7
Elsa Day
Anna stood in her room, her clothes were strewn across her bed. She had been looking for her bathing suit when she decided the best way to find it, would be to dump her clothes out of her suitcase and onto her bed. She didn't pay much attention to that now, she was looking in the mirror across from her. She was in a two piece bathing suit and was now applying a liberal amount of sunscreen on. Her skin burned so easily. She couldn't imagine how Elsa would burn.
As if the sun would dare touch her skin. It was the weekend finally. No more boring meetings, at least not for another two days.
Anna struggled to reach a spot on her back, but to no avail. Dammit. She would not let sunburns ruin this trip.
"Elsa?" Anna called through the door. Last she checked, Elsa was waiting for her to change in the living room. "I need your help with something." She heard Elsa move on the other side of the door.
"You are wearing clothes correct?"
"What? Yeah, of course I'm wearing clothes." Anna rolled her eyes. The door eased open. Elsa peaked her head in the room, confirming that Anna was indeed wearing clothes, before entering completely.
"What is it that you need?" Elsa said. Anna tried reaching for the spot on her back again, but failed.
"I can't reach. Right there. You see it?" Elsa's eyes followed along Anna's hands towards the spot she couldn't reach.
"I don't believe I understand what exactly you want me to do."
"Oh for Pete's stake Elsa." Anna pointed at the sunscreen she left on the bed. "Grab that bottle of sunscreen and put some where I can't reach." Elsa paused. "Do you need an instruction booklet or something? An itinerary to figure this one out?" Anna teased.
"I'm perfectly capable of performing tasks outside of the itinerary."
"Elsa." Anna smiled. "Just please. The sunscreen." Elsa picked up the bottle, examining it. She flipped the lid open and started to pour sunscreen on her gloved hands. "Elsa." Anna proclaimed. She looked up. "Your gloves?" Anna motioned towards them. Elsa stared back at her. "The sunscreen will ruin them."
"I don't think…"
"Elsa, seriously. I will not be responsible for ruining your gloves alright? You love those things, you wear them all the time. Now just take them off so we can get this over with. " Elsa hesitated but proceeded to take them off anyways. She set the bottle on the ground and removed her gloves. She laid them on the bed, making sure they wouldn't get lost in the mass of clothes. She picked up the bottle again and applied some to her hand.
She walked over to Anna and stood right behind her. Anna could feel Elsa's cold breath on her back. Her hands hovered just above the spot, waiting.
What the hell is she waiting for? Anna thought.
"Elsa?" She said. Elsa didn't move, she was lost inside her own mind. Anna rolled her eyes and leaned back into Elsa's hand. Her hand was cold as ice and made a shiver run down Anna's spine. She felt Elsa's hand tense for a moment, but then it relaxed. She rubbed smooth circles around the spot that Anna had missed. "There, see. That wasn't so bad. It's good to have human interaction every one and a while Ms. Ice Queen."
Elsa pulled her hand away. Anna could read nothing on the Elsa's perfect face but she knew, somewhere deep inside, Elsa was lost in deep thought. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Anna said. "I'm just still all worked up because of the meetings and now that they're over, I guess I don't really know where all this energy is supposed to go and so sometimes when I'm like that I lash out at people, even people that I…" her voice trailed off. Elsa stood in the room, biting her lip. She held her elbow in her hand. She looked so… small in the room. Anna grabbed both Elsa's hands in hers. "Look at me." Elsa looked up. Their eyes met. "I'm really, really sorry. I honestly didn't mean it." Anna said, squeezing Elsa's hand. Elsa just nodded. They just stood together for a moment. Elsa's gaze fell down to their hands.
Anna watched her. Elsa was wearing the same style skirt that she wore the entire time she had seen her, although she must've changed. Her outfit wasn't black like the other ones. This one was light blue contrasted by a black top and a jacket the same color as the skirt. Wait, why wasn't she wearing a bathing suit.
"Hey, aren't you going to put a bathing suit on?" Anna said, yanking Elsa out of her thoughts.
"I don't think that would be proper in this particular situation."
"And why not?" Elsa paused. She did that a lot.
"I am your head of security and maintenance of an aura of professionalism around a client allows for the best levels of communication."
"Elsa, relax, alright? We're on a tropical island! Look around you, there's sand and beaches, and sun. I mean how often do you get to see stuff like this?" Anna gestured around her room.
"Every moment I am not on guard is an opportune moment for-"
"Elsa, enough of this. Enough of the rules, they're all bullshit in one way or another. Please, who else am I going to swim with?"
"I am not swimming."
"Please, just this once? Come on, I'll be so bored."
"No."
"Fine." Anna said, crossing her arms. "If you won't wear a bathing suit and you won't swim, then at least get rid of the security guards on the beach." Elsa hesitated.
"I can't do that either. I refuse to jeopardize your safety."
"Oh come on. Seriously? The beach is like 10 feet away from the cabin. There is no one around for miles. Who the hell is going to try and abduct me here? Huh?" Elsa stared back at her. "See, no one. So no security." