," Rapunzel said. "Maybe now that she's grown up, things might change."
"Anna isn't one for growing up though," Merida said.
"True," Rapunzel agreed. "Very true."
Merida found her way back to her Arendelle apartment just before midnight. Even though she mainly lived in Scotland now, she liked to come to Arendelle every now and then to see friends. She was spending a week in Arendelle for the moment and had already spent a few days here. Her family liked it here and they were currently spending their summer here. Merida had decided to come last minute because of her training schedule and so she dragged her coach along for the ride. However, she was glad to. Rapunzel had also decided to come up here for a bit of relaxation. It was the school holidays for her after all so she was just kicking her heels in Corona.
Merida kicked off her shoes at the door and hung her coat on the hook. She didn't have any roommates which she was quite pleased about. She liked living alone as she liked having her own space and independence. Merida quickly got changed into her pyjamas and headed to bed. Her eyes fell upon the clock by her bedside. It read five past twelve. Merida quickly turned on her side and shut her eyes. She really needed to sleep. However, that little girl was still in her mind.
Merida punched her pillow into a more comfortable position. Why was this girl constantly in her mind? Also, why was it whenever she thought about her now, her mind also drifts to Elsa? Was her mind trying to tell her something? Merida's thoughts didn't often go to Elsa. It was painful for her to think of her once best friend. Merida lay on her back staring up at the ceiling. She often wondered what happened to Elsa and where she ended up. Merida knew that Elsa liked the idea of practicing law so maybe that's what she did at some university – maybe Australia, New Zealand, America or perhaps another part of Europe like Germany or France? Who knows what happened to her friend.
As Merida shut her eyes, her final thoughts were of her long, lost friend.
An eight year old Merida picked up the last ball that was on the gym floor. It was a Wednesday afternoon and they had PE (Physical Education) last period. Merida had volunteered to help with clean up. Her class had a vigorous round of dodge ball. Merida's team had won only two games out of the five they played.
"Thanks Merida," her PE teacher said as Merida placed the final ball in the bag. "You better run off and get changed otherwise you might be late."
"Thanks!" Merida yelled as she raced off towards the changing rooms.
Merida was in a rush as she opened the door to the ladies changing rooms. It wasn't until she saw Elsa standing over her school bag did Merida realise she wasn't the last person to leave. Merida was sure that she was the last. Merida was about to call out to her friend but she stopped – stopped by a sight she never thought she would ever see. Elsa was facing towards Merida but she did not see her friend. Elsa's eyes were pinned to her gym bag. Merida nearly gasped as Elsa removed her PE uniform's top.
Upon Elsa's removal of her shirt, Merida saw that there were bruises on her stomach that looked like they went all around to her back. One even looked like a handprint. Merida nearly gasped but she stopped herself. She quickly ducked behind some lockers and waited for Elsa to finish getting changed. Merida watched as Elsa threw her bag over her shoulder and exited the changing rooms. Merida only peeled herself away from the lockers when she heard Elsa's footsteps getting smaller and smaller. She had been a little nervous that Elsa would see her staring. Something told her that Elsa didn't want this known. No wonder Elsa had waited until everyone else had gone.
All throughout Merida getting ready for home, her thoughts were on what she had seen. It disturbed her greatly. Merida scurried away as soon as she could from the changing rooms when she had finished in them.
What had she just seen?
Merida sat bolt upright. Blood was pounding in her ears. Sweat was pouring down her face. The dream – well it was a memory more than a dream – resonated inside of her. How could she have forgotten about this? How could she have not realised this before now? Now she understood the connection between the little girl and Elsa. The Elsa in the memory had bruises just like the little girl at the hospital. Merida now knew what that meant.
Elsa had been abused growing up.
