Chapter 5: The amusement park (Or Elsa's worst nightmare).
That day they didn't have to wake up so early because their next destination (according to Anna) was just a couple of hours away from the North Mountain and opened around midday. However, getting up was still a problem because neither of them wanted to leave their warm blankets and face the cold exterior. Still, eventually (only when there was no other option), they finally got out of bed.
Now, they were just arriving to their destination; Arendelle's most famous amusement park. It had one of the biggest roller coasters in Europe and lots of other equally thrilling attractions. It was one of Anna's favorite places to go on vacations, and Elvira loved going there even more, so the redhead figured Elsa would like it too. Hopefully; the previous day's slide incident had made her dubious, but she was still determined to make this day as perfect as the others.
Elsa's first thought when they crossed the doors and stared at the impossibly highs, sharp drops of the multiple roller coasters as they heard the screams of the thousands of people who were there, was 'Where has Anna brought me to?', and at the same time, blood left her face, just thinking on getting into one of the attractions. Anna however, interpreted her open-mouthed expression as wonder.
"Awesome, right?" The redhead exclaimed with a big smile on her face. "We'll have lots of fun, I promise."
"I-I…" Elsa tried to tell her that she really didn't want to be there, when Anna took her hand and dragged her to the nearest attraction, jumping and laughing in excitement.
"Don't worry, we'll start with the smallest and slowest, so you can get used to them, like this one." Elsa looked at the attraction she was signaling and paled even more; it has a roller-coaster, supposedly for kids and teens, but bigger than the ones next to it (where only kids were allowed) and with taller drops. And, in her opinion, it wasn't going slowly at all.
"A-Anna… I don't know." She tried to convince her. "I don't really want to…"
"Relax, it's just the nerves. It always happens the first time, but you'll see that, as soon as you get used to it, you'll like it." Anna smiled at her reassuringly and, before she could protest, dragged her inside the wagon and made her fasten the safety belt. Elsa quickly tried to undo it and get out, but at that moment the ride started and they were propelled forward, slowly ascending the slope. She nervously looked to both sides, shaking slightly, and trying to contain the sweat on her hands and the butterflies on her stomach. Anna noticed this and took her hand. "Relax, It'll be fine." She assured, her, and Elsa just gave her a nervous smile before they both fell at an incredible speed (according to Elsa).
Elsa felt the same sensation as when she had descended that ice slide, just ten times worse. Her stomach made a painful turn, her ears buzzed, her eyes shut tightly and she felt like throwing up. Then the second ascent came and it got even worse. Then the third, then the second time around… and the entire time Elsa tightly clenched her jaw and hung onto the safety bar for dear life, experiencing what to her was one of the worse sensations in the world.
When the ride was over, Elsa sighed in relief and was going to run away from that torture device (she couldn't understand how could someone voluntary get into it for fun), when Anna took her hand.
"Again!" The redhead screamed with a cheery voice, dragging her back to the line.
"Anna, I don't think…" Elsa started, trying to pull them the opposite direction of the line.
"I know it felt awful. But I promise; it gets better."
"Wait, please…" But her pleas fell on deaf eyes, as Anna made her try that damn roller coaster again. And Again. And again. And every time Elsa screamed like crazy and concentrated on not throwing up. Fortunately it was a little less bad every time and, by the fifth ride, she distracted herself trying to figure out how it worked. She surprised herself when she discovered there were some kind of wheels down the tracks, rotating at great speed and propelling the car when it passed over them. After discovering this it became easier to brace herself for the changes in speed and then she wasn't so scared anymore.
When Anna noticed the blonde had finally gotten used to the attraction and had stopped acting like it was the some real and scary roller coaster (for her this was just child's play and she didn't even feel excited about it), she decided it was now time to try some other (bigger) attractions, like the famous Combo Tower, an enormous metal tower more than twenty floors tall with a platform that shot up and descended in mere seconds, but that (in Anna's opinion), was a lot less scary than the roller coaster.
But of course, Anna was a lot more used to adrenaline than a clone raised on a building where nothing remotely interesting ever happened.
On their way to said attraction, they passed another one that was similar to the 'Tea party' but much faster and with the floor having irregular depressions. Of course, Anna wanted to get in it and, since in the exterior it looked more inoffensive than the super high Combo Tower, Elsa accepted immediately.
