A/N: Just wanted to thank everyone again for reading and reiterate that these characters don't belong to me.
Chapter 2 – (In)auspicious Beginnings
As soon as the words left her mouth, Anna felt her face grow hot, and if she wasn't about to die from embarrassment already, she probably would have gone running from the room. Introducing yourself to your Master with anything but your official designation was a serious breach of protocol, and from the way the expression on the beautiful face of her Master darkened, Anna knew her egregious error was not going to be overlooked. "By the Pillars, I wish that I had a verbal filter sometimes," she thought morosely. Her Master started to speak, and Anna tensed, expecting the worst and knowing she deserved it, especially with this being their first introduction.
"Yes, well, perhaps you were in the past," Elsa stated sharply, "but that kind of designation is never appropriate in any public forum in this stage of your career. When being spoken to within our Thread, you will only introduce yourself as 'Apprentice' and only answer to 'Apprentice'. Outside of our Thread, your designations are either 'Plebian' or 'Architect'. You will only ever address me formally as 'Master', and in less formal situations, you may substitute 'Ma'am'. Should you fail to do any of these things again, you will be formally reprimanded. If this is a recurring problem, you will be removed from my tutelage. Is this quite clear, Apprentice?"
Anna stayed silent for a moment, processing the reprimand and being reminded of her Master's widespread reputation for being ice cold with everyone. Even the room temperature seemed to drop a few degrees under her disapproval. "Well, the rumors hadn't been far off," she decided internally. "Yes, Master; I'm sorry," she said aloud contritely, her face falling even as she tried to remain stoic.
At her Apprentice's crestfallen face, Elsa's conscience poked her and she felt the tiniest bit bad that she had caused her new Apprentice to feel bad. But, being who she was, she was never going to let that dismay show, even if it did cause her to relax her authoritarian tone a bit. "Don't ever be sorry," she stated in an even, almost conversational voice. "Learn from your mistakes, don't repeat them, but never apologize." Anna looked up from where she had been studying her black shoes, surprised at the shift in tone. "Now, it's time for your first assignment," Elsa stated, glad that her Apprentice's demeanor was becoming gradually more cheerful. "Sit," she ordered, indicating one of the chairs that stood behind her drafting table. Anna did as she was told, and Elsa retrieved the pencils and paper from her desk, setting them before the Apprentice. "You have ten minutes to draw your favorite building. Your time starts now," Elsa said, setting the timer in her cuff. Anna looked at her briefly like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it and set to work.
Elsa studied her new Apprentice as she worked, noting the concentration on her face and the swift, natural movements of her sketching. Her Apprentice had been drawing for a while, Elsa decided, and she was good at it. Ten minutes passed by quickly and the cuff started to chime. Anna put down her pencils and handed the paper over.
The first thing that Elsa noticed was that there were four drawings, not one. "I thought I specified that you should draw your favorite building," she admonished.
Anna fidgeted nervously. "Yes, you did, um, Master, but I couldn't decide-I never can actually-, so I just went with four that are most remarkable to me," she explained.
Elsa sighed, a bit annoyed that her directions were not followed, but slightly impressed that her Apprentice had produced four quality sketches in ten minutes. In the upper left quadrant, she had drawn a multi-tiered house with flat, clean lines surrounded by a brick wall. In the upper right, she had drawn a magnificent palace surrounded by gardens. In the lower left, she had drawn a municipal building with a comprised of a tall tower with a flat-roofed building at its base. Lastly in the right bottom corner, she had drawn a geodesic sphere supported by four stone stanchions buried into the ground. "These buildings all existed before the Great Destruction," Elsa noted, recognizing all of them. "Is there nothing modern that you like?"
"There are some very pretty buildings, especially here on Campus," Anna allowed, "but, these, I don't know, these have always represented something special to me."
"Like?" Elsa prompted.
Anna frowned, thinking, and then pointed at the brick house. "I love this one because it was so forward thinking. Its design looked like something that was decades older. And I loved the central fireplace; it was a home, and the fireplace where everyone could gather made it feel like one," she said. Anna then pointed at the palace. "I just like this one because it's magnificent," she said, with an embarrassed grin.