After work, Anna headed back to her aunt's place. She may no longer live there but she did miss the years she lived there. It was filled with happy memories. However, she didn't miss living under her aunt and uncle's rules. She liked being independent especially now that she was a full-fledged adult. Anna walked back home, quickly got changed and headed to the apartment building's garage. Kristoff wasn't home so Anna figured he was making late night deliveries. He often delivered to bars, clubs and parties at this time.
Anna hoped into her car and started the engine. Anna did a complicated manoeuvre to get out the garage – there were at least two different poles and not a lot of space. It was a miracle that Anna didn't scrap her car every time she tried to drive out. Every time this occurred, Anna would swear and then wonder why she didn't park on the road. Then she remembered that there was basically no parking around her building and the parking wardens were like vultures around here.
Anna soon arrived at her aunt and uncle's place. Anna wiped her feet on the doormat and opened the door. Once she was inside, Anna announced her presence.
"Hello?" Anna called out.
"In the kitchen, love," came the voice of Anna's aunt.
Anna walked into the kitchen and smiled at her aunt. Anna kicked off her shoes and took a seat next to her aunt. Her eyes glanced at what her aunt was doing. Her aunt had her laptop out in front of her and Anna saw that she was looking up venue sights. It was Anna's grandmother's 80th birthday in a few weeks and to celebrate, the whole family was coming together in some kind of reunion. That's why Anna had come round to her aunt's house – she was helping her aunt plan a really nice party.
"Any luck?" Anna asked.
"Not really," Aunt Greta took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes in frustration. "Klaus is of no use here as usual."
"That's Uncle Klaus," Anna laughed. Anna took the laptop off her aunt and started to scroll through the sites. There wasn't anything that screamed 'grand family reunion with an amazing party thrown in'. "I suppose we could always use the mansion," Anna said this rather tired expression and offhandness.
"The mansion?" Aunt Greta looked a bit shocked.
"Why not?" Anna shrugged. "It's the family's isn't it?"
"Well not technically," Aunt Greta looked like she was struggling to get the words out. Anna waited patiently for her aunt to tell her. "In your father's will and the will of his father and his father and so on, it says that the house is to be left to the eldest as per tradition. So in this case, that would be, uh, well, Elsa."
"Elsa?" Anna hadn't heard her sister's name in years. It was a topic she generally avoided. It was mainly for two reasons. The first was that she hadn't forgiven her for shooting their father – intruder or no intruder. Somehow, that always stayed with her and fuelled her anger. The second reason was one that Anna didn't care to mention. She did feel bad for the way she treated her sister but Anna felt like sometimes, it was justified. Elsa liked to keep Anna out of her life and all Anna wanted for years, was to understand why this was. So, perhaps Anna was angry at Elsa for that too.
"Well yeah," Aunt Greta shrugged.
"Well Elsa is gone," Anna couldn't help but sound a little sad. "She's not coming back."
Aunt Greta didn't bother to argue. She knew what would happen if she tried to. Whenever Elsa was brought into conversation, Anna would oppose any further mention with a brick wall. Everyone practically knew that Anna's sister was a sore spot for her. Aunt Greta decided it was better to just agree. Anyway, a party in the Arendelle Mansion did sound like a fun time.
"So you're gonna help me with the cake?" Aunt Greta said.
"I thought Grandma said no cake, no presents, no cards and absolutely no mention it's her eightieth?"
"Well my mother-in-law doesn't know what she's talking about," Aunt Greta said, sounding quite determined. "You can't have a birthday party without cake, presents and a card."
"You've already got all three haven't you?" Anna gave her aunt an amused grin.
"No – the cake hasn't been ordered yet."
Anna just laughed.
Merida was pacing up and down. She was no longer in her bed. She was now pacing throughout her apartment. Her brain was buzzing. Could her best friend of many years have been abused without her knowing it? Half of her brain thought the idea was crazy because she surely would have noticed it. Then she realised she had and didn't realise what she was seeing. Elsa would often come to school with some injury. When asked about it, she would have some ridiculous reason for the injury which Merida always raised an eyebrow at but never said anything. Merida wished she had now. That wasn't the only thing; Elsa was quite shy and withdrawn. She hardly had any social life – she never really spoke to anyone – and she rarely left her home except to go to school.
