Hey all! Well here comes chapter two. This turned out WAY longer than I'd expected, but I had fun. It's late here so if there are any mistakes I'll correct them in the morning. Anyway, more characters for you guys - lots of familiar faces (hopefully!). Until next time.
Living In A Troubled House
- Chapter 2 -
Not long after the girls had finished reviewing and signing the remaining papers their peer mentor had brought for them, Kristoff took his leave and the sisters began unpacking their belongings.
Shortly thereafter Gerda arrived, with several large boxes in tow, all of which were carried up the four flights of stairs to the girls' shared room. Throughout the arduous process Elsa sat back passively while Anna bounced on her heels, gesturing wildly while directing and determining (sometimes several times over) where various pieces of furniture were to be placed.
Their twin sofas were moved three times before they settled facing the room's built in fireplace; the girls' individual wardrobes were placed at either side of the girl's beds (while the antique blanket box remained between them, largely because Anna found it quaint and had demanded – more like attempted to assert herself, but faltered and ended up asking politely, practically begging – that their extra blankets be placed inside it immediately); their television was mounted above the fireplace, after Anna had decided she wanted to be able to watch from her bed; and two desks were set out against opposite walls, where their computers were set up.
The whole experience was rather draining for the elder of the two, who, at some point between the TV being mounted on the wall, and her sister excitedly removing her posters from their protective casings, had fallen onto her side on her bed. Anna hadn't even noticed when Elsa's eyes began fluttering closed as she fought off unconsciousness, and certainly wasn't aware when her sister had succumb to it and fallen asleep.
"My word, poor thing is so tuckered out," Gerda smiled, reaching out to brush her fingers through Elsa's loose bangs, which were slicked back and styled as the blonde always wore it. "Hand me one of her blankets."
One of the other handmaids, whom had accompanied the girls' extensive collection of clothes, gave Gerda a soft blue quilt which the portly woman immediately threw over Elsa, tucking her in.
"Aww, Elsa," Anna pouted, her lower lip pursed, "we have dinner plans, with that nice girl, she's going to be really disappointed if you're asleep."
"Now, now," Gerda turned her head to look over her shoulder at the redhead, who was lying flat on her stomach atop her own bed, "you two had a long trip, and after you insisted coming ahead you should let you sister rest; she was up with crack of dawn making sure she knew the way." Anna lowered her head.
"Sorry Gerda."
"You are forgiven," The woman quickly replied, smiling, "Oh how I'm going to miss you girls while you're away. The mansion will be so… so quiet without–"
"We'll come home for holidays," Anna immediately threw herself up, propping up on her knees, hoping to fend off another fit of emotional tears; she'd already dealt with three sudden crying fits from the older woman at the mention of the girls attending school away from home, and she wanted desperately to stave off another. "And during the summer." She added quickly.
"I know," Gerda frowned a bit and sniffled, "but I've been caring for you girls since you were babies, it's hard to think you're growing up…"
"You know we're not gone forever, and not even that far," Anna smiled, reaching out to cup her hand over one of Gerda's, "you know we'll call if we need anything, and I definitely plan to come visit."
A soft snore from Elsa made both women turn to look at the snoozing blonde.
"And I'm sure Elsa feels the same." Anna giggled.
"Yes, you are right," Gerda breathed, nodding her head solemnly, "but I still intend to miss you both terribly." Anna squeezed her hand over Gerda's.
"I know Gerda, and we'll miss you too." The woman knew that the redhead was speaking earnestly, she was never one to lie, and her eyes would betray her if she did.
"Of course," The brunette woman stood, entwining her hands in front of her and bowing her head respectfully, "we shall take our leave then, Anna dear, and let you get settled." Gerda turned and signalled to the movers to finish up and leave. Diligently, the hands all finished their delivery and all the heavy lifting they were required for, and made their way out of the room. Soon all that was left was Gerda.
"Bye Gerda, and thank you," Anna bowed her head ever so slightly, straightening herself upright and smiling warmly. Gerda knew she was going to miss that smile. "When Elsa wakes up I'll let her know to call you."
"Anna I–" Gerda hiccupped through watery eyes, her tears threatening to fall, "you please remember to call, sometime tonight, I want to make sure you girls are alright."
"I'll call every other night, alright?" Anna walked up, placing her hands on Gerda's shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "We'll be okay Gerda, really." The chubby woman sniffled a bit, raising her handkerchief to her eyes to dab away tears.
