2

Chicago

"So. Now were going to talk about…" The most elegant of transitions. Clearly a modern day Shakespeare she thought. Her pen tapped the table. The projector above her head hummed. It lit specks of dust that were floating through the air. All around the table were big shot executives, CEO's vice presidents and representatives of the biggest corporations in the western hemisphere and this was the best they could muster. An old haggard monotone woman. All potential creativity that no doubt existed when she was younger was completely gone.

"As you can see by looking at the graph…" The presentation changed slides and yet another graph appeared. Jesus Christ. Her mind wandered, more like meandered through the thoughts in her mind. Initially she tried to pay attention. The meeting started out fine. She took notes, asked questions, and engaged with every presenter of the morning, but, at some point between the man rambling on about taxes and now this woman, she started playing with her hands. She counted the ceiling tiles, followed the curves of the table with her eyes. But, something about following those curves made her feel… desperate? Desperate for what? She shook off the idea. She didn't care in this state. She couldn't help but think about what was to come in the next few weeks.

Tomorrow she would be boarding a plane for… where was it again? The Bahamas? The Caribbean? She didn't know. All she knew was every picture she'd seen of the place was beautiful beaches, resorts, and tan lines. How long had it been since the last time she had been on the beach or even hand time to relax for that matter? Sure technically it was a business trip, but that didn't mean she didn't have time for a little R&R. She almost sighed aloud at the thought. Her, on the beach, lounging in a lawn chair, martini in hand, watching the wave's crash on the shore. One after the other. The white froth growing and dissipating at a constant tempo. Like a hypnotizer and his pocket watch. Growing and dissipating, growing and dissipating.

"I'm sorry am I boring you Miss Arendelle?"

The voice cut though her dreams. She bolted upright and looked around to see everyone staring at her. The cold and distant voice belonged to the old woman whose eyes bore into her the deepest, like twin purple knives. Wait were her eyes purple?
"Miss Arendelle." She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth as professionally as a 23 year old CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the world, who just fell asleep at a meeting, could. She leaned forward and opened her mouth to say something before a hand gripped her shoulder and pulled her back.
"Miss Arendelle has been laboring all night in regards to her upcoming meeting. Unfortunately, this has hindered her ability to participate today. I think it would be best if we let Miss Arendelle retire. I can stay in her place and transcribe the meeting for her to review on a later date." Kai said, her assistant.

Kai had been working for the Arendelle family for years. Before her father died, he had been his assistant. He even helped run the company before Anna was ready to take over. Kai nudged her shoulder.
"Yes. Perhaps that would be best." Anna said. Another nudge. "I apologize for the inconvenience." And with that, she stood up and walked out the door.

Anna stepped out into the cold Chicago air. A purple and blue knee length pea coat hugged her figure. They were her favorite colors and right now they billowed behind her. There was a reason they called it the windy city, she thought, hugging the coat tighter. She hadn't remembered what floor she had been on, only pressing the lobby button and wishing there was a faster way out of the skyscraper that towered behind her. Now she regretted leaving with such haste.

She left her hat and gloves at the meeting so the cold air permeated the thin layers she donned. She only hoped Kai would notice. Of course he'd notice, he always kept an eye out for the girl. Events like the meeting happened on a regular basis. He's like the cleanup crew for my own incompetence she thought. She shuffled to the edge of the curb, about to raise her hand to hail a taxi. Before she could, 3 black SUV's pulled up in front of her. The center SUV's door swung open to reveal a large burly man beckoning her inside.

"Kai informed us that you may need a ride." She almost face palmed in front of the man. She'd been CEO for almost two years now and she still forgot that she needs security escorts everywhere she goes.

"Yes, actually I do." She said, making a mental note to give Kai a raise the next time she saw him. With the help of the man in the car, she jumped inside. Both the driver and the man wore black suits. All men looked capable of handling whatever may be thrown at them. But in reality, nothing had even been "thrown" at Anna. She had a homeless man lunge at her once, but that was different.

"Where to Miss Arendelle?" She paused for a moment.
"Back to the house." The man nodded. This was her life now, silent nods and nameless faces. The car began to move. She considered the man next to her.

He seemed just like any other security guard except he was bald. He almost looked like someone out of an action movie. He was built like a wall and looked like he ate nails for breakfast. His suit was well looked after. Probably custom tailored and dry cleaned with the ridiculous salary Kai, actually Anna, payed him. He was just like all the other security guards. A brick wall, emotionless and refusing to interact. Anna knew from experience, any attempt to talk to one of them would be just like talking to a wall. She noticed his tie, crooked off center, slightly to the left.

