A/N: Welcome back, I'm glad you could make it.
"Which way, prince Hans?" The captain stood at attention.
The brown eyed prince looked around the ship he was on, men scrambling and shouting to get every last minute preparation done before they left dock. The rocking of the sea swayed the vessel as Hans glanced up at the moon glimmering in the night sky. He faced the bow, then the port bow, and made made his way around the ship, all the while keeping an eye on the glowing markings of his dagger.
Whilst facing starboard quarter, the crocus shined its brightest. He checked his compass, an evil smirk laying on his face. "North," he said, "until I give farther instructions."
The captain bowed and turned to shout orders at the sailors. The wooden vessel creaked as the masts were raised to collect wind, slowly sending them on their way.
Anna tried all night to fall back to sleep, but to no avail. She lay in her bed, clenching her teeth, too terrified to move a muscle, starring at the open door. She knew she closed it, she always did. Necklace clutched tightly to her chest, the red head just couldn't stop her heart from booming like thunder.
She attempted to close her eyes and drift off to sleep, but the detestable image of that alluring woman and her wry grin would crawl right back into her mind like a spider. She'd begin to panic, once again gluing her eyes to the door. Even as she sat wide awake in her bed, she could feel blue eyes watching her every move.
Finally, the sun began to shine over the horizon. The shadows that seemed so apt to house the shopkeeper faded away, and Anna began to relax, regaining some semblance of control over her facilities.
She waited until she heard Kristoff stir and slowly got out of bed, half expecting to see the ghostly pale woman waiting for her in the hallway.
When she didn't, she couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed. Her heart dropped, but her lungs deflated, pushing out a refreshing breath of tension she had been holding all night.
Not in the mood to eat, the girl tore a piece of bread off of a loaf. Kristoff walked in just moments later, yawning and sliding his hand through his straight, blonde locks of hair. "Mornin'" he yawned has he passed by Anna, eyes lazily hanging half shut.
Sven must have heard the blonde's voice, because from just outside the front door came whimpering as the large dog begged for breakfast.
"Oh, hey Kristoff," Anna distractedly replied.
The man let their pet in, then turned back towards his sister. He noticed her choice of breakfast and furrowed his brows. "Is that all you're having? We've still got some rabbit, and you usually eat twice as much as me in the morning."
The young woman was too tense to chuckle, it came out dry and strained. She curtly responded with "I'm fine."
Her brother shrugged it off, walking towards the meat pantry. "Suit yourself. Did you hear Sven last night, we was- hey, where'd you get that necklace?"
Anna's eyes widened and her heart stopped dead. Crap crap crap crap! "I- uh- I... Found it on our way home from the market. Yup, I found it, pretty neat, huh?"
Kristoff's face drooped into a disbelieving yet stern glare. "Anna, stop lying to me. You didn't have it when you went to bed, I don't remember it."
She bit her lip. "You uh, you must have just never noticed."
Raising one eyebrow, the man didn't let up. "You didn't have it last night, and I don't think you went anywhere in your nightgown this morning, especially to buy jewelery that we don't have the money for."
Anna's mind drew a blank. A long, painful, stomach knotting blank. Thinking of a decent response felt like rubbing sandpaper against her brain. "I..."
"You snuck out, didn't you?" Kristoff was just starting to develop the tell tale signs of anger. Thankfully, he wasn't at the steam-coming-out-of-your-ears stage, just the corner-of-the-mouth-twitching point.
He already knows,lying even more would just make this worse for both of us...
Sensing the rigid shift in the air between his owners, Sven started whining again. Anna, however, didn't even notice, she was too busy freaking out inside of her own mind.
"I- yeah..."
Kristoff flung his hands in to the air and broke eye contact. "Anna, I told you, it's dangerous at night, you could get hurt! How did you even afford that thing!? It looks really expensive."
The red head felt a weight on her heart strings, bringing her down with it. She hated upsetting Kristoff. He was a good brother, great, in fact. She couldn't ask for anyone better. He took care of her, worked to provide her with food, and kept her safe ever since their parents' death. Ever since they were on their own, he had been understandably high strung and over-protective.
She had apparently remained mute for too long. "You're not telling me, which means it's something bad or something you're ashamed of. I think both."
"I-"
Anna could almost see her brother's mind jumping to conclusions. "Did you steal it?"
Taken aback by the suggestion, the red head gasped. "No! Why would you think that?"
Already dim eyes evanesced to an even more tenebrous place. "There's only one other way I know of to make that much money in one night. Anna-"
"Kristoff, no!"
Now the young man was gritting his teeth, a physical manifestation of the tension in the air. Anna felt her blood run hot, too, aquamarine eyes narrowing at what her brother was suggesting.
"Stop lying to me!"
"I'm not, I-"
"Why, Anna? Why!? We have enough money to get by, you don't need to-"
"I am NOT SELLING myself, Kristoff!" Anna's voice was loud and commanding now, face beat red. She knocked her brother off his presupposed rant like a boulder off a cliff. Quickly, she switched her demeanor and tone to the defensive. "I would never do that, you know that."