Let's just say that when they got out of there, Elsa had the sense of balance of a drunk person, the paleness of a vampire and legs trembling like they were made of jelly. Anna wasn't in a much better condition, but at least she was high with adrenaline and so didn't feel sick or scared, unlike the blonde.
Elsa now really regretted her decision, thinking that maybe the Combo Tower would've been a better choice after all. Boy, how wrong she was! Sure, it didn't make her feel like everything was a senseless blur. But with every fall she experienced terror at its purest form. All her instincts told her she was in danger, that she was falling to her death, and it was going to be horrible. Fortunately after Anna noticed (really noticed) how scared Elsa was, based on how tightly she was clutching the security bars and squeezing her eyes shut, she decided it was enough for now; that maybe it was a better idea to take a quick break before trying the most exciting attractions, like the great roller coaster. Because she still was planning on trying it; it was the best attraction of the park after all.
When Anna offered Elsa to go get something to eat (since they hadn't have time to have breakfast) and maybe try some games to win prizes, the clone accepted with a smile; this day have been far from delightful till that moment, very different from the previous ones, but she thought playing a little could be relaxing and fun.
For once, she was right.
After eating a couple of hotdogs and some nachos, they went to see the games. Elsa decided she wanted to try shooting at some metal ducks, and Anna agreed, but it was more difficult than it seemed… for Anna mostly. After three attempts, the blonde was shooting down ducks like some crazy expert hunter, but no matter what Anna did, she always ended up somehow shooting the floor, the ceiling or the button that made a water gun shoot you in the face. Elsa laughed every time and Anna glared at her like a wet and adorable pouty puppy. However, after spending several minutes there (and after Elsa had won half of the prizes), when Anna suspected the blonde was just enjoying seeing her being humiliated even by seven-years-olds, the redhead decided to take her to 'The hammer game' (after calling for her driver and asking him to get all of Elsa's prizes to the car, that is), where she won at her first try, something that really impressed Elsa, since she was barely able to lift the thing, much less to swing it with any strength.
After that, Anna decided to get into the bumper cars, which was one of Elvira's favorite attractions as a kid (when she still wasn't allowed to get in the most exciting attractions), but this only confirmed further that Elsa and Elvira were not completely alike; while Elvira enjoyed bumping into the other cars and getting into a fight with whoever dared bump with hers, Elsa insisted Anna (who was the one driving) that it wasn't nice to crash into other people's cars… though after Anna explained her that was the point of the attraction and a lot of people started bumping into them, she loosened up a bit and after a while she was laughing like crazy every time they crashed. Thankfully it wasn't like the evil laugh Elvira always preferred, but a melodious giggling that only meant she found the attraction funny. Anna thought this was really interesting.
However, Elsa's laughter wouldn't last much longer since as soon as they got off the bumper cars Anna excitedly dragged Elsa to the line for the roller coaster. There, the blonde saw the unbelievable height, the sharp slopes, the cart descending at a vertiginous speed, the people screaming… and she had the urge to run away as fast as possible and never come back, but even if she could free her wrist from Anna's firm grip, she was pretty sure the redhead was probably faster than her. Besides, she'd probably get upset if she did that, so she decided it was better to try and talk to her.
"Uh… Anna?" She called, her voice trembling slightly from fear.
"Yes?" The redhead asked turning to look at her with an oblivious smile.
"I-I really don't think we should…"
"Come on, don't be a chicken!" Anna teased, immediately guessing correctly what this was all about. "You'll like it, I promise."
"That's what you said about the other attractions." Elsa pointed out.
"And you loved the bumper cars!" Anna replied.
"Well, yes, they were fun" Elsa admitted trying to hide her smile. "But…"
"And the small roller coaster!" Anna insisted.
"Well… I didn't hate it…" Elsa answered trying to be diplomatic, but Anna interrupted her again.
"See? That's a start!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. "You'll love it, I promise. It's Elvira's and I favorite attraction."
"But…"
"Elsa, please?" Anna asked pouting and making puppy-dog eyes that made it very hard for the blond to say no. "It would really mean a lot to me."
"Well…" Elsa bit her lip. Anna was doing her a great favor by taking her to explore the world before she died, and had been incredibly sweet, caring and understanding up until that day, and this 'roller coaster' thing seemed to be very important for her… surely she could do her this little favor? It certainly wouldn't kill her, right? "Fine." Elsa sighed resigned. "Let's do it."