"What about the other two? Why do you like those?" Elsa asked, entering her Apprentice's answers down on her tablet.
"They represent hope," Anna said simply before continuing on with the explanation. "If you take the time periods they were built in, there was a sense of optimism about the future and these buildings represented that optimism. One was the city hall of a growing metropolis that would soon become the envy of the nation. The other housed a vision of a gleaming tomorrow where mankind worked together to communicate and solve humanity's problems."
"But those glistening futures either did not happen or turned into utter failures," Elsa countered.
"True," Anna admitted, "but for me, there is something about past hope that inspires me to have future hope."
Elsa looked at her, amazed that anyone Plebian-born would have that much natural optimism. "You have an interesting outlook on life, Apprentice," she stated.
Anna shrugged, a grin coming to her face. "So I've been told time and time again, Master," she replied cheerfully.
Elsa looked at her speculatively, but didn't comment further. She closed the program she was using and opened another, as the tablet was their only option when the power was out. "This is the main drafting program we use," she explained, giving the tablet to her Apprentice and drawing up a chair to sit just behind her and peer over her shoulder.
Anna took the tablet and tried to remain still, even as every nerve ending in her left shoulder was alerting her to her Master's closeness. This was the mythical Hell, she decided after just a few minutes. There was one of the most beautiful and intelligent women in the State draped over her, talking in a low murmur in her ear, but it was about architecture and the woman in question was her Master. The universe was mocking her; Anna could just sense it.
"Are you even listening to me, Apprentice?" Elsa demanded, and Anna jumped.
"Um, yes, of course, Master," she said quickly.
"Then what did I just say?" Elsa queried.
"Uh, you were saying that the tablet version of the software isn't as fully functional as the desktop version, but since the Ice Queen killed the power last night, it's the best thing that we have and we should try to make do," Anna recited, thankful that she always half-listened and that her power of recall was unparalleled.
"I never mentioned the Ice Queen," Elsa answered, surprised that her Apprentice had gotten it mostly right. She had seemed a million miles away.
"Well, yeah, but the power box was killed by a huge spike of ice," Anna replied. "Who else would it have been?"
"It's not our job to speculate," Elsa said primly. "We are Architects. Well, you will be if I can manage to train you." Anna looked at her, not quite sure whether she should be offended or not. Elsa ignored her and retrieved the drawing she had asked her Apprentice to make. "The first thing you will need to learn is how to use our software. I want you to make 3D exterior models and basic but workable blueprints everything that you drew," she instructed.
"For everything?" Anna echoed, dismayed. "All four of them?"
"Yes," Elsa replied.
"That's going to be a lot of work," Anna pointed out.
"Well, then, perhaps you should have listened to me and drawn one building instead of four," Elsa retorted. "Get to work, please."
"Yes, Master," Anna said with just a hint of attitude.
"Do not take that tone with me, Apprentice," Elsa stated. "Now get to work."
Anna held back her retort for once and set out to work, knowing that she was not making a very good impression and wanting to correct that. It soon became apparent, though, that five minutes of terse directions given as she was highly distracted had not been enough to use the program and she was stuck. Mindful that she had already committed a severe breach of protocol, had ignored her Master's instructions and then had given her Master attitude when given another instruction, she timidly went to ask for help, hoping her Master would actually give her some guidance after her impertinence.
Elsa wasn't surprised when her Apprentice slid slowly out the chair and meekly came towards her with the tablet in hand after only a few minutes of fiddling with the program. She hadn't given her Apprentice nearly enough information to run the program properly and the program wasn't intuitive enough to figure out on its own. "Did you need something, Apprentice?" she inquired.
"I have reached an impasse in the completion of my assignment," Anna said formally. Elsa raised an eyebrow. "I can't get the stupid program to let me draw a doorway," she clarified.
Elsa nodded, and Anna could have sworn a ghost of a smirk graced her features before it disappeared. "Sit," she ordered, indicating the chair by her desk and Anna obeyed. Elsa dug through her desk and finally came up with the notebook she had been searching for. She handed it and a pen to Anna. "I'll take you through the whole process for one of your buildings," she said, "And you need to write notes and actually listen to what I am saying. Then it will be up to you to do the other three."
