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Sins of the Past

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Chapter 8

I stumbled and fell to the bathroom floor because holy crap.

Elsa was right in front of me, and I could see her. Without a mirror.

"What the hell?"

Rapunzel whipped around and ran over, offering me a hand.

"Are you okay, Anna? What happened?"

I quickly collected my thoughts as my gaze shifted rapidly back and forth between Rapunzel and Elsa. Rapunzel evidently couldn't see the metaphorical elephant floating right in front of her, so I made the snap decision to play off my fall as coolly as possible.

"I just slipped. I'm fine."

"Again?" Rapunzel asked incredulously, as she pulled me to my feet. "You almost fell into the sink a few minutes ago. Are you feeling well? Because if you're not you might want to consider heading home. There's always another time."

I glanced over to Elsa, who now hovered in the air slightly behind Rapunzel. She made another underhanded pushing motion with her arms, which I chose to interpret as "Go ahead."

"I'm okay." I replied, somewhat truthfully. "I'm just a naturally clumsy person who happens to own a pair of two left feet."

Rapunzel laughed.

"Mm. I can tell.. well, ready to head out?"

I discretely looked over Rapunzel's shoulder toward Elsa, who gave me a thumbs-up gesture.

"Yeah. Ready whenever you are."

Rapunzel lead me, us if you count Elsa, out the main building and back down the brick walkway before turning onto one of the its many sidebranches.

I quietly stole a glance at Elsa every now and then as we walked, observing her as she quietly floated along my left side. I wanted more than anything to figure out what the hell was going on, but I couldn't exactly talk her or anything what with Rapunzel hugging my right side.

I was slightly perturbed by how not a single person who walked by in this rather populous area acknowledged Elsa's presence.

Soon the sidewalk lead us into an outdoor grassy park area, where I could evidently see that the event was taking place.

Near the park entrance lay a snack bar, manned by fellow students wearing hoodies with the words "Arendelle University" proudly emblazoned upon them. Deeper into the park, scattered amongst the various trees, benches, and fields, were the partygoers: people of assorted ages all enjoying the company of one another in the bright sunlight.

I noticed the occasional faculty member sprinkled amongst the masses, they too politely chatting and mingling alongside undergrads and graduates alike. The Weasel was not among them, unsurprisingly.

"This.. is certainly not what I expected." I whispered to Rapunzel. "This is more reminiscent of a cocktail party."

She laughed.

"Well, yeah. Seeing how it's like 4PM right now." She replied. "Wait 'til it gets dark. That's when everyone to moves indoors and gets wasted. Then we'll live up to all your high school superstitions."

We approached the snackbar, where Rapunzel more than enthusiastically greeted some girls standing behind the counter whose names I didn't catch. I wanted more than anything right now to get some alone time with Elsa, to be honest, but I had no convenient mechanism through which to escape without arousing suspicion so I grabbed a plate of food and made idle chatter with Rapunzel's friends as I searched for one.

One finally presented itself, after some time, when Rapunzel was eventually pulled away by a different set of male friends who were off-duty. I figured that this was as good as an opportunity I'd get to split off from Rapunzel.

It took much convincing, as she was unwilling to leave me alone and insisted that it was fine if I tagged along, but eventually I was able to secure my privacy with a promise to meet up with her in the club later this evening.

Soon I was alone.

I wandered down a cobblestone path that lead to a fountain, glancing over at the apparition who was still quietly floating along in pace with me, apparently having never left my side during this entire time.

"Hello, Elsa." I whispered, half to myself. The sound was all but drowned out by ambient chatter, so I was caught completely off guard when I heard a soft reply.

"Greetings, Anna."

I whipped around in surprise, nearly dropping my paper plate of food.

"E-Elsa?"

She turned to towards me as well, her eyes wide as wide as mine.

"Yes..?"

"I-I can hear you.." I stuttered. "How..?"

Elsa quickly regained her composure, and folded her hands in front of her. "It appears that you can, though how I do not know. You are attracting attention, by the way."