"Great!" Anna exclaimed jumping excitedly as she surrounded her neck with her arms and gave her a tight hug, something that caught her off guard but she still reciprocated, deeply inhaling the younger girl's scent. "Thanks." Anna said smiling after she broke the embrace. "You won't regret it, I promise." And for a moment, staring into those turquoise eyes, Elsa truly believed it.
Half an hour later, stuck into a cart and clutching the safety bar for dear life, Elsa was regretting her decision. They were just ascending the first coaster, but the blonde already knew that a fall from that height could never be pleasant, at least not for her, and she was trembling and sweating cold in anticipation. Anna seemed to be unfazed, grinning excitedly and with a mischievous glint in her eyes, and from time to time she'd turn to give her a reassuring smile, but nothing would've been able to calm the clone at that very moment.
When they started descending, the ground approaching them at an unbelievable speed, it was just like in the small rollercoaster… just a few thousand times worse. The blonde had to close her eyes tightly, clutch at the safety bar like her life depended on it, and scream until she was sure she was spiting her lungs out. The rest of the ride was hell for her, and it was really unfair (she thought), because Anna was actually enjoying it all, not even noticing the state of her companion… that is, until they got out of it.
Anna descended from the cart laughing and smiling like she hadn't since she last time she went there and, once she was on firm ground, she said:
"Wasn't that the best experience of your entire life?!" However, once she finished saying this, she turned, expecting to see Elsa getting out of the cart, but she didn't spot her until she searched for her in the crowd and found her bending over the nearest trash can and empting her stomach. Immediately, she worried. "Elsa!" Anna quickly ran towards her and, not being really able to do anything to help her, started rubbing soothing circles on her back, procuring not to feel sick when she saw Elsa's vomit. She felt really guilty; she had been so caught up in her own desire to try the roller coaster that she hadn't heard Elsa's pleas. And now, the day was ruined. She had to make it up for this somehow.
Finally, Elsa had emptied completely her stomach and was about to wipe her lips with the back of her hand, when Anna noticed this and stopped her in time clutching her wrist.
"Wait. Let's get to the bathroom." Anna said and Elsa nodded weakly, following her through the crowd to the restrooms. When they arrived, Anna positioned her in front of a sink and indicated her to wash her mouth while she went searching for some mints. Again, Elsa only nodded and Anna left. After running to the nearest candy stand and buying what she was looking for, Anna returned, finding a livid-pale Elsa clutching firmly to the sink as if it were the only thing that was keeping her up. Felling really bad about what she'd done, the redhead approached her and handed her the mints. "Here, these will hopefully get rid of the taste." She said with an apologetic tone. Elsa took the package and placed one mint inside her mouth.
"Thanks." She said giving her a tiny unenthusiastic smile. "I don't know what happened to me… there was this sudden horrible sensation in my stomach and then…"
"You threw up." Anna completed.
"That's what it was?" Elsa asked surprised; it was something new for her. "Does that mean I am sick or something?" She vaguely remembered Kristoff telling her that when people had some illness of the digestive system, they usually threw up.
"No, it usually happens when you get onto a very extreme fair attraction." The younger girl answered. "You weren't ready for the roller coaster and I'm sorry I forced you to try it. It won't happen again; I will always ask you first before making any decisions for the both of us, I promise." Elsa only nodded, still feeling too sick to talk much. This only made Anna feel even worse. "Uhm… maybe I can make you feel better somehow?" She asked, but Elsa's only response was to shrug.
"I really don't feel like doing anything anymore." She said after a few moments of silence. "I just want to sit and relax."
"We can do that." Anna agreed giving her a little smile hoping to make her feel better. "Would you like to go see the dolphin's show?"
"As long as it doesn't involve falling at maximum speed." She said giggling softly, finally starting to feel a little better. Anna smiled at this.
"It doesn't, I promise." She said giggling as well. "But we better get going now or we'll miss it." At this, she took the girl's hand and led her to where the spectacle was going to take place.
They'd been sitting at the bench waiting for the show to begin for around fifteen minutes, and Anna had the sensation that something was wrong with Elsa. It was not that she wasn't talking. After all, Elsa was usually quieter than Anna, but the redhead knew that the clone was holding something back; that she wanted to say something, but wouldn't.
"Okay, spill it." Anna said when the curiosity was about to kill her.
"W-what?" Elsa asked like she didn't know what she was talking about.
"I know something's bothering you."