How could she have missed this? Her friend had been in trouble and she didn't realise it. Merida could have buried her head in her hands and cried. She felt so awful for not realising this sooner. The question was; who else knew? Did Anna know? Did the rest of the Winters family know? Merida doubted that they did. Anna spent most of her time at school in Switzerland after all and not in Arendelle. Elsa probably was tricked into not saying a thing to her family or maybe she was afraid of her abuser's wrath.
However, that raised another question; who was her abuser? Was it a teacher at their school? Nah, Merida thought that was quite unlikely. She probably would have heard of it and there wasn't even a whisper but then again, how much attention did Merida give her surroundings at school? A family member perhaps? Hmm, then who? Merida then had a nasty thought. She realised who could have kept Elsa from saying anything to anyone. That same person was the same person who Elsa was really afraid of – Elsa's father, the man who Merida had noticed Elsa trembled before and never dared to disobey. Merida collapsed into a chair. Had Elsa's father been the one who abused her? Well that would explain the whole shooting incident. Merida always had a feeling that Elsa was hiding something about the shooting and this must be it. Elsa must have been under attack by her father when she shot him. Well, that wasn't a pleasant thought.
Merida quickly got dressed. She had to tell Anna about this – let her know the truth. Maybe once they know the truth perhaps that would allow Elsa to come home? If Elsa knew that her family was behind her, maybe that would give her incentive to come home? Merida had her hand on her door handle when a thought occurred to her. Adgar Winters had been a powerful and influential man. Accusing him of something like this would require hard proof but what proof was there? Adgar was a smart man. He would have covered his tracks well. However, Merida did have an idea. Adgar Winters may have hidden the proof as best he could but there is one thing that he couldn't hide. Hopefully that will be enough to convince people.
Merida quickly grabbed her coat and headed out of the door. She had an idea – one that she hoped would work. Twenty minutes later, Merida found herself at Saint Olaf's hospital. She must be mad to do this. By going through with this scheme, she would be breaking all kinds of laws and privacy. Well, she could ask Anna for permission but she doubted that Anna would give it. Anna was touchy on this subject. The mere mention of Elsa and Anna would give you the silent treatment until you dropped it. Merida thought it was best that she left Anna alone until she had the proof she needed.
Merida entered the hospital and lowered the hood of her coat. If she remembered correctly, Anna shouldn't be working. However, Merida's mission had met a standstill which only increased her nervousness. The hospital was extremely busy. Apparently a bus had collided with oncoming traffic and caused a lot of major casualties. There was no way Merida would get the time alone she needed and she needed to be alone. One might think that with chaos, Merida would be able to slip away but there was just too much chaos. There was just too many people running about and stopping people who may look like they were lost or need help. Merida decided to come back the next day. Hopefully she will have the time and privacy to do what she needed to do.
The next morning, Merida almost sprinted back to the hospital. Unfortunately, she had overslept a bit which was not good. She wanted this mess sorted as soon as possible. She was going under the ruse of coming to see her brother but she had other plans (well she should really go see her brother anyway). Once at the hospital, she found her brother still in his hospital bed looking bored. Merida let out a small giggle. Her parents looked like they had this under control. Hubert wouldn't be discharged for a few more hours which gave Merida the time she needed – well that was the plan anyway. Once she was sure that Hubert was okay, Merida slipped away.
Once she left her brother's room, Merida realised she had no idea how she was going to do this. Maybe she should just find an unattended computer that she could use? Merida wandered about the hospital for about half an hour not knowing what she should do or not. Eventually she came down to a floor of the hospital which didn't have a lot of people on it. Maybe she could find what she was looking for around here?
