A/N: Finally watched Frozen before it was taken out of my local theater. Absolutely love, love, love it! That is all.
Chapter 3
The following two weeks, Anna scrambled around the entire palace in a tizzy.
All Elsa could do was helplessly watch as her sister practically floated across the palace halls in a state of total jubilance.
"Come on, Elsa, we've got to pick out a costume for you to wear to the ball!" Anna cried, tugging Elsa's arm with a force which nearly made her elbow permanently locked in its socket.
"Ah! Anna!" Elsa yelped, while being mercilessly lead down the packed hallways filled with the palace's staff.
Elsa nearly collided head-on into a lavish chocolate cake baked just for the occasion Anna was so ecstatic about. The bakers holding the edges of the cake lifted their creation just in the nick of time - leaving Elsa barely enough headroom to duck under.
"Sorry!" Elsa shouted, with a quick turn of her head, as the bewildered bakers watched the two sisters sprint past a dozen more caterers. "Anna, please, slow down!"
Elsa continued to plead for her speeding sister to put on her brakes, but Anna was too preoccupied with rambling off ideas of various dress styles for Elsa.
"Maybe a white gown to match that beautiful, porcelain complexion of yours," Anna mumbled to herself, still running full-speed ahead. "Or no, maybe a gorgeous red, flowing design. No, that won't do… The color simply won't suit… you."
Anna abruptly stopped, and Elsa nearly collided face-first into Anna's back. Anna turned around, clearly frazzled. "N-not that any dress in any color won't look good on you! I mean- what I meant was-"
"I know what you meant, Anna," Elsa panted, out of breath from their marathon around the castle. She gave the girl a small smile to calm her down. Adorably awkward suits you, Anna, Elsa thought.
Anna returned the smile. "I'm sure any dress would look stunning on you, Elsa," Anna stated, and playfully flicked the draped ponytail on Elsa's shoulder. Anna's fingers had lightly brushed against Elsa's collarbone and left a burning sensation in their wake.
Instead of the usual blush appearing on Elsa's face, the temperature around them started to drop considerably - their breaths visible even in the shadowy hallway. Oh no! Elsa internally cried. My powers!
Elsa looked down at her gloved hands and saw they were already forming a thin layer of ice around the protective garment.
Anna would have been a fool not to notice the sudden change in the atmosphere and when she looked at Elsa's hands, she paused. Her eyes were wide from the surprise of Elsa's powers suddenly emerging - something she had not seen in quite a while.
"Elsa," Anna whispered, and reached out a hand to touch her arm, but Elsa fiercely pulled back.
They locked eyes for a moment, until Elsa turned her face away from Anna's searching gaze.
"Wait, Elsa," Anna urgently said, her footsteps rapidly following Elsa's retreating steps.
Anna was quick enough to grab a hold of Elsa's arm before she could escape back into the confines of her room.
"Hey, stop," Anna said. "What's wrong, Elsa? You're magic (Anna liked to call it) is going off like crazy."
And Anna was right. While Elsa was attempting to flee down the length of the corridor, the walls surrounding her became covered in sheets of ice - even the family paintings transformed into indiscernible pieces behind their newly-formed icy covers.
"Just, don't come so close to me right now, Anna," Elsa begged, but Anna seemed to ignore her older sister's pleas completely.
"You won't harm me," Anna said, her tone filled with utmost assurance.
"Please, Anna," Elsa whispered, her jaw locking with a tension she felt breaking with each step Anna took towards her. "It's not safe around me - it never was," Elsa added, her comment alluding to more than one meaning.
"Elsa, you're my big sister. If I'm not safe around you, then who else can I be safe with?" Anna was only a couple of inches away from Elsa's huddling form - her gloved hands now shaking uncontrollably.
"Come here," Anna beckoned, with open arms, as if welcoming a child into an embrace.
Elsa didn't move for the longest time and Anna began to grow impatient. Without warning, Anna wrapped hr arms tightly around Elsa's tense body and drew her in close.
"Anna!" Elsa cried, struggling to wriggle out of her sister's tight hold. "A-anna, d-don't touch me!" Elsa moved her gloved hands as far away as she could from the stubborn girl so not to put her in any danger.