Eyes softening in regret, Kristoff resumed his inquiry. "Then how...?"
Quietly, the red head answered. "I- I went back to that curiosity shop we saw- I- I was curios, I guess."
Closing his eyes and supporting his forehead on his fingers, Kristoff reprimanded his sister. "Anna, I told you never to go in there, I've heard nothing but horror stories about that place, it has a reputation, and not a good one."
"I know, I know," Anna pleaded, "but I just couldn't stay away from it, it looked so cool! It was like something just... pulled me in, I don't know. The shop keeper was kinda scary, but she gave me this necklace... for free."
The man pinched the bridge of his nose, then met his sister's eyes once again, his own displaying skepticism. "What'd she want in return?"
"Nothing, it was really weird."
The man's impressive shoulders relaxed. "Well, you're okay, that's what's important. Just promise me you won't go back there, no matter how much you want to, okay?"
Biting at her lower lip, the red head conceded. "I promise." Just as Anna said that, the image of the shopkeeper trespassed in her mind once again. The perfect complexion, the dreadful yet beautiful eyes, the brief, chilling moment when she touched Anna's skin. It all made her feel like she needed to curl up in to the fetal position and scream. She looked down at the necklace as Kristoff went to feed Sven and cook breakfast.
While her brother ate, the red head took a quick bath. The water acted like a mental lubricant, allowing her mind to relax it's grip and partially ease off of the curiosity store. After she had changed into a simple, light green dress, it was time for her and Kristoff to head to the marketplace. The blonde man opted not to have a bath, he seemed to think they didn't need to happen very often.
During the day, Kristoff would sell ice. Needless to say, his most profitable season was summer.
Anna would come most days, primarily to provide more advertising. She'd find anyone in the crowd that looked too hot and inform them that they could, in fact, purchase some ice to help cool themselves off.
She hoped that work that day would keep her mind off of the proprietor.
It didn't.
Everywhere she looked in the crowed, she saw silken hair and a blanched face. The sightings would be fleeting, vanishing just as fast as they appeared. Anna was seeing things. The woman wasn't there, Anna's mind was playing cruel tricks on her, watching her squirm, much like a cat plays with its prey. She was sure she was losing her mind, and found herself advertising rather poorly.
But the big question still plagued her. Was she dreaming last night? She distinctly remembered shutting the door. Right? But it's ridiculous to think she broke in to my home and came in to my room, let alone whispered in my ear. Neither explanation made sense, the numbers just weren't adding up.
I should go back. No, you promised you wouldn't, you can't. Anna frowned, knitting her brows together in thought.
I must have just forgotten to close my door. Then she remembered the stain on her pillow. She lightly brought her fingers up to touch her neck, heart beat matching the rushed hustle and bustle of the marketplace. I could have dreampt that, too. She once again felt only smooth skin, no traces of blemish or injury. This prompted her to finally reach a conclusion.
I had to be dreaming.
"Anna, you alright?" The siblings were walking home at the end of the day, ready for supper then a good night's sleep. "You've kinda been in your own world all day."
"Yeah, um, I'm fine." At least I think I am.
Kristoff momentarily weighed his options, deciding to drop it. "Okay."
Finally, it was time for Anna to try to catch up on the sleep she had missed the previous night. She slowly walked in her room, yawing and stretching as she did, bidding goodnight to her brother. This time, she deliberately shut the door, being sure to make a mental note of this fact.
Anna faced her bed. Shadows on the walls danced to the flickering light of a candle burning dimly on her night stand. The wax was mostly melted, dripping down the sides as if the candle was bleeding.
After changing in to a night dress but keeping her necklace on, the red head turned to blow out said candle, but noticed something she wished she hadn't. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small, brownish discoloration on her pillow, right where she remembered the stain from her dream. The girl stopped dead in her tracks, mouth hanging ajar and breath eluding her, dread rising like the tide on a brisk night within her. She desperately tried to rationalize the spot before she completely lost it. It must be wax from the candle. Yeah, that's gotta be it.
Content enough with her explanation, Anna blew out her light source, swiftly covering her room in a blanket of darkness. The red head climbed in to bed, glancing at each corner, making sure the woman wasn't lurking in any obscurities. She looked at the door again, noting that it was still closed, and tried to let her eyes slide shut.
She felt vulnerable without being able to see, and it took several hours, but Anna finally slipped in to sleep.
For the second time, her dreams were plagued with the mysterious shopkeeper. This nightmare was almost exactly the same as her first, and so was Anna's reaction to it.
Gasping for air and clutching her chest, Anna shot up, eyes wide, pupils dilated from the adrenaline rushing through her body. She curled up, trying to prevent herself from having a panic attack, doing her best to fill her lungs with each expansion of her chest.
It didn't help when she noticed the door, which was now cracked open the slightest amount. Anna could no longer feel her heart. It was like the organ had died, leaving her to fend for herself with a deep well of leaden terror in her stomach.
Though she had no idea what was going on, Anna knew one thing for sure: she had to go back to that shop.