"You're…" she started to say. He turned to look at her. Emotionless. "It's…" she tried to speak again. "Oh, I'll just fix it." She leaned over in the car closer to the man and adjusted his tie. She looked up and, realizing how close she had gotten, blushed. I almost feel like his mom. She sat back down in her seat. At least his tie was straight. "So, what's your name?"
"I'm not at liberty to dispose my name." Anna sat back into her seat, crossing her arms in a pouty manner.
"You look like a Henry." The man raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Henry suits you." The car engine droned on as they picked up speed. "I knew a Henry once." She said. "He was a bit of a… bastard." Henry smirked for a split second. It almost seemed like a trick of the eye. But Anna saw it, just before it disappeared back into an emotionless face.
"I remember back in high school we had the same lunch. B lunch I think. I went to a normal school. I know what you're thinking. Being heir to the biggest corporation this side of the Mississippi you would've thought they'd ship me off to some sort of private Hogwarts school or something, but Dad wanted me to know how to interact with regular people, especially the people I didn't like." She relaxed a little bit more and began unbuttoning her coat. "Can I take off the coat or are you also not at liberty to tell me that either?" The man just stared back at her. She set her coat on the seat in-between herself and the man.
"So the silent game huh? So if I decided I was going to jump out of the car right now, you'll just sit there in silence?" The man hesitated again.
The man pressed the "auto lock" button on the door.
She rolled her eyes. The man just stared back, emotionless, but Anna sensed some humor in his eyes. She could almost hear her mother saying anyone can put on a face, but the eyes, she would say, the eyes reveal everything. Since then Anna made a point of looking people in the eyes. She tried to analyze their every move and this man's eyes read humor.
"So where was I? Oh yeah, B lunch…" She said and she talked and didn't stop until she was all the way home.

Her house was less of a home and more of a mansion. To conserve power, half the house was without heat or electricity. Which also meant that half of the house was completely empty. Like a skeleton left behind and forgotten. The rooms felt so sad, as if meant for something regal but cast aside and never to see the light of day. They will remain hollow and cold until someone filled the space.

This was why she felt it was important to go to one at least once a week, maybe a month if she was too busy and just sit. Sometimes she'd read aloud by candlelight to the empty rooms. Other times she'd bring some blankets and a pillow to nap. Why? Maybe she felt as if she was helping towards some greater thing. Perhaps she felt like one of the rooms herself. Maybe she was waiting for someone or something in fill the empty spaces in her life. She didn't know and didn't want to ponder the implications of that train of thought.

Instead she tossed the ideas aside as first world problems. She didn't realize she was remarking on this aloud until the car stopped in front of the front door of her house.
"Well," she gathered the coat in her arms. "This is my stop."
"It was a pleasure Miss Arendelle."
"I'm sure it was." She said. The man payed no attention to her tone and unlocked the doors. She stepped out into the still frigid air. Although it was less windy, she still would've preferred the warmth of the summer sun. Who would enjoy the winter? In Anna's eyes, anyone who would enjoy winter over the summer must be lying, or at least convincing themselves into a false truth. How could anyone resist the warm embrace of the sun? Or the gentle cooling breezes that rolled over hills? For a moment she re imagined her upcoming vacations. A small sense of giddiness reappeared in her stomach.

She turned to face her house. It was no wonder that children didn't want to visit her growing up. Its daunting demeanor screamed ominousness. Tall pillars lined either side of the giant wooden doors that greeted those who dared get close enough to the estate. A circular driveway led up towards the estates immaculate staircase which ended at the entrance of the home. It was in no ways modern. In fact, it resembled something like a castle from the mid 1500's.

"It was nice meeting you Henry." She said turning back to the car. She extended a hand. The man took it, his hand dwarfing Anna's.
"You as well Miss Arendelle." She walked towards the house before the man stammered, "Olaf."
"I'm sorry?"
"Olaf. My name's Olaf." Anna smiled ear to ear with a warmth like the summer sun she was reflecting upon earlier. The giddiness in her stomach grew stronger.
"Well it was nice to make your acquaintance Olaf." She said, curtsying but slipping into her CEO voice. "You're a great security guard." Could I have sounded any more robotic? And with a slight tinge of embarrassment, she disappeared inside the house.

If the outside of the house was daunting, the inside was even more so. The house opened up to a giant empty lobby sat with a two sided staircase that overlooked it. She remembered back to when she'd play tag with her father. There was a time, which seemed like ages ago by now, when her bare feet skipped across the lobby floor. Her father in tow. Giggles would echo throughout the hallways. She sighed at the memories and put her fingers on the bridge of her nose, squinting. Thinking about her father still caused her physical pain. She tried to shrug the feeling off and headed to her room.

In contrast to the rest of her house her room was plain. There were no lavish amounts of textiles, no immaculate rugs that one might expect. Her wallpaper was a plain purple and blue, the same purple and blue she was wearing currently. She tried her best to keep her room as normal as possible. A single twin sized bed, centered on the wall. A desk with a few books and a lamp, next to the bed.

