Disclaimer: Frozen is in property of Disney, therefore I do not own the rights.
Thank you to everyone who has read/favorite/alert/reviewed my story so far!
Warnings: Foul Language, OOC-ness, Background OCs, Cameo/Name Drops
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So I just found out that Burned broke a new record for me. Apparently this is my most Alerted story, so in honor of breaking a new record I present to you AN UPDATE!
Heads up my dear readers: we're going to be seeing a lot of discord between the sisters. The glasses are tipping over and soon enough, shit is gonna go DOWN.
Chapter Six
Anna wasn't present for dinner that night and her presence was sorely missed. Despite missing her sister, Elsa felt that what Anna needed was sometime alone. It wasn't easy coming to terms with yourself, but if anyone understood more than anything what that was like it was Elsa. So she allowed her sister the reprieve she felt Anna needed and ate dinner in the company of Olaf.
That following morning, Elsa was relieved to see her sister had decided to join her for breakfast instead of hiding away in her bedroom as Elsa was likely to do.
They ate in silence mostly, until breakfast was done and both young women sat awkwardly at the table, waiting for someone daring enough to break the silence. If they had been under different circumstances, Anna would have been the one to break the silence, but because it was Anna that seemed so strangely withdrawn, Elsa felt she had no choice but to pry.
"Anna—" "Elsa—" They both began, much to the others surprise. Elsa chuckled lightly into her hand while Anna's cheeks tinged pink, a little embarrassed but amused as well.
"Yes?" Elsa urged her gently, her smile soft and sweet.
Anna shook her head in response, a small smile framing her lips. "No, you go. You look like you wanted to say something way before I did."
Elsa's long slender fingers gracefully wrapped around the silver goblet as Anna spoke. She swirled the sunshine yellow juice around, letting a delicate layer of frost shimmer across the drink and fog the goblet before taking a much needed sip.
Anna eyed the goblet with an almost predatory stare. The soft blue of her eyes hardened on their own accord, and for a moment, Elsa thought she saw the quickest flash of gold swirl amongst the sea of blue.
"Alright," She began, setting down the goblet. (It was almost physically painful for Anna to tear her gaze away from the cup and back to Elsa.) "Olaf told me what happened between the two of you yesterday."
The red headed princess allowed herself a wince as a flash of guilt speared into her heart.
Elsa's expression softened in understanding. "He's OK, you know. He wanted me to tell you that."
"He said that yesterday too." She said quietly. "But it doesn't mean I still don't feel bad about it."
"It was an accident, Anna."
"An accident waiting to happen." The red head frowned, blue eyes hard again. "You know, I'm trying my best to keep myself from hurting anyone."
It was Elsa's turn to mirror Anna's freckled expression. "I never said you weren't—"
"But you don't accept anything that I do." She interjected. "Every time I tell you that I learned something new from one of my practices you give me this look like what I'm doing is a crime! Like, like you don't approve that I do it." Anna clutched her own silver goblet angrily and gulped down the contents of her orange juice before the heat of her skin could seep into the metal. She slammed the cup against the table, ignoring the small spark of light that flashed between the silver goblet and the white table cloth.
"You asked me for help, Anna," Her sister began, wintery blue eyes glancing between Anna and the cup. "You wanted me to help you keep in control and that's what I set out to do. Hearing that you sneak out every night to practice fire in the ballroom wasn't exactly the most reassuring thing to know."
The air around her grew cold in silent fury, just as the air around Anna seemed to warm up without explanation.
"I don't approve of it." Elsa confessed, much to Anna's surprise. "Your fire is dangerous, Anna. It burnt off your clothes, it destroyed my chandelier and you've nearly set your bed on fire twice." She willed her anger to calm. She didn't want to get into an argument with Anna, not now, not when it was so early in the morning and her sister was obviously facing some unmentioned inner turmoil. But Anna needed to see her point. Fire is dangerous. Ice is dangerous. Their magic as a whole was something not to be trifled with.
She heaved a heavy sigh. "Anna, I'm sorry, I just want you to understand what it means to be… well… like me. Having magic isn't something you could just go off and practice whenever you wanted to. There are consequences."
Like freezing someone's heart.
The words went unsaid, but Anna knew it was something Elsa wanted to say. She knew there were consequences. Anna already knew there were dangers to her fire, but did her sister have to constantly remind her about her lack of control?
Did Elsa really need to keep bringing up the fact that if she weren't careful, something terrible would happen? That someone could get hurt?
What happened with Olaf was an accident.
What happened with Kristoff had been unintentional.
What happened in the clearing had been unforeseen, but now that Anna knew, she wouldn't allow it to happen again.
Wasn't that enough for Elsa?
"What exactly do you want me to do, Elsa?" Anna asked after a moment of tense silence. "I can't pretend my powers don't exist."