"Of course, you're growing into such a responsible young woman," Gerda praised, which made the redhead's heart swell proudly in her chest.
"I have to," Anna replied quickly, "because I need to look after Elsa too, even if she's my big sister."
"You should both be looking out for one another," Gerda corrected gently, "it's important for you two keep one another safe." Anna nodded.
"Yes, that's right."
With another teary hug, Gerda took her leave, and Anna closed the door. When the door met the frame the redhead noticed the locks – three of them, one requiring a key and the remaining two on chains – and cocked her head slightly to the side. "I guess this house really is old, these look ancient." She commented before walking over towards the beds.
She stopped between them, turning to look at her sleeping sister; Elsa was partially curled in on herself, resting on her side, with her arms drawn up to her chest and her legs overlapping. Or so Anna assumed, she could only make out Elsa's shape through the blanket.
"She's too cute," Anna's hand found Elsa's hair and she combed her fingers through the ivory blonde locks, to which Elsa shifted slightly and sighed softly.
"–Ngh, Anna?" Elsa's icy blue eyes blinked open blearily, her body stretching in a very catlike manner, as she attempted to stifle a yawn. "It's quiet…where is everyone?" Anna took a seat on the edge of Elsa's bed and smiled down at her sister.
"They left, not too long ago." Elsa frowned.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"Gerda said to let you rest," Anna answered, her fingers still absently raking through her sister's messy-yet-styled hair.
"Hmpf," Elsa grumbled softly, "I would have preferred to be woken up to say goodbye."
"I figured, but Gerda's in charge when you're asleep." The younger of the two teased playfully. "Otherwise you're the all mighty Queen."
"I rather like the sound of that," Elsa laughed softly, shifting until she was seated upright, stretching her right arm above her head. "So what is the plan now? Finish unpacking? I feel fairly rejuvenated after that nap."
"Sure, lets finish unpacking–"
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
A loud sudden thud of knocks pounded at the door and both girls jumped. Elsa's hands shooting up reflexively, while her fingers twitched and her palms tingled. Anna, on the other hand, jumped to her feet and stared at the door.
"Anna? Elsa? Someone's here who wants to meet you downstairs," Kristoff called through the wooden door, "he's not known for his patience either, so you might want to hurry up." The sisters tossed one another quizzical glances, but nevertheless, Anna walked over to the door and proceeded to open it, locking eyes with the tall blonde man.
"Someone is here to see us?" Anna raised a brow, almost hesitant. "What about?"
"He's our personal trainer," Kristoff crossed his arms over his chest and stared back down, "the trainer for everyone in the house, I mean, and like I said…he'll blow his top if you're not downstairs as soon as possible."
"I heard nothing about a trainer," Elsa stood and walked over to her sister, standing behind Anna with her arms crossed in front of her. "Forgive me if I'm a bit apprehensive to go meet someone I know nothing about." Kristoff sighed.
'Oh yeah, she was going to be a difficult one to deal with.'
"Look, Elsa, I promise it's completely safe. I've known the guy for years, and he's trained all of us in one way or another. He's worldly, you know? He's got a lot to teach." The blonde reasoned, eyes flashing hopefully when Elsa's shoulders visibly relaxed.
"Alright, fine," She relented, waving her hand, "take us to meet him." Anna looked back over her shoulder at her sister and smiled widely, which was more than enough to reassure the older sibling, who smiled back sweetly.
"Look at that, you can smile; it looks good on you," Kristoff commented, grinning widely. Elsa's gaze flicked to him and her brow knit as her eyes narrowed, a faint blush colouring her pale cheeks.
"That's a bit forward, don't you think?" Anna's hand slipped into her sister's and she gave Elsa's hand a squeeze.
"C'mon Elsa, we shouldn't keep someone waiting, it's rude."
"Alright, alright," The blonde replied softly, allowing herself to be tugged out of the safety of their room. As she passed through the doorway it felt like passing through the threshold; the room was their place, it had their things and was where they were to stay, and everything outside of it was foreign, strange and possibly dangerous. It made the blonde tense, made her feel on edge, and she had to force herself to focus on her sister's hand joined to her own.
Anna's hand felt warm in her own. It was comforting warmth, which moved up the length of her arm and spread through her body. Elsa had always been one to rely on focus. Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show was a mantra she had used time and again whenever her powers proved too much for her to control.
Focus, calm yourself, and relax.