"Merida?" a voice from behind her startled her. Merida turned around and saw Anna was sitting down at the nurse's station on the floor. She was sitting by a computer and had a series of papers in front of her. It looked like Anna was filling in patient's files. "What are you up to? Your brother is on the fifth floor. This is the third."
"Oh I know," Merida tried to sound nonchalant. "Just wandering about."
"Ah okay," Anna said.
Suddenly the alarm went to alert to a code blue in the room right behind Merida at the same time the alarm went off for a room just a few doors down from them. Everyone was suddenly on high alert. Anna quickly dashed off to help whoever was in trouble along with practically everyone who was in scrubs or a white lab coat on the floor. Merida quickly realised that everyone was so busy that no one was paying any attention to her. Everyone's attention had been drawn to the two patients who were suddenly in critical condition.
Merida quickly dashed behind the nurse's station and sat down in the same chair that Anna had just occupied. The computer had been turned off – it looked like Anna hadn't been using it while she worked, just on the patient files which Merida found in front of her. Merida wiggled the mouse and the screen lit up. It was asking her to login. Merida paused. What was she going to do now? Her mind went blank for a moment then suddenly a lightbulb went off. She had seen Anna's username and password when her brother had been admitted.
Merida struggled with remembering Anna's password for a few minutes. What was it again? Something about a door? Then it clicked in her brain. Merida typed in it and it allowed her access. Merida gulped. She knew it was illegal what she was doing but she felt like it was for a good cause. Besides, there was really no other way she could do this. Anna was basically Elsa's next of kin. She would have the access to what Merida needed – Elsa's medical records. They should show what Merida suspected – that Elsa had been abused by her father and most probably covered up by her doctors. That was probably the last place where proof would exist. Merida typed in Elsa's name and it came up with her records. Merida quickly printed them off – she would have to look at them later. There was no time now. Merida cast a nervous eye up at Anna who was in the room in front of them. Anna looked very busy making sure that the patient wasn't in any danger. She was currently checking the patient's vitals which looked like it might only take a few minutes, Merida wasn't sure how much longer she would be.
"Come on," she muttered at the printer. It wasn't just Anna who could come back. It was anyone really. She was lucky so far but her luck would soon run out. Suddenly she heard footsteps approach her. Merida quickly ducked down and she saw a doctor run off towards a room. The doctor didn't even notice Merida and she breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes went back to the printer. The printer soon spat out the last sheet she needed. Merida grabbed one of the folders nearby and she stuffed the papers inside of it. The second she had finished, she leapt up from her seat and walked quickly away from the computer.
"Merida," Anna's voice suddenly rung out through the hallway. Merida froze. Had Anna seen what she had been doing? She hoped not. That was the last thing she needed. Merida quickly stuffed the folder into her jacket and zipped it up so the folder wouldn't fall out.
"Yes?" Merida turned around and saw Anna walking towards her. "Is he going to be okay?" she pointed towards the man who had been in cardiac arrest only a few minutes before.
"Him? Oh yes. We have him stabled again. Touch and go for a bit but we have it under control. Actually, I was wondering if you're okay. You seem a little off."
Well it was true what Anna had said, she was off – more than a little. What had been going through Merida's brain over the last couple of days was more than Merida could handle. She had just found out that her best friend had been suffering all these years and Merida had no idea. She had just sauntered on with her life and didn't seem to realise it which only made things a lot worst in Merida's mind. However, Merida couldn't say anything just yet. She wanted to be sure and right now, she really only had a hunch and that wasn't enough to start making accusations especially about a once incredibly powerful man who belonged to an even more powerful family. Also this was Anna's father – how could Merida just accuse him without any proof?
"Yes, why?" Merida lied to Anna.
"Oh, nothing really, you just look like the world is on your shoulders."
Well, Anna did have a small point here but Merida just smiled and assured her that nothing was wrong with her. Anna gave Merida a small smile before she went back to doing her work that she had been working on before. Merida raced back up to her brother's room where she found her brother was being discharged. Her brother was in a wheelchair which was being pushed by their mother. The doctor reassured Merida's parents that everything was ship shaped.