Anna shivered from the contact, but the smile on her face did not falter. "S-see," Anna said, her teeth chattering, "I-'m okay. J-Just a l-little cold is a-all." Anna's cheeks flushed from the dropping temperature, her nose turned a subdued shade of red, and her body shook incessantly, but she held steadfast onto Elsa - showing no signs of releasing her.
"Anna," Elsa whimpered, panic running through her like wildfire. She couldn't live with herself if she hurt Anna again. The gleaming streak of white in Anna's hair mocked her as she fruitlessly struggled - she was getting nowhere if she couldn't use her hands to pull Anna off of her.
"E-elsa, j-just hold s-still," Anna stuttered, the bitterly cold temperature still affecting her speech. "You n-need to l-learn how to c-control your m-magic,"
But no matter how confident Anna was of her sister's capability of controlling herself, Elsa's skill to form ice and snow only grew more dangerous as she felt Anna's body press up against her - she didn't know how much longer she could hold herself back.
The foundation of the building began to shake as large icicles began to form from atop the high ceiling. Elsa's eyes grew large with fear as they focused on the dangerously sharp icicles above the area they were standing.
"Anna! You have to let me go!" Elsa cried, desperately, wriggling with all her might against her sister's stubborn hold.
"N-No! I know you can d-do it, Elsa!" Anna exclaimed. "J-just relax."
But Elsa couldn't relax for the life of her. The combination of her concern for Anna's safety was increasing along with the desire building up within her. The burning in her chest intensified as Anna's arms snaked even tighter around her waist - her mumbling words of encouragement reverberated pleasantly against her neck.
The threatening icicles above them were rattling from the repercussions of Elsa's inability to no longer control herself - it was all too much. By this point, staff members of the castle had made their way to them. "Princess Anna! Queen Elsa!" The group cried out in fear.
It all happened to fast for Elsa to process. A rattle, whoosh and bang echoed the hall and at the same moment, Elsa had felt a rough tug at the back of her collar as she was suddenly ripped out of Anna's arms. She fell back onto a warm, cushiony thing - which she did not realize was one of the bakers she had almost run into earlier, until she turned around. Across from her, sat Anna with another baker, looking stunned and dazed.
What sat between the pair was a large fallen icicle stuck deep into the foundation of the floor on where they had stood just moments before. Elsa stared at what she had created - horror spread within her like a plague.
I could have- I almost- Even her mind could not acknowledge what could have happened had it not been for the two bakers.
Elsa looked toward the rest of the staff, and saw their faces express a dread she could not bear to look at any longer.
Without even a glance towards Anna, she got up and ran as fast as she could from the judgmental stares. She had heard Anna's voice call out for her to stop, but the idea of what could have happened, made her stomach lurch with a self-loathing sickness. She had to get as far away from Anna as she could.
It was the night of the ball and the two sisters still hadn't spoke. The week before the event, Elsa stayed in her room the majority of the time, cursing at her powers while wringing her hands in a hateful manner. "Stupid powers!" She yelled out to nobody. She caught sight of herself in the wide vanity mirror across from her, which reflected a woman she no longer recognized. There were deep, dark circles under her eyes and she looked so terribly drained. Elsa groaned at who she was becoming.
"Elsa?" Anna whispered, knocking on her door. "Are you coming down to the ball?"
Elsa stayed silent.
Anna had went ahead to proceed with the ball in spite of them not talking for the remainder of last week - Anna was never one to back out of any plans. "Please, can I come in, Elsa?" Anna pleaded, sounding like a broken record from all the other times she had spoken the same request.
It took everything in Elsa not to reach out to Anna - to return the same gesture of concern she was incapable of showing to the one person she cared for the most in the whole world. Hearing the younger girl beckon desperately for her, nearly caused Elsa's powers to fluctuate out of control once more.
"Please, Anna, just go away," Elsa snapped, more out of fear than anger, but the hurt in Anna's voice revealed she thought the latter.
"Okay… bye," Anna whispered, her voice dripping with pain, but before Elsa heard her footsteps recede away, she heard Anna say, "If you do decide to come down later, you know I'll be waiting for you."