On the desk was a book on Joan of Arc. It was open to the page she was reading last night. She had been trying to read through it lately. She loved Joan of Arc's story but loved even more when her dad used to read the book to her. However, actually reading about it was much more difficult that listening to her father read it to her.

Opposite the desk, her closet. Besides being a walk in closet with double doors it was nothing fancy. Although she did splurge on clothes every once and a while.

She collapsed forwards on her bed, her hair falling around her head, shielding her from the outside world. She had to pack. 2 weeks she'd be gone. She'd need clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste. Although she didn't doubt the fact that Kai most likely had the essentials she needed waiting at some house they'd be staying in. All she needed was clothes. Her mind filled with images of bikinis, skirts, tank tops and the like. She smiled into the covers of her bed.

She bolted upright, ran to her closet and swung it open. She pulled a suitcase off a high shelf. It collided with the ground with a thud. She dragged it across the ground over to her bed. She whipped in open and ran back to the closet. She began ripping clothes off their hangers, throwing anything that seemed comfortable in warm weather, into her suitcase.
"Are you expecting to move anytime soon dear?" A voice said. Anna turned. Her fixed in place. It was Gerda her house maid. She was a nice, frail, old woman who had raised her in the absence of her parents. She looked down at the suitcase now heaping with clothes and broke a smile.
"I'm… I'm just excited." She proclaimed. She picked up a tank top off the floor. "Imagine," she held the tank top up with one hand and gestured wildly with the other, "me, on the beach." She twirled around the room laughing. "It'll be warm, away from the city, away from the noises, the cars and the people." She stopped dancing to rest in front of Gerda "just the noises of ocean crashing onto the beach." Gerda just smiled.

"Well, only pack your clothes. Kai just called and said he's had everything else arranged."
"I knew it." Then under her breath she said "That bastard."
"Language!"
"Sorry. Bad habit."

She had recently picked up swearing from all the board meeting she had attended. Few people realized how much cursing actually goes on behind those closed doors. No wonder her father had never let her sit in on the meetings when she was younger. She looked up and realized that Gerda had been staring at her.
"I truly am sorry Gerda." She said sarcastically while smiling. Gerda's expression didn't change.
"I have to talk with you about something serious Anna."
"For goodness sakes Gerda, I'm 22, I can swear if I want to swear." Anna rolled her eyes.
"No, this is about something else." Gerda bit her lip, which was a strange action, Anna thought, for a woman of her age. Anna tried to imagine her younger but she couldn't.
"Anna focus." Gerda said.
"Sorry." The old woman sighed.

"You know Kai is always looking out for you right?"
"Well, yeah. Of course."
"And he always wants you to be safe." Anna nodded.
"Gerda what is this about?" Anna's professional voice said cool but commanding.

"Well, he hired the best security he could find for your meeting but…"

"Get to the point Gerda." Gerda glared at her.

"Please."

"It's just that I've heard stories about your new head of security. They were a little concerning and I'm just worried."
"Who? Olaf? Olaf wouldn't hurt a fly. He's like a giant defensive teddy bear. Oh wait, should I have said that I know his name? Will he get in trouble for that? I don't…"
"Anna."
"Sorry. But honestly Gerda, Olaf's fine."
"No, it's not Olaf. Kai hired a new head of security for your trip. It's… They call her 'The Ice Queen.'" At the sound of that name, although seemingly innocent, shivers ran down her spine. "I've heard stories, about her and her other jobs. I heard that she grew up in a mental asylum and only escaped because she killed her doctor with a nothing but a pencil. And when she was thirteen she took on 5 security guards and a guard dog, killed them all without even batting an eye. She's like ex-marines or navy seals or something. I even heard she made a guy kill himself just by staring at him."
"Get out, that's absurd." Anna rolled her eyes.
"I'm just telling you what I heard and I'm just saying you should be a little careful around this one. Try not to talk as much." Anna walked into her closet.
"Gerda, there's no reason to worry. They're just stories, they don't mean anything."
"Please. Be careful alright?"
"Well, if I have to meet this Ice Queen, I might as well dress to impress right?"
"What do you…?" Anna stepped out from her closet. "No." Gerda stuttered.
"Yes."
"You can't be serious."
"Oh, I'm dead serious."

A/N: Hey guys, thanks for reading my story so far. It's kinda a slow burn but I think it'll be worth it in the end. Just wanted to update people on my plans. Right now, I'm thinking at a minimum I'll release a chapter a week, probably on Sunday's. Ideally I want to upload two chapters a week but I don't know if that'll happen consistently. I've already written ahead to about chapter 7 but I want to keep them as a back up in case exams get me too busy to write for a week or so. That said, I'm also really exited for people to read it so I might just release a bunch of them. Who knows. Thanks for taking the time to read my story. It means a lot. Feedback would be appreciated too, both the bad and good stuff. Thanks again!