"Thank you, Master," Anna said, honestly grateful that her Master didn't appear to be all that angry and that she was giving Anna yet another chance.
"You're welcome," Elsa replied sincerely, appreciative of the gratitude. "Now, let's start with the house."
They worked all morning and afternoon together, and as the sun began to set behind the western mountains, their only light source began to fade with it. Power had still not been restored, and without it, it would soon grow too dark to do anything useful. Anna watched the encroaching darkness and hoped it meant the end of the work day. Her Master was a machine, powering through everything without any regard for food, breaks or any other personal necessities, and Anna was exhausted. She really just wanted to get something to eat and collapse onto the couch in her quarters.
Elsa also noted the diminishing light. Much to her delight, the power was still out, so it would get prohibitively dark in her office soon. The tablet was also about out of battery power and her Apprentice was obviously exhausted, so Elsa took pity on her and decided to call it a day, pleased with the progress that had been made. "I think that is enough for the first day, Apprentice," she stated, saving their work and closing the program. Anna breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, wincing when stiffened muscles were forced to move. Elsa glanced at her cuff as she rose and stretched herself. She needed to give herself enough time to prepare for her Apprentice's Initiation tonight, especially since no one had bothered to tell her she was getting a new Apprentice. "I'll expect you at my quarters exactly two hours from now," she said, rolling her shoulders to stretch them out.
Anna stared at Elsa blankly for a few moments, her mind trying frantically to figure out why she would need to be at her Master's quarters in two hours. A few inappropriate ideas ran through her head, and it wasn't unheard of for the Master/Apprentice relationship to involve sex, but her Master just didn't seem the type. Not that Anna would have minded if her Master was that type, she mused before realizing what she was thinking and being scandalized by it. Apparently her fatigue was working against her and her thoughts were betraying her. "Yes, Master," she replied quickly, still not understanding, but noticing her Master was looking at her expecting an answer.
Elsa nodded. "Good. You agreed to something without knowing what you are agreeing to for the first time today. That is what an Apprentice should do and I'm glad to see you are improving," she said, enjoying her Apprentice's shocked and slightly embarrassed face.
Anna watched as her Master gathered up her things, her pride still stinging that her Master had read her so easily and her mind still working on why she needed to be at her Master's quarters in two hours. After thinking it through, she realized it might be some sort of initiation into the Thread. During Induction, she had heard that most Threads had informal initiation ceremonies, and it made sense that Architecture might be one of them. That was her best idea, she decided, and then blushed when she thought of what she had thought of first. She had sullied her Master's invitation with impure thoughts when her Master was only following tradition and doing her duty. At least she hadn't said anything out loud for once, and so there was something to be grateful about, she grumbled to herself.
Although Elsa seemed like she was completely involved with getting ready to go, she had been surreptitiously watching her Apprentice the entire time. Whether she knew it or not, the girl had a very expressive face and Elsa had watched as several emotions played across her features. She had initially been confused, but then had an idea she had discarded before settling on another idea why she had been told to go to her Master's quarters. Then she had been embarrassed that she had the first idea. Elsa filed the information away for future use and manually opened her door. "Two hours, Apprentice," she reiterated and walked out the door without looking back.
Anna watched her go, tried not to stare at the sashaying hips and failed miserably. When she snapped out of it, she realized she had to get moving, and her fatigue disappeared in her excitement. She had to get ready and courtesy probably demanded that she bring a gift, so she would have to go shopping. She really hoped that her Master's public file had some information about her likes and dislikes.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
About one and half hours later, Elsa's communication cuff chimed as she was putting the finishing touches on her Apprentice's Initiation. It wasn't going to be formal; Architecture Thread tradition was that the new Master invited the new Apprentice somewhere so that the traditional gifts could be given, they could get to know one another better, and the professional relationship could start off on the right foot. Some Masters went all out and it was a party that lasted for days. Others, like Elsa's own, simply invited her over to dinner and gave her the gifts. Elsa had appreciated the simplicity and her Initiation was one of the few moments of Plebian life that she had actually enjoyed. That was why she wanted to do the same for her Apprentice, who, when she glanced down at her cuff, was the person who happened to be calling.