"Well…" Elsa started but then just sighed. "It's nothing." She said, but it clearly wasn't nothing.
"Come on, I can see it's something. Don't worry; I won't laugh."
"Uhm… Okay." Elsa finally agreed. "But promise me you won't get mad either."
"Promised." Anna answered smiling.
"Well… I… I was just thinking... that it's unfair." She paused, apparently getting her ideas in order. "You know, that clones like me have to exist so you can have 'fun'."
"Uh… what do you mean?" Anna asked confused.
"I mean that the fact that so many people enjoy coming to the fair and trying the biggest attractions…" She continued gesturing to the roller coaster. "Means that they love danger."
"Danger? Fair attractions are not dangerous." Anna protested.
"No, but your body tells you they are… when you listen to it." She paused, thinking with a sad expression. "If people can enjoy falling on a roller coaster, they surely would enjoy too doing something more dangerous, like jumping off a cliff, or driving at maximum speed… And it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong. And then, if they survive, they need body parts… therefore, a clone is killed."
"Well, yes, but not everyone want to do something dangerous after going to the fair." Anna protested, since she herself had never tried anything beyond the attractions.
"That's true." Elsa agreed. "But it takes only one reckless person addicted to danger, to end a clone's life". After hearing those words, pronounced with so much sadness and resentment, Anna knew what this was about.
"You're talking about Elvira." She assumed. "About how she absolutely loved coming to the fair and then ended up crashing her car while driving insanely fast."
"That's one reason, yes." She answered with a sad voce. "It's like you all think dying is funny." Her voice wavered at the last part and a few tears fell from her eyes. It was the first time Anna had seen her cry since they'd begun their trip, and just then she realized that, if the blonde had seemed absolutely happy the past few days, it was because she had been trying to ignore the fact that she would be dying by the end of the week. But deep inside the thought was still there, bothering her and threatening to darken her mood any second.
"Oh, Elsa." Anna said as she rushed to hug her tightly, feeling a bad for her when she noticed her body was trembling and heard her soft whimpers. Fortunately, however, the blonde hugged her back, apparently searching for comfort. "You don't have to worry about that; this trip is supposed to be relaxing and…"
"But I'm just so scared." The blonde protested. "I don't want to die Anna. Not yet."
"I know." The redhead sighed. "I don't want you to die either, and I promise I've been thinking of a solution… but every time an idea comes to my mind, it's crazier than the last, and has a lot of flaws." Anna paused, fighting to contain her own tears. "I'm sorry I can't give you a solution right now. But as soon as I find one, I'll let you know, I promise… just… try to enjoy the rest of the trip, okay?"
"Okay." Elsa nodded.
After crying for a few minutes on Anna's shoulder, Elsa had been able to finally calm down enough to enjoy the show, though the redhead was still able to detect a faint air of sadness in her. Much like hers, actually. However, it all went relatively fine; Elsa absolutely adored the dolphins and at the end they even got a picture with them. Now, they were just eating some cotton candy, walking around the fair looking for something to do. It was almost sunset, and they had to go sleep early if they wanted to get up in the morning, so the next thing they did would be the last before heading back to the hotel. They had to chose wisely.
"This thing is delicious." Elsa commented while savoring her blue cotton candy. "What is it made of?"
"Sugar. Mainly." The redhead answered licking her fingers clean and watching how they had now turned bright pink because of the colorant. Then, given she'd just now finished it, she tossed the stick a the trashcan, Elsa following suit soon after, getting into her mouth what remained of the treat "What do you wanna do next?" Anna inquired.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "What do you suggest?"
"Uhm… well, we could keep searching for things to eat, or try some game to see if we can win some more prices, or…" Suddenly, she looked up and an idea struck her. "Oh! We could go to the Ferris wheel!" he exclaimed excitedly, pointing to said attraction.
"I-Isn't that a little… tall?" Elsa asked after gulping loudly.
"Relax, it goes super slow. You won't even feel the descent, I promise."
"Uh… Okay. I guess it can't be worse than the roller coaster." Elsa said trying to sound optimistic.
"Great!" Anna then proceeded to take her hand and drag her to said attraction, bouncing excitedly.
Elsa was actually a little nervous, since her experiences in the fair hadn't been exactly pleasant, but since she saw that the Ferris wheel was actually going very slow, as Anna had said, she decided to give it a try.