Merida wanted to dash away – examine the documents she had just printed off – but her parents forced her to hang around and she didn't want to appear rude. Merida didn't know what her parents wanted with her – maybe help with her brother – however Merida, nonetheless, went along with it. So she went back to her parents' house with her brothers. Once she was home, her parents made a big fuss over all four of their children. Merida was trying to think of a way to escape – back to her apartment – but she couldn't. Her parents pulled at her left and right. Her mother wanted to know more and more about her life – her training, her coach, her love life (not that there was one and this topic of conversation seemed to be a common one she seemed to discuss with her mother). Merida felt quite exhausted by the end of it all. By the time, her mother had exhausted all her chosen topics (and checked on her brother at least ten times), it was dinner so Merida stayed and had a family dinner.
It was late when Merida left her parents' house. All she could think of was those files that she had kept hidden – underneath her jacket that was on a chair in the hallway, right by the door. Somehow no one had seen them which was a relief. Merida did one last check on her brother (she found him sleeping on his bed with his leg propped up) before she left and then finally, she got into her car to go home. Merida nearly broke the speeding limit several times when she was driving home. She needed to know and she needed to know now. She had waited long enough.
Soon, Merida arrived back at her apartment. Nervousness was coursing through her – pounding through her, hard and fast. Her heart was racing faster and faster with each step she took. Her fingers were trembling so badly that she nearly dropped her door keys several times. Once inside, she threw off her coat and shoes before sitting down at the little table in the kitchen. The folder was placed in front of her. She was so scared. This would either confirm her theory or disprove it.
She hoped to god she was wrong. She wanted to be wrong so badly. If she was right, her friend had been in so much trouble over the many years Merida had known her and that was a horrible thought. She didn't want to think what Elsa had gone through – all that pain and suffering, it was too much to handle. However, if she didn't look at it, then the thought of it would hover over her like a dark cloud for the rest of her life and would slowly consume her. Merida's fingers trembled as they fiddled with the folder. She couldn't. This was all too much for her.
Get a grip on yourself, Merida told herself. This was for Elsa. This is for your friend. Merida kept repeating that to herself a she opened the folder. She had her eyes closed as she did this. She was still very afraid to look. It took her a few more moments to calm her beating heart and her nerves before she looked at what was in the folder. She hadn't had a chance to have a proper look at the hospital before so this was it, this was going to confirm or reject what Merida suspected. Merida took a good, long look at the papers she had printed off and let out a long gasp at what she saw.
What she found inside made her insides squirm and her head spin. Broken arms, ribs, neck, legs were just of many injuries that she saw. There were even x-rays that showed the extent of the damages. There were also many bruises that were recorded – pictures included that made her head spin harder. Merida felt a horrible sinking in her stomach as she examined x-ray after x-ray. It was so bad, she could have thrown up. She hurried over to the sink and started to wretch a little but luckily nothing happened. Still, she felt ill to her stomach. So this was what had befallen her friend. This was what drove Elsa to shoot her father. This was what had driven her out of Arendelle and away her family. Merida hated to say it but her suspicions about her friend was correct.
As she flicked through the files, Merida did notice one important thing. She saw the same signature on all the medical files. It belonged to a Doctor Edward Lewis. Merida scowled. So he was the doctor who was allowing this to go on. If he wasn't a part of it all, he would have spoken up long ago. That ignited a massive fire inside of her. How could he have let this happen? No doubt he was probably paid off or maybe he was intimated by Adgar Winters. Either way, he was just as responsible as Adgar Winters for the pain her friend had felt.
Anna had to know about this and she had to know sooner rather than later. Merida glanced at the clock. She gulped. She hadn't realised how late it was but that seemed rather insignificant in her mind. This was very important for Anna to know and the sooner she learnt the truth the better. Merida quickly got ready to head off to Anna's and Kristoff's place.