"And I'm not asking you to." Elsa sighed. She reached out for Anna's hand and grimaced at the heat that radiated off the girl's flesh. "I just want you to be careful."
Anna stared her straight in the eyes, her lips pursed in displeasure. She looked as though she wanted to continue the argument but felt resigned to give up in the end. She nodded slowly, squeezing Elsa's hand in turn.
In truth, Elsa would have preferred Anna give up practicing her fire all together, but she knew she couldn't ask that of her sister. She'd be following in the footsteps of their father who, although had Elsa's best interest at heart, didn't approach the matter in the best of ways. Then again, Elsa couldn't fault her parents on their decision. She had been the one to withdraw from Anna all those years ago. She had been the one who chose to stay as a recluse in her own room, only to leave when she was sure her sister was deep in slumber.
Asking Anna to stop practicing, to give up her nightly sessions in the ballroom and pretend as though she were still as mundane as the rest of them, was the equivalent to shutting her in the castle all over again. Only it was worse because Elsa had the freedom to use her magic whereas Anna would not.
With a tentative smile, Elsa excused herself from the table and made way for the study, ready to take on the rest of the day.
Anna hung back in the while, blue eyes trailing after the shimmery train of her sister's dress. She didn't move until she was certain Elsa had vanished beyond the door, and once she had, she scowled into her goblet.
It boiled beneath her golden gaze.
Anna found it difficult to keep her feet from burning the grass in the garden. She kept her hands clenched tightly against her sides, but the heat that radiated off her in waves was enough to curl some of the flowers inward. She had been there for a while now, if the trail of brown grass and shriveled flowers were any indication, and despite her attempts, Anna found it almost impossible to keep her inner turmoil from enhancing her powers.
She was angry, that much was obvious. But it was worse than that.
She was angry at Elsa.
She knew her sister was concerned. Understood it even, but still, she felt wronged. She could control it, Elsa just needed to believe in her, but she didn't and that was the problem.
Queen Elsa of Arendelle didn't believe her little sister could control the power of her flames; didn't even want her to continue practicing from what Anna could tell.
But that wasn't right.
That wasn't even fair.
Anna had never told Elsa to stop practicing her magic; had never criticized her for when Elsa had accidentally froze things over. She was sensitive about the topic. She always gave Elsa the benefit of the doubt and even encouraged her to practice her control. She had never doubted her sister. And yet… why was it so hard for Elsa to see that she too was capable of keeping her flames from hurting others?
Perhaps it hadn't been about the others she was worried about. Elsa did tell her to be careful, what if the Queen's worry lay toward Anna's own well-being?
But that's stupid. Anna rebuked mentally. Elsa knows I can take care of myself. I ran through a blizzard for her! Sure, Kristoff and Sven helped me get there but still, I did most of it on my own. She's not worried about me. She's worried about what my powers will do to others.
Elsa had always garnered that fear, even now when the whole kingdom knew of her abilities. She worried about the well-being of others, never her own, and in Anna's situation, the princess truly felt that, as Queen, Elsa was only looking out for her subjects.
But that was the bottom line, wasn't it? The fact that Queen Elsa felt she needed to worry about others. Anna had been the one to convince her to remain as Arendelle's rightful Queen and continue to rule despite her powers. The people of Arendelle didn't care. They loved her. They loved them. And yet… Anna felt as though Elsa didn't trust her and that was a problem.
"If she doesn't trust that I can do this then I'll just have to prove her wrong," Anna muttered, feeling slightly resolved.
She stopped her pacing and stared back at the castle with a determined look in her blue eyes. The shriveling of flowers brought her attention back to the damaged garden. The dead, dry grass that had burned beneath her feet seemed to spread outward as though an invisible flame were passing through. The flowers closest to her from when she stopped pacing had already wrinkled and dried. There were others within her radius, she noticed, that began to wither as though the very air were sucking away its life force. Soon enough, Princess Anna stood surrounded from head to toe by blackened, withered flowers.
If she was going to start proving her sister wrong then she wasn't off to a good start.
With a deep inhale that made her feel as though she were filling her very soul with oxygen, Anna let loose her breath as slowly and calmly as she could. Smoke escaped from between her lips, much to her astonishment, but quickly dissipated before she could truly process what had just happened. Saving the thought aside for another day, the Princess strolled back into the castle with resolve made of steel.
Despite their argument that morning, Anna found herself in the company of Elsa for their first training session since the incident at the frozen palace. They met at a new location, one that Anna thought was very strange considering how much her sister wanted to keep their lessons private. They stood out in the private openness of the castle courtyard, surrounded by the four walls of the secure castle, but distant enough that none of their magic should ever reach the stones unless deliberate. The beautifully bright blue sky hung overhead; the lazy heat of an afternoon summer pressed comfortably against their skin.