I looked around, and indeed there were a couple of guys staring. I scratched the back of my head and laughed nervously, before nonchalantly walking off as though nothing had happened. They returned to whatever they were doing.

I ended up wandering into a secluded garden, and after confirming that we were well and truly alone I sat myself underneath a tree. Elsa floated down, taking a crouching position in front of me. I popped a grape into my mouth from my plate before offering one to Elsa.

That earned me an amused grin as her hand phased through both the fruit and my outstretched hand. I laughed.

"Oops. Forgot."

Elsa laughed as well. "A shame. It's been a while since I've tasted fruit. One of the many drawbacks, I suppose, about my current condition."

I popped the grape into my mouth and followed it up with a slice of orange. "Right. Speaking of which.."

"I do not know why I am all of a sudden visible to you, if you were wondering." Elsa interrupted. "In fact, I do not know why I am even here."

"Huh?"

"Where should I begin..?" Elsa paused, as if deep in thought. "I've discovered over the years that I'm physically limited to a strict radius around my house. Straying too far causes me to feel sluggish, before eventually I hit a mental wall that prevents me from proceeding further. This has been the case for my entire existence, and yet I found myself experiencing said sluggishness in my own bedroom not too long after you exited the house today."

"..That's strange." I noted. "What could've caused that?"

"Evidently, something unprecedented has happened today. I have an idea on what, but before I voice my theory, can you explain the circumstances that lead to you being able to see me without the aid of a mirror?"

I thought for a moment. What could I have done in the bathroom that would've possibly—

Oh. Of course.

"These earrings." I fingered the sapphires in question.

"Indeed. I suspect them to be the cause as well."

"What could be so special about these though?"

"I know not. They were a gift given to me back when I was alive long ago. From whom I do not remember."

"Shame—Hey, wait. You were confined to your house the entire time you were a ghost? That's terrible!"

Elsa raised an eyebrow in response to my sudden change in subject. Or maybe it was in amusement because of how long it took for me to process something she had said a few minutes ago?

"It certainly was a lonely existence, to say the least. Though, these past few hours have more than made up for all those that I've lost. Being able to see modern life has been quite a treat, for which I thank you."

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

"It's nothing to thank me for. I didn't really do anything after all."

"Don't be silly, Anna. How could this have possibly happened had it not been for you?" She inspected her nonexistent nails. "Now, is there anything you'd like to discuss? Speak your mind, as I have all the time in the world now."

Elsa smiled when she noticed how red my cheeks must've gotten by now.

"O-okay.." I began. "Now that we know that these earrings are responsible for being able to see you in person.. does that jog your memory about that one guy who supposedly was also able to see you?"

She rested her chin on a fist.

"Indeed it does.. I remember now. He was different from all the other boys who visited, though similar in look to the redheaded male I had mentioned back during our first talk in your kitchen. The one who was excessively rude during his visit."

I noticed Elsa's hands ball into fists.

"Rumour boy came with the intent to loot my home, but made the mistake of doing so while inebriated. I didn't expect anything when he entered at first, since by now I had grown accustomed to the 'Bloody Elsa' myth. I was waiting for him in the bathroom as a result, but grew suspicious when I heard sounds coming from elsewhere. I found him ransacking my room."

Elsa's eyes flashed a frightening glowing red, its intensity far surpassing that of what she had displayed back when she scared a few years off my lifespan during our first meeting. I shuddered.

"He noticed me emerge from the wall, which I suppose reinforces the earring theory as I found them in his pocket shortly before I left him unconscious outside in a puddle of his own vomit, after using him to move all my possessions into the lockbox."

I whimpered at the mental image conjured by my mind.

"He lived. I left him in the recovery position."

Elsa's irises returned to their normal blues. She made a coughing sound.

"Anything else?" She asked. "Perhaps a different topic?"

I've always wondered why people preface their fics with some variant of "I don't own X and Y."

On other websites I can understand, I guess, but doesn't FFNet have some sort of blanket disclaimer on this kind of stuff?