AN: Wow, I am amazed this got such a response! Thank you all so much for your reviews! I'm so glad people are enjoying this so far. To answer some questions, this might only end up having 1 or 2 more chapters to it. Depends on how much patience I have to work on this before I start plotting out the next story(stories is more like it) I have planned.
She must have been dreaming, it felt like Anna was floating on a cloud. Maybe that was why her head was so fuzzy, the clouds were so fluffy and so soft. It reminded her of that sweet sugary candy that they had found at the fair's while in the south. Maybe it was that candy, Anna thought, as she nuzzled her head into the cloud.
"I do hope you don't plan on eating my pillow, little fire dancer." A low, cool voiced breathed into her ear.
Teal eyes flew open, a startled yelp escaping Anna's lips. Her hands pushed against the softness underneath her, fingers grasping at what she realized were silk sheets. Struggling, she pushed herself up only to have a cool hand pressed down upon her shoulder, an icy chill flowing into her skin.
Anna went slack, falling back onto the amazingly soft pillows she nearly tried eating. Tilting her head to the left, Anna tried holding back a gasp as the beautifully pale face of Queen Elsa was mere inches from her own. A gentle smile on her lips as those bright blue eyes stared intently at Anna's.
"Hello there." Those cold fingers traced small circles along Anna's shoulder, leaving a thin film of icy snowflakes that melted in seconds on her skin. The Queen grinned at the sight.
"Oh hi? Um what...what am I doing here? In this bed? Not that I'm complaining! It's terribly comfortable, I mean of course it is, I sleep on the ground sometimes, so anything is better then that but," Anna stuttered, trying so hard to keep her mouth from rambling on any further, "Hello Your Majesty." She could feel her cheeks starting to burn.
"You are in my bed, because you fainted into my arms after that.." the Queen hums quietly, dragging a finger down Anna's arm, "spectacular performance my dear. I was only going on the rumor that you had some semblance of power like mine, but to my surprise you are much stronger then I expected. We can go over that later but for now, you may call me Elsa and you are?"
"I'm Anna, Your Maje-, I mean Elsa," she averted her eyes from Elsa's persistant staring, feeling self concious, "I'm just Anna." Keeping her gaze towards the sheets, her fingers gripping them tightly. "How did you find out? I...I made sure to keep them hidden, even in my shows."
"Information is power," Elsa softly said, shifting her weight away from Anna's side, "Sometimes even more so then my own powers. A single sentence or secret can change the outcome of many wars, battles, assassinations." The blonde clasped her hand around the other girls wrist. "Or some people are willing to sell information for gold, their greed knowing no bounds. I will not lie to you, but someone from that circus of yours sold you out."
Anna could barely breathe, her chest felt so tight like her heart was trying to crush itself. That couldn't be right, could it? Would someone from her family, her safe haven from the rest of the world, really sell her secret out? She never hurt anyone with it, though that fear kept her from even attempting anything.
Why was everything feeling smaller? She needed room, she couldn't breathe. Anna tore away from the blankets and Elsa's freezing grip, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Shakily standing up she ignored the tingling in her feet, even her hands, that feeling crawling up through her limbs. She stumbled towards the center of the room and leaned heavily against the long couch by the fireplace.
"Anna.." It was so faint, Anna could ignore it. Her heart was beating so loud in her ears, it shouldn't be that loud and the pain. That's the hardest part for her to understand as she tightly grips the back of the couch, oblivious to the smoke and embers rising from her fingertips.
It couldn't have been Gran Pabbie or Bulda for that matter, likely none of her acrobatic family. She doesn't notice the flames in the fireplace pulse with every beat of her heart. Teal eyes narrowed to slits as the pain transforms itself to a burning anger in the center of her chest, clawing it's way up her throat, filling up every space in her head with such pressure that she just needed to let it out.
And so she did.
Anna threw her head back and let loose a heart-wrenching scream, pouring all her anger and betrayal into it.