"Master?" the message read. Apparently her Apprentice had not been brave enough to call and had decided on text.
"Yes, Apprentice?" Elsa texted back.
"What should I wear?" came the typed question.
It was a fair question, Elsa mused. She hadn't given her Apprentice much information about tonight. "Whatever is nice looking but comfortable," she replied. "Tonight is not formal."
"Ok. Thank you, Master!" the text read, and even with typed words Elsa could hear her Apprentice's cheerful tone. She sighed. This Apprentice thing was going to be tough for her. She was so used to working alone, so used to being the Ice Queen that having a constantly overly enthusiastic optimist in her presence was going to be a significant challenge. But, Elsa thought, she owed it to the girl to do her very best as a Master. That meant teaching her, nurturing her and supporting her, even when Elsa wasn't comfortable with it. Elsa might be a cynical, rebellious saboteur, but her Apprentice was still a bright-eyed kid, and Elsa would never be the one to take the light out of her eyes.
Exactly two hours later, Anna stood before a shiny metal door that the public record claimed was her Master's quarters. The public records had also confirmed her hypothesis that this was probably some sort of initiation ceremony, which had been helpful, but had yielded little in the way of her Master's personal details, which was not. There had been one unique thing mentioned though, and Anna had seized upon it, ransacking the shops still open even in a power outage until she had found what she thought was the perfect gift. That gift was now nestled in the box that sat in her hands, a box that she kept fiddling with because of her nervousness.
She stood there awkwardly, not knowing if the door would sense her and chime if the power was out. She thought about knocking, but the metal door was thick, she didn't know how effective the knocking would be and her Master could easily ignore or overlook it. Realizing her thoughts were going a million meters a second in a million different directions, she took a calming breath. She had always been energetic, some would say hyperactive, but her Master flustered her and made it worse than usual. She decided to knock, but before she could, the door slid open of its own accord.
"Good Evening, Apprentice," Elsa said, and Anna noted that she had changed out of her Architecture uniform into black jeans and an ice-blue turtleneck. Her white-blond hair had also been taken out of its bun and was in a loose braid slung over her left shoulder. Most strikingly, her feet were bare and Anna briefly had a hard time reconciling this casualness with the rigid Master she had been working with for most of the day.
"Good Evening, Master," she replied, bowing just a little.
"Please come in," Elsa invited, moving out of the doorway.
Anna stepped in, her eyes sweeping around at the emergency-lighting lit space. Elsa noted it. Her Apprentice's nervous energy has dissipated throughout the day, but now it was back with a vengeance, and Elsa couldn't help see how she was bouncing the package she had brought between her hands. "Welcome to my living space," she said, hoping she sounded friendly and welcoming so the girl would calm down. "Have you guessed why you're here yet?"
"Initiation?" Anna answered hopefully.
"Good guess," Elsa replied and Anna was happy she had figured it out. "Is that for me?" Elsa asked, indicating the box. Anna's fidgeting was making her irritated and she asked mainly so she could get the box away from her Apprentice.
"No. Yes. Maybe?" Anna stuttered, surprised by the abrupt question. Her Master simply looked at her and waited for more explanation. Anna handed her the box. "It's, um, for your cat," she explained.
"My cat," Elsa repeated, looking at the box in her hands.
"Yeah, your cat," Anna replied, nodding. "It was the only thing unique I could find out about you and I wanted to get you something unique to impress you because I messed up pretty badly today and…wait, is that him?" she asked suddenly.
Elsa turned around to look where her Apprentice's focus had been drawn. "That's him," she confirmed. "His name is Olaf," she explained, turning around to face her Apprentice only to be met with empty air. Her Apprentice was now crouched on the ground, trying to get a better look at the rare pet.
"He's beautiful," Anna said softly, and a childlike wonder and joy spread across her face that was difficult to miss.
"She's never seen a real cat before," Elsa realized, and it made her a little sad. "Would you like to meet him?" she asked gently.
"Really? I can actually pet him?" Anna asked incredulously.