Olaf watched in childlike fascination from underneath one of the stone archways on Elsa's side, his small storm cloud keeping him cool with a shower of snow. It must have been hot for the poor snowman if a heavy snow fall was needed to keep his body from sweating.
Anna didn't feel the heat as intensely as she had earlier that morning, but she supposed she wouldn't. Not after subconsciously venting out her anger in the garden.
She hoped Elsa wouldn't noticed the damage done to the garden any time soon. (And if she did, Anna hoped she was nowhere near the palace then.)
"I'm happy you decided to join me," Elsa began softly, her wintry blue eyes apologetic. "Even after our…argument from earlier."
"We're sisters, Elsa." Anna shrugged. She gave her a friendly smile. "We'll disagree on a lot of things, but in the end, we're fighting for the same thing."
"And that's why I've decided that it's time we start taking a hands-on approach to your training." Elsa clasped her hands in front of her, looking every bit a beautiful regal Queen with her light blue dress gleaming under the sun's light.
"Like controlling heat?" Anna smiled shyly.
Elsa's expression softened. "We're going to do something a little different than that."
Anna's brows raised in surprise. "You mean-?"
"If I'm going to help you, I need to see how your magic works first hand."
"I thought you didn't want me practicing in the castle." The red head grinned.
Elsa rolled her eyes playfully, but Anna could see the trepidation that hid within those wintery blue eyes. She dropped her playful demeanor and dawned the mask of gravity, surprising the Queen. (It was not usually within Anna's nature to look so solemn faced. Elsa wondered if she had done something to upset her sister so quickly.)
"Are you sure about this? Aren't you worried someone will see?"
Elsa glanced at the stone walls and the archways on the second floor that allowed others to peer into the courtyard. She glanced back to the only exit in the courtyard where Olaf waved frantically back at them, a small dusting of snow gathering at his feet.
The Snow Queen turned back to Anna with an impish smile. The expression caught the princess off guard, but not as much as the walls of ice did. Streaks of ice shot out from Elsa's feet. It raced across the yard and slithered up the walls like icy veins. Anna watched in awe as layers upon layers of ice coated the stones until a thick layer surrounded the entirety of the courtyard.
Olaf clapped excitedly at the display, whistling and hollering for Anna to demonstrate what she was capable of.
Elsa took a step back and unclasped her hands. "Now, no one can watch us."
Anna's expression turned impish. "Are you sure you didn't just want to show off your magic?"
"Don't be silly," she giggled. "Now, start with something small, like the heart you showed me the first time."
The first time Anna had demonstrated her flame, she had needed both hands to produce her fire. Now, two weeks since the discovery, the Princess of Arendelle held out only one hand. With a snap of her fingers, a small flame flickered to life from the friction and Elsa watched as her sister molded the light into a gleaming, flickering heart. They heard Olaf awe loudly from the frozen archway (the only part of the courtyard that wasn't blocked off by four inches of solid ice.)
"Do the fire bird Anna!" He called out excitedly.
Elsa's serene expression morphed into apprehension. A part of Anna bristled at the doubt and before Elsa could protest the idea, she cupped her hands together and mentally manipulated the flames into the small familiar shape of an ethereal flaming bird.
She could do this. She could control it. She wasn't going to let her bird fly out of control. And should it explode, she would make sure it was up in the sky and away from Elsa.
With a quiet breath, Anna allowed the small bird to take flight and watched with growing relief as the tiny creature flew against the stark blue sky with majestic beauty. Olaf ooh'd and awe'd in utter fascination. Elsa, on the other hand, watched the creature with foreboding.
"Stop it Anna." She said after a few moments of anxious silence.
Anna felt the frown settle on her freckled face. "But—"
"I told you, you can't create things with fire."
"You asked me to create a heart Elsa! What do you call that?"
"A demonstration." The Queen retorted. "I wanted to see how you summon on your powers. A small heart wasn't—"
"Quite as dangerous right?" The red head interjected, golden eyes sharp. The flaming bird stopped its aimless flight and settled just behind the girl's shoulder, watching the scene unfold with yellow flaming eyes.
Elsa felt taken aback at the sight, but her sister's words stole most of the shock away.
"Anna—"
"Why can't you believe that I can do this?" Anna continued. The anger and hurt from earlier pooled into her heart.
The flaming bird beside her seemed to flicker erratically for a moment, its shape momentarily scrambled. Elsa took another unconscious step back at the sight.
It pained Anna to see it.
"You don't trust me," She stated quietly, feeling the words roll heavily on her tongue.
"You don't understand Anna—" Elsa cut herself off with a regretful frown. "Maybe…maybe Kristoff is right. We shouldn't be doing these lessons."
Anna felt the air escape her lungs. The flaming ethereal creature beside her burst in a flash of blue before extinguishing, leaving the princess standing stiffly. She clenched her firsts, feeling a new wave of anger flow through her blood like molten lava.