The ascent was as pleasant as it could be… when you're watching the ever growing distance between you and the ground and thinking 'I just hope this doesn't fall', but by the time they had reached the top, the blonde had already calmed down. Actually, listening to Anna's silly babbling and giggling really helped Elsa to relax and enjoy the ride. She couldn't deny the view was amazing; the whole city could be seen from there, bathed in the orangey light of the sunset, giving it a peaceful air that made Elsa want to breathe deeply the chilly air and just relax, forgetting about all her worries, and maybe even fall asleep.
But what was more beautiful there was definitely Anna; the orangey light stood out the girl's red hair, as well as her beautifully tanned skin and pink cheeks, and since she was smiling, carefree and happy, she looked all the more astounding. She just wanted to get closer to her, even if that was impossible since they were sitting right next to another in the tiny space of the cabin.
"Elsa?" Anna asked and just then the blonde realized she had been talking to her, asking her a question.
"Uh… sorry, I didn't hear you. I was thinking about… something." Surprisingly, instead of getting offended that Elsa hadn't been paying attention, the girl just laughed.
"Don't worry, I understand; it happens." She brushed it off. "I asked you if you think the view is amazing."
"Definitely." Elsa sighed looking directly at Anna without even thinking, however, when the redhead blushed, the clone realized what she said hadn't been what was expected from her. Instantly she tried to correct it. "I-I mean… the view… you know... sunset, city, horizon…" For the first time, she found herself stumbling with words, like she didn't know how to speak, but Anna's gaze on hers was making her fairly nervous for some reason. "N-not you." She finished lamely, however, soon she realized it hadn't sound quite well. "I mean… you're beautiful, actually the most beautiful thing here, but… that's not…" A soft finger placed on her lips as soft giggling was heard.
"It seems rambling and being awkward are qualities that run in the family." Anna said playfully as she took off her finger from her lips. "You have no idea how much trouble father had to go through to be able to make decent speeches." Elsa blushed at this; she didn't want to be embarrassed in front of Anna. "But I have to disagree with you; there's one thing beautifuller than me: you." And now Elsa blushed harder, having no idea why, but at the same time she smiled shyly and a pleasant sensation settled into her body; like warmth, but more comforting. Then, not even knowing what she was doing, the blonde started to lean in, looking directly at the other girl's lips.
Anna was surprised at the bluntness of her own words, but then again, Elsa had started it, and it was no secret the redhead had a crush on her, so it just felt natural; as always, she'd talked before thinking. However, one thing was having a crush on your sister's clone, an innocent infatuation that would never be something else, and it was another thing, far different and far worse, to kiss her.
It's not like Anna didn't want to kiss Elsa, it's just… it was a lot more complicated than it seemed. For instance, she was afraid that she had been starving for her sister's love for so many years, that she had tried to compensate it by developing feelings for her clone. That and there was also the fact that she didn't know if Elsa even knew what 'love', or 'kissing', or 'being in a relationship' truly meant. However, the thing that definitely made her pull away and reject the kiss was that Elsa's eyes… were Elvira's. No matter how different they were, when Anna saw her eyes, she saw her older sister's, and she remembered the times they used to play together as kids, how she always took care of her and did her best to be the best sister ever. She saw Elvira before she was mean, and when she saw that, she truly felt like she was committing incest. And so, Anna turned away and settled on looking at the horizon, trying not to think how she now felt full of regret.
Elsa, on the other hand, when she saw Anna get away from her and look at the opposite direction, felt a sharp pain where her heart was. For a moment she thought she was having a heart attack, until she realized the pain wasn't physical. She didn't even know what had caused it, but was a horrible sensation. She felt her advances had been rejected, although she didn't know what she had been trying to do in the first place. And this somehow hurt even more than knowing she'd be dying in a few days.
A/N: OK, I'm very sure you all will hate me for this, but I have to say it: I'm putting this fanfic on hiatus. I know, I know, it's a horrible thing to do, but seriously, I won't have time to write it now that I'm back to school, and I'm sorry for that. However, it will only be a 3-4 months hiatus; I'll start updating again once the semester is over or I finish my other fanfic "An unexpected inheritance", whatever happens first. To compensate, however, I have some good news; I plan on making this fanfic around 20 chapters long, instead of the 10 I'd originally planned :)
Well, now, after giving you the bad news and the good news, I ask you, did you like this chapter? Please leave a review, I love reviews! :D (And favorites and follow too n.n).
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)