It was time she knew the truth about her sister.
"What's that?" Anna said, sleepily but rather angrily at the same time. A loud pounding had woken both Anna and Kristoff up. Anna looked at the clock in her room. It read a quarter past two in the morning. "At this time?" she added in an increasing frustrating tone.
Some idiot seemed to be pounding on her door. Kristoff looked just as pleased as she did to have a guest at this time of night. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked very annoyed.
"Who is that?" Kristoff mumbled. "Don't they realise what time it is?"
Anna decided it was best to go see who it was rather than leave them pounding away. Anna had a feeling that they wouldn't go until they had been seen. After putting on her dressing gown, Anna headed over to the door with Kristoff in pursuit also in his dressing gown. When Anna opened the door, she got a shock when she saw who was behind it. It was Merida but why on earth was she doing here and so late? Anna let a shocked and bewildered expression come over her face.
"I know it's late," Merida said quickly. She was panting. It looked like she had run here which just added to the confusion.
"You better have a good reason," Anna said rather grumpily as she folded her arms.
"I do," Merida said. "Anna you have got to look at this."
Merida handed a folder over to Anna – well she almost forced it upon Anna. Anna took it still looking quite bewildered. Where was Merida going with all of this? She still hadn't properly answered what she was doing here in the middle of the night. Was it really all in aid of handing over a folder to her? Surely Merida could have done that at any time – today for instant when Anna had seen her at the hospital – or maybe tomorrow in the daylight hours instead in the dead of night.
"What is this?" Anna held up the folder.
"Elsa's medical files," Merida said simply.
"What?" Anna was shocked. What on earth was Merida doing with them and why? "How did you get these?"
"Never mind that," Merida said which Anna knew was code for 'I got them illegally so don't bother asking'. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Merida must have gotten a hold of them when Anna had seen her today. How she managed to access them, well that was still a mystery to her. Perhaps Merida had seen her login and used it. If so, she was quite cross about that. Her access was private. Elsa's medical files are private. Merida shouldn't have gotten them but she was too curious to know why she had gotten them in the first place. What purpose did they hold for her?
"But why do you have them?"
Merida took in a deep breath. "Anna there is something you should know."
Merida paused as if she didn't know how to continue with it. Anna waited, rather impatiently. She wanted to know what Merida was doing in her home after two in the morning with Elsa's medical files. Anna hoped it wasn't anything too daunting. She was starting to see that Merida was here for an important reason and she was now getting more and more curious about what that reason was.
"Yes?" Anna said, pressing her on. She wasn't the only one who was interested. By the look of Kristoff, even he wanted to know more on this tale too. Merida took a deep breath in and looked Anna squarely in the eye before she continued.
"Anna, I think Elsa was abused by your father."
(1) The original name of Burgess and the name of the founder.
A/N: Wow, can't believe how quickly I got this written. Inspiration had struck me it seems. Now Merida has discovered the truth and she's told Anna. Meanwhile Elsa and Jack are married and getting settled in their new life. So this is the new chapter. I hope people like what I've done with it - Merida's sleuthing included in that. I know there was a fast forward but we gotta get this ball rolling. Anyway please review!
Reviews:
Guest: Thanks so much! Yep, that is the next arc.
Mixybell: I have to keep updating, can't leave you hanging (hehe, but really I am enjoying writing this story and I will always try to finish what I started). Oh really? What an honour.
Kimchee2222: Aw thanks. Some Jelsa fluff and Anna drama coming up for ya.
faithambr: Me too. Thanks.
pancakesonragegmail: Don't play that so missed the reference.
Guest: Thanks! Aw, sorry to hear that but I am glad you enjoyed the rest. Thanks again!
AlphaWolf97100: Haha me too. Sort of, more dealing with Elsa's past will be the next arc.
williambragg165: Thanks!