It was a matter of finding a singular thing to train her mind on; sometimes it was as simple as her breathing. It would become her center. Elsa's mind would fixate on the sound, the rising and falling of her chest and the steady filling of air to her lungs. She avoided numerous panic attacks brought on by her anxiety by using this trick.
Lately, however, Anna was her center. She'd focus on her sister's voice, her presence, the warmth she offered. It was so foreign to the cold she had always known, but it was a good different, as Anna would say. Another gentle squeeze of her hand drew the blonde out of her deep thoughts and she blinked her eyes.
"C'mon Elsa," Anna coaxed, smiling widely, "Kristoff says we're supposed to meet them around back."
When had they gotten outside?
Elsa turned her eyes skywards. Grey clouds were collecting overhead, blocking the sun and making it near impossible to determine the time. The blonde's blue eyes fell back to her sister, who was practically dragging her around the side of the massive house towards the yet to be explored backyard. Elsa zoned out again, her mind wandering.
Thoughts of what she'd allowed herself to be dragged into flashed through her mind. Sure, this had been a recommendation, a rather highly stated one, but ultimately she had to agree for it to happen. It had been an apprehensive decision on the blonde's end.
Part of her, a small nagging voice in the back of her mind, argued that this was, in some way, affirmation of her inhumanness. Something she still was not ready to come to terms with, even after all these years. As supportive as Anna was, Elsa couldn't help still feeling somewhat monstrous in her abilities.
Anna stopped suddenly, dead in her tracks, which caused Elsa to bump into her. Quickly, Elsa corrected her footing and released Anna's hand, drawing her arms up around herself as she stared at the back of Anna's head.
"Anna?"
"Wow…he's, uhm…" The redhead trailed off and Elsa followed her sister's gaze, falling on the short gruff looking man before them. He couldn't have stood more than three feet tall, and was rather compact and, for a lack of a better word, round.
"A satyr." Elsa stated flatly, eyes wide with disbelief. Icy blue eyes fell on the man's lower half – brown shaggy looking fur covering scrawny hooved legs.
"Well," Anna couldn't tear her eyes away either, "technically I think he's a faun, since they're half-man half-goat creatures. Satyrs are a specific group, all male companions of Pan."
"Well aren't we the bookworm," The man spat, trotting over to the girls and staring up at them, his arms crossed above his portly belly, "so you're the newbies, huh? Well, let's see what you've got." Anna blinked dumbly.
"What we've got?" The goat man rolled his eyes.
"Oy," He groaned, slapping his forehead, "I mean…let's see what you've got!" He repeated, offering no real clarification.
"I think you need to clarify, Billy goat, the girls are new here and aren't used to your unique brand of insanity." A sultry voice drawled; the source being a curvy brunette, whom was leaning heavily into a considerably taller, muscular, redheaded man.
"Yeah Phil, isn't it rule number six that a hero should introduce himself?" The coppery haired man added quickly. The faun – named Phil, apparently – turned and grunted.
"Alright, fine," He extended his hand out towards Anna, "The name's Philoctetes, but you'll call me Phil." Anna's wide aquamarine eyes flicked to Phil's extended hand and she continued to stare. "What? Don't you know how to shake?" He asked incredulously.
"Oh…–Oh!" Anna immediately kneeled down and accepted the handshake, smiling widely, "Sorry! It's very nice to meet you, I'm Anna," The redhead placed her free hand on her chest, and then gestured to Elsa with it, "and this is my sister, Elsa."
"Your charge, right?" Phil asked, withdrawing his hand to step around Anna and walk up to Elsa. The blonde stared back unsurely.
"Yes, I am her charge," She answered softly, "and you are to be our…trainer?" The goatman gave a stiff nod.
"More than likely, but I don't take on just anyone, I need to see potential." He stated flatly, walking back towards the man and woman a few feet away. "Herc here is one of my prize students, and unfortunately goo-goo eyes comes with the package." The brunette rolled her eyes and half groaned, stepping away and walking up to Anna, her hips swaying.
"Megara," She smiled at both girls, "but my friends call me Meg. Wonderboy over there's Hercules, and he's hands off." Anna blinked again, eyes flicking to the boy – Hercules – who shrugged his wide shoulders and smiled sheepishly.
"Hey." He called over.
"Enough with the introductions, I said I wanted to see what you can do," Phil half jumped, stopping his hooves irritably, "I mean it. I'm not training anyone who can't pass a little test." Meg turned on her heels and rolled her eyes again – probably a trait of hers – and sighed heavily.