It was a beautiful sight to behold, that Elsa couldn't help but move closer to the girl bathed in flames and ash. She had watched as the lithe red head, stumbled towards the couch fire sparking from under her bare feet, her face an open book to the agony she was feeling. Fire had started to crawl over the girl's body, some tendrils arcing out into the air to lash out and spit.
Once Anna had leaned against the couch, immediately flames spread from her fingers, burning away the thick wood. The fire in the fireplace had started to pulsate into a beat in time with what she assumed was a heart beat. Angrily the flames started to lick at the edges of the stone, streaking out into serpentine shapes and swirl around the young girls feet, devouring and burning the floor and furniture.
"Anna.." she called out to the girl. The sound of cracking wood reached Elsa before the smell of it. She wasn't terribly worried, there were precautions in place but honestly all she could think of was how just being near this girl was causing her own powers to thrum just underneath her skin.
Twisting her hands, Elsa let her power flow over the walls creating a thick layer of ice. Skin tingling, she threw up a shield of ice as a blast of heat accompanied an agonized scream.
Blinking in surprise the blonde kept her icy cover, waiting for the majority of the heat wave to pass. Glancing at the walls, she watches as sheets of ice melt and chunks fall to the soaked carpet. Flicking her hand again, she refroze it all, wouldn't do to have the room burn down. Tilting her head she noticed the temperature dropped significantly.
Removing the barrier, Elsa could feel her heart breaking in her chest.
Anna had fallen to her knees, arms limp at her sides. The edges of her vest smoking slightly, embers burning brightly, but never straying. Trails of fire flowed down her arms and united with the circle of flames strewn around the exhausted girl. The carpet beneath her had been completely burned away down to the stone flooring, even that had begun cracking and melting at the intense amount of heat Anna had put out.
A blank expression was on her face, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Though Elsa noticed that the tears were turning into steam as soon as they touched her skin.
Quietly, Elsa walked over to the younger girl and kneeled next to her, ice flowing out from her feet and knees to cool the heat. "Anna?" Gently she placed her fingers under Anna's chin and tilted her face towards her own. "Anna, I need you to focus on me."
The red head didn't respond, staring at a point beyond Elsa's shoulder. Her breath was shallow and hot against the colder girl's skin, each exhale came with a puff of smoke and dying embers.
Lightly Elsa drags her fingertips over warm cheeks before tangling her fingers in the red hair at the nape of Anna's neck, her thumb brushing over the calming pulse.
"Why..." came the terrified voice, hoarse from the exertion, "I never hurt anyone.." Anna focused her gaze at Elsa, terror and fear in those teals eyes grip the Snow Queen's heart, making it thump painfully against her chest.
"Because little firefly, people are scared of what they don't understand and they will lash out at the cause of that fear." Tilting her head down Elsa placed a chaste kiss against Anna's forehead. "I know of this all too well and what could happen so when I heard rumors of someone selling information about you to...questionable parties, I knew I had to find a way to get to you first." Arctic blue eyes narrowed and she gently pulled Anna to lean against her colder body. "I would not wish to put anyone else through what I suffered."
What she didn't say out loud was that these parties had intended to use the girl against Arendelle.
Willing or not.
The wind was howling in her mind, every fiber of her being near enraged at the thought of anyone hurting this poor girl in her arms, this kind, warm soul who had done nothing to deserve the attention of the more vile people in the country.
She heard Anna sniffling and felt her shift, finding a better position to lean against Elsa and wrapping her arms around the older girls waist. Humming quietly, the blonde smoothed out Anna's hair and wiped her cheeks clean of ash and the remnants of tears.
Elsa rocked her gently, letting the girl calm down before moving her back to the bed. "Perhaps I should call a maid in here first to fix the sheets, seeing as they are...slightly charred." she thought to herself, peering over Anna's head at the bed. Before she could even think of getting up, a quiet snore under her ear caught her attention.
Chuckling silently, Elsa was content to just sit and let the girl sleep. Nothing had to be done right away.