"Lessons? What lessons?" She spat, her body shaking in rage. "You barely taught me anything Elsa!"
"Fire and ice are different elements," The Queen re-stated, frowning. "I should have taken that into consideration. Fire is too wild. Even if I could help you, it would still burn everything."
"Like ice doesn't freeze anything." Anna scoffed.
"At least ice thaws!" Elsa snapped. "At least I can try to reverse my damage, but fire doesn't let you do that Anna! Fire destroys everything it touches. You can't fix the damages."
Anna looked away angrily, unable to bear the thought of looking at Elsa's face. "I already told you, fire can't hurt me."
"Maybe not physically," Elsa sighed, resigned.
Neither of them had noticed the light flurry of snow that had begun to fall from the once blue sky.
Elsa wrapped her arms protectively around herself, turning away from her angry little sister. "I'm sorry Anna. I know I promised to help, but after giving it some thought I think its best we stop practicing."
"Elsa!" Anna gaped, astounded. It was their morning argument all over again. "You said you wouldn't ask me to stop!"
"And I'm not," Elsa replied, stopping in her tracks. She glanced over her shoulder. "I can't make you stop, but I can stop our lessons. If you want to practice then… fine… but you will not practice in the ballroom." She gestured to the courtyard around them. "You will practice out here. Or the Ice Palace, if you prefer, but not in the ballroom. Not inside." She hesitated for a moment, feeling guilty for breaking her promise and more so for the words that would slip from her lips. "And you will do it alone."
No Olaf – because it was far too dangerous for a snowman.
No Kristoff – because he would likely get burned.
No maids, no knights, none of the palace workers were allowed to watch because as far as Anna knew, her pyrokinetic powers were still a secret.
And no Elsa, because she feared Anna's flames. Feared what it could possibly do to either of them, or anyone.
Anna struggled internally with her emotions. The overwhelming sense of betrayal and heartbreak weighed heavily in her chest, but the rage that burned within her like acid made the hurricane all that much worse. She released a breath between clenched teeth and managed to bite out a nearly strangled "Fine" from between her lips. She turned away from Elsa entirely, no longer happy to be within the Queen's frosty presence.
"What about my privacy?" She inquired as an afterthought, her golden eyes boring holes into the wall of ice in front of her. Literally, it seemed.
"The ice walls are thick." Elsa pointed out quietly. "If they start to melt, I'll fix it, but they should buy you some privacy."
Anna refrained from commenting, but the growing puddle around her feet was enough to tell Elsa she was less than pleased. But that was putting it mildly in Elsa's opinion.
Elsa and Olaf left Anna to vent quietly in the courtyard, no more words were spoken, no second glances spared.
Once the princess knew she was left alone in the solitude of a frozen courtyard—when she was sure she could no longer contain the torrent of emotions wreaking havoc within her heart—she unleashed a flood of fire that surged across the square in a dazzling flash of red-orange and blue. Three rings of erratic flames rippled across the yard.
The first set she unleashed shown a brilliant red-orange and it melted away the small dusting of snow that had managed to gather during their argument.
The second ring of fire was lighter in shade and less fierce, but just as fast as the first ring. It followed the first and slammed into the walls of ice, sinking through the first layer.
The third ring of fire that rippled from Anna was blue in color. It was the very same blue she had managed to conjure all those weeks ago, and just like then, it was still as dazzling and beautiful as when she had first created it. But she couldn't marvel at its beauty this time for she barely noticed the flickering rings or their coloration. The blue flames surged across the square in speed unseen in fire. It crashed into the ice walls and seemed, for a moment, to grow in size upon contact but quickly died away in the growing puddle.
She heard the walls crack in various places, but refrained from moving. She stayed in the middle of the courtyard, listening to the eerie cracks from the walls around her, her mind lost in thought.
Why did Elsa and Kristoff not believe in her the way she did for them?
What was it about her that they just didn't trust?
Was it because it was her? The youngest of the Arendelle sisters? The klutzy one? The one who did not succeed the throne because she wasn't Elsa?
She didn't think she would ever know.
So I just wanted to clear up a few things. If anyone thinks Anna is going down a villainous route, she's not. She's just frustrated with Elsa's reaction to her powers. She's not going to overthrow her sister in a bid for a throne or anything like that. She's just genuinely pissed off and hurt that everyone is treating her like she's an idiot when it comes to her powers.
I do believe that from this point on, updates are going to be once or twice a week. April is rolling around the corner and you know what that means-FINALS! (For me) Classes end in the last week of April for my college so it's going to be a little tough getting all my homework done and finding time to update this story BUT NEVER FEAR DEARIES! I won't go MIA.
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Feeeeeeed meeeehhhh -weeps- I HUNGER!