"Again with your test; it's always tests, and obstacle courses, and swordplay with you," She waved her hand dismissively, "leave the girls be. They're new, let them adjust first."
"No, no way," The faun jabbed a finger in Meg's direction, "you're always gettin' in the way! Herc knows that tests are important, and these two need to pass one for me to even consider them rookies."
"I don't see the harm in one small test," Hercules added softly, wringing his hands out nervously; being caught between Phil and Meg was like a rock and hard place. It was, by no means, a good situation. Earning another eye roll from the brunette, Meg shrugged her shoulders and walked to a nearby fountain, taking a seat on the stone edge.
"Fine, then do proceed, don't let me stop you," Hercules visibly winced; that tone, he was definitely in trouble, and he knew it. Another wave of her hand, and he was dismissed, sent walking over to Phil.
"Great," Phil grinned, turning on his hooves to face the girls, "let's get started then. How fast can you cover the place in snow?" Elsa quirked a brow.
"The building?" Phil snorted.
"No, the area," He gestured out to the woods, looking at her expectantly. The blonde turned to Anna, and her sister reassured her with a small smile and nod.
"It'll be okay Elsa, I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Anna reasoned. Elsa could hardly argue with that; Anna's smile, of course, not the statement; the goat-man could have gotten his credentials out a cereal box for all she knew. Regardless, he was now waiting, hands on his wide hips.
"Alright," In a fluid movement Elsa turned to face the surrounding forest, waving her arms as a cold wind picked up. Through her peripherals Elsa could see Anna clasp her hands together excitedly, her teal eyes wide with the same childlike awe she'd seen thirteen years ago. Anna was entranced by Elsa's magic; there was no doubt of that.
It was not even a matter of minutes before the entire area, as far as could be seen, was coated in a fresh blanket of snow. Phil quirked a brow and then turned to Elsa, giving a slight nod in acknowledgement of her abilities, but he wasn't about to praise her…yet.
"Not bad," He turned to Hercules and held a hand out, "you bring what I asked?" The coppery haired boy reached into his sweater pocket, fishing out a blue ribbon, not much longer than a ruler and about as thick. He hurriedly placed it in the faun's hand. "Atta boy," Phil half praised, plastering a wide smile over Hercules' lips.
"Now," The goat man turned, facing Elsa and Anna, "the test is really simple. You two have to keep this," He jut his arm up to wag the ribbon, "away from him," his thumb jabbed backwards over his shoulder at the redheaded man, "for two minutes. Simple, right? Not exactly. Don't underestimate your opponents, or ever overestimate yourself. You get a five minute head start; I'd suggest formulating a plan."
With that, Phil handed the ribbon off to Anna, who fumbled a bit before securing it in her grasp with a wide smile.
"Go on then," Phil's arms crossed over his chest.
"Oh–right!" Anna quickly snatched one of Elsa's hands in her own, lurching her sister forwards as she dragged her out into the woods. "Okay, so, we just need to keep this away from that Hercules guy." Anna elaborated aloud, eyes darting every which was as she appeared to be deep in thought.
"Doesn't seem like it'd be that hard," Elsa commented, snatching the ribbon from Anna's hand.
"Hey! I wanted to hold that," The redhead whined, grabbing for the piece of fabric, to which Elsa laughed. "Seriously, Elsa, c'mon," Anna's brow knit irritably and she huffed, her breath fogging out in a puff of smoke. Her gaze falling on her visible breath, teal eyes sparked with an idea, to which she quickly grabbed Elsa's wrists and grinned widely. "I've got an idea!"
Back at the house, however, Phil was growing impatient. He tapped his cloven hoof against lightly frosted grass. Hercules, ever by his trainer's side, stood and waited. Though, occasionally, he did toss a cautionary glance back at the brunette, whom steadfastly avoided his gaze.
"Alright, alright," Phil fumed, "time's up. Let's go get that ribbon back and call this a night." The copper haired man gave a nod and casually walked in the direction he'd seen the girls disappear.
"Are you starting the counter?" He asked, turning his eyes down to Phil, the poor faun needing to half-jog in order to keep up with Hercules' strides.
"Starting…now, go get 'em champ."
"Okay, so I should just–"
"Keep your eyes open!" Phil shouted, pointing through the thicket of the woods, at a pair of auburn braids that bounced as they rushed past. "She's got the ribbon in her hand!" With that Hercules took off like a bullet, bounding over the snow covered bushes out into the small opening where Anna had just been, looking around.