"Of course," Elsa answered. "He might be a little shy because he's only used to me, but he is always up for a good ear scratch. Go have a seat on the couch." Anna did as she was told, her eyes never leaving the cat, and Elsa came to sit beside her, setting her Apprentice's gift on the table as she did so. Elsa then patted the couch between her and her Apprentice. "Olaf, come say hello," she requested. The cat studied them both, wanting to go see his human but being wary of the other human. Curiosity and the temptation of an ear scratch won out over caution, though, and Olaf slowly made his way to the couch. He took one last brief look at Anna before jumping up on the couch where Elsa's hand was patting. "Good boy," she complimented him as she scratched his ears.
He started purring in contentment, and Anna finally grew brave enough to try to pet him. She reached out her hand and Elsa withdrew hers, allowing Anna to have Olaf's full attention. He looked at her and she timidly held out her hand. He sniffed her fingers and he must have decided she smelled okay because he used her fingers to scratch his chin. Anna grinned and slowly moved her fingers around to his behind his ears, scratching gently. The purring started in earnest, and after she added a couple of head-to-tail fur smoothings, Anna found herself with a lap of happily cuddling Persian cat. Anna looked at her Master, delighted in his affection, and asked a question. "So where did 'Olaf' come from?" she asked, her hands still stroking his soft fur.
"Well, an old family legend says that there was a magical, living snowman named Olaf that liked warm hugs," Elsa replied, leaving out the part that her ancestor had created him for self-preservation reasons. "This guy was snow white when I got him, and he has always liked warm hugs, so the name just seemed to fit."
"It does," Anna agreed. She looked up from the cat to her Master, and, true to form, said the first thing that came to her mind. "You know, Master, if you weren't the ultimate Proletariat-to-Plebian success story that everyone knows about, and all I knew of you was our time at the office today, I would have never guessed that you were ever Proletariat," she commented. "But then I come here, you're dressed in jeans and barefoot, you're sharing your awesome cat and you're talking about your family legends like I'm a friend not your Apprentice. It's kind of a weird switch," she said.
"A good Master does more than teach and reprimand; I am also supposed to nurture and support," Elsa replied, hoping the simple explanation would be enough.
"I guess," Anna allowed. She grew pensive and Elsa knew another question was brewing. "I know this question is going to be way out of line, but you're being so nice to me I am going to risk it," Anna stated. "What was it like having a family?" she asked plaintively.
That was not the question Elsa had been expecting, but it was asked so earnestly that her heart completely melted and she knew she had to answer it. She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and then spoke. "I loved my family very much, and I still miss them every day," she replied honestly. "My mom and dad weren't perfect and neither was our family, but I knew that they loved me and they would do whatever they could to protect me. With the kind of precocious child that I was, everyone, including my mom and dad, knew I was going to become a Plebe. It didn't make it hurt any less when we had to say goodbye though." She looked at her Apprentice, who was looking at her sadly in sympathy. "But, I did have my family and I am grateful for that," she concluded, deciding to change gears before she revealed anymore of herself that she didn't want to. "What about you?" she asked her Apprentice. "What was it like growing up Plebian?"
"Lonely," Anna answered promptly. "Very, very lonely. Sure, I had my friends at school and in the dormitories, but it wasn't the same as having a family to go home to. And I really hated being number 6561."
"Is that how 'Anna' came to be?" Elsa asked. "I figured you had given it to yourself because Plebian children aren't given names."
"Yeah," Anna said with a self-effacing grin. "As soon as I learned to read and found out there were real names I wanted one. One of the first books I read all the way through had a character named Anna that I loved, so I decided that's who I wanted to be."
"I bet that didn't go over well at school," Elsa predicted.
"No, no it didn't," Anna confirmed. "It took a couple of days, but I soon learned that my new name would have to be something that I kept to myself."
"What happened this morning?" Elsa inquired.
Anna blushed. "You made me nervous and it just slipped out," she replied honestly.
"I figured it was first morning jitters," Elsa replied, that same ghost of a smirk that Anna had seen earlier on her face. "Speaking of which, should we start the Initiation?"
"Um, sure," Anna replied, enjoying the conversation and the cat so much she had almost forgotten why she was here.