"Where'd she go?" He asked aloud, eyes wandering the dense grove around them.
"Check the snow for–ngh, prints!" Phil grunted, tumbling through a particularly dense bush, his fur matting up with twigs and leaves.
"There aren't any," Hercules replied.
"What do you mean there aren't any?" The faun demanded incredulously.
"Like, none," The coppered man replied, pointing down at the snow, where only his own fresh prints could be seen.
"But we saw her…," Phil snorted, shaking the debris off and trotting to Hercules' side; with his dark eyes scanning the surrounding area, a glimpse of foggy breath caught the faun's attention, "oh–oh there she is!" Hercules whirled his head around, spotting Anna moving through the dense brush. Hurriedly, he charged, struggling to get through the narrow space between tree trunks. The deeper between the trees her wormed, the harder it became to move.
"Phil–ugh, I'm…I think I'm stuck…" Came Hercules' voice from within the thicket. With a groan and a slap of his palm to his forehead, Phil trotted up and crossed his arms over his rotund belly.
"Kid, use your head, you ain't stuck." He insisted. Hercules struggled for a moment more before remembering that he was plenty capable of getting himself free. With a flex of his arms, he twisted and snapped several thick trunks in two, effectively freeing himself and startling an unsuspecting Anna.
"Eep!" She squeaked, having lost her cover, she turned and bolted away towards an open field.
"After her!" Phil shouted, practically bouncing in place. "You've got twenty seconds left!" Kicking his way out from the trees, Hercules leapt into the clearing and raced after Anna. At fifteen seconds he caught up with her, and at thirteen he'd secured the ribbon she was holding, having wrenched it from her hands. The force of the tug had caused the girl to stumble back, falling onto her rump in the snow.
"Hey!" She glared, her lower lip pursed outwards and her freckled cheeks flushed.
"Ey, too bad," Phil waddled over and leaned into Hercules, catching his breath, "you…put up…a good chase. But Herc here won," Anna stared back, her pout shifting into a smug grin. Confused, Phil stood upright and stared her down. "What?"
"That's two minutes up, right?" Anna inquired.
"Yeah," Phil replied unsurely, eyeing the girl warily, "why?"
"'Cause we win!" Anna cheered, clasping hands together excitedly.
"What? No you don't, I…I got the ribbon!" Hercules held out the lacy fabric in his hand, which suddenly dissolved into snow, falling from his hand to the ground. "Huh!? B-But, what?" He stammered, eyes falling to Phil.
"Wait, your sister…, where's your sister?" Phil demanded.
"Over here." Elsa called, sauntering into the clearing, holding the actual ribbon in her hand. "I take it we're the winners?"
"Woah, woah, woah," Phil wagged his hands out in front of him, walking over to meet Elsa half way. "Where were you this whole time?" Elsa looked back over her shoulder.
"There; Anna suggested that I would go unnoticed since my breath isn't visible in the cold." The blonde clarified, offering the ribbon back out to Phil, who quickly snatched it from her hand.
"You two might have won, but you left your sister completely out in the open," Phil admonished while shaking his head. "I stayed right by Herc's side, but you left your sister high and dry." Elsa's brow knit.
"Anna was safe," She insisted, "I made sure of that."
"How could you?" Phil turned, trotting back towards the redhead. "She was completely exposed, running around, while you hid." Elsa balled her fists at her sides, but quickly steeled herself, turning her eyes to her sister.
"If you're sure, then try to get close to her," Elsa replied dryly, watching Anna's expression closely for any sign of discomfort. Phil quirked a brow, shrugged and proceeded to walk towards Anna.
"Not really sure what this is going to–woah, hey!" The faun promptly fell backwards, knocked off balance as a massive wall of ice and snow burst up from the ground, creating a protective dome and encasing Anna within it.
"If Anna was in any sort of danger that would immediately happen; we are, after all, standing in my element." Elsa walked past Phil, as Hercules moved to help him stand, touching her hand to the thick wall and dissolving it away. "Anna's safety is my top priority, even above my own, I would not let anyone or anything hurt her." The redhead stood, brushing the snow off her clothes, before throwing herself into Elsa's awaiting arms for a tight hug.
"I guess we underestimated them, huh Phil?" Hercules smiled.
"Eh, beginner's luck," Phil snorted, dusting himself off. "We'll see how well you two manage in actual combat."