Elsa got up from the couch and retrieved her gifts, which, after reluctantly putting Olaf down, Anna opened one by one as Elsa sat back down on the couch. In the first box was a slide rule. In the second was a notebook filled with quadrille paper. In the third was a well-crafted mechanical pencil. All were simple gifts and all were obsolete technology unlikely to be used, but as symbols of their profession, they made the perfect gift. "I love them," Anna gushed sincerely, looking at each one in turn before putting them carefully back into their boxes. "Are you going to open yours?" she asked, indicating the box on the table before them.
"I thought it was Olaf's," Elsa countered good-naturedly, but picked up the box. She opened it, and inside was a small rubber ball that had a bell inside of it and a small cloth mouse. She took out the ball and shook it to make it jingle, causing Olaf to snap to attention. She threw it, and the cat went racing off after it. It wasn't long before a chorus of jingles could be heard traveling around Elsa's quarters. "Well, he's going to be busy for a while," Elsa commented. She looked over at her Apprentice, thought about all they had talked about, and decided to cross an unspoken line. "Come on, Anna; It's time for dinner," she ordered genially, getting up from the couch and moving into the dining area.
Anna started to get up but then froze on the couch when she realized what she had been called. "Wait…what?" she asked perplexed.
"Dinner," Elsa repeated, purposely ignoring the real question.
"I got that," Anna said exasperatedly. "But you called me 'Anna'."
"Our relationship is supposed to be one of mutual respect, Anna. I can show you that respect by calling you what you preferred to be called when I can. I just apologize that you can only be 'Anna' only when it's the two of us and only when we are in a private space," Elsa explained, meaning every word even though she knew it was going to cause her nothing but trouble.
Anna took that in and then got up from the couch. She crossed the floor in a couple of steps and enveloped her Master in a warm hug before the other woman knew what was happening. "Thank you, Master," she whispered.
Elsa awkwardly returned the hug, not used to touching people or having others invade her personal space. "Um, you're welcome," she replied, gingerly patting Anna on the back, hoping the girl would let go soon. Much to her relief, Anna did and they went into the kitchen
Dinner was pleasant; both women kept the conversation light and Anna found out that her Master was an excellent cook. Sporadic jingles could be heard coming from various rooms, and Anna found herself happier than she had been for a very long time. She was enjoying herself so much that she deeply resented the chimes of the clock that eventually insisted that she say goodbye, go home and get some sleep. Elsa noticed Anna's fatigue. "I am not kicking you out, but you should really go back to your quarters and get some rest, Anna," Elsa admonished.
"Yeah, I should," Anna agreed reluctantly. She got up from the couch they had migrated to after dinner, gathered up her Initiation gifts and stretched a bit before heading to the door. "I had a really great time," she said sincerely and gratefully. Good night, Master."
Wincing at the formality of her title after such a congenial evening, Elsa looked at Anna's happy, expressive face, sighed internally and took the last step over the line into utter stupidity and potential destruction. "My real name is Elsa," she said quietly, surrendering to the reality that she wanted to be friends with this girl.
Anna's smile was dazzling. "It is very nice to meet you, Elsa," she said, her voice giddy with her happiness at this unexpected gift. She was going to say more but was interrupted by faint jingles and a loud crash. "I'm sorry," she said automatically, knowing it was her gift that caused it.
"It's okay," Elsa assured her. "He's gets away with everything around here because I coddle him too much. It was really sweet of you to think of him, though."
Once again, Anna's mouth kicked in before her mind could catch up and tell her to stop. "Well they do say that the way to a woman's heart is through her pussy…" she jokingly began and Elsa's eyebrow rose. "…cat. Her cat," she finished quickly. Now bright red and completely embarrassed, she pushed opened the door. "If you don't see me at work tomorrow, it's because I have died of embarrassment," she sighed. "Good night, Master," she said again before slipping out into the darkened hallway.
Elsa watched her go, wondering what in the hell she had gotten herself into as her face spread out in a wry grin and actual laughter bubbled from her chest for the first time in forever. Still chuckling, she called for her cat. "Come on, Olaf; it's time for bed," she said, the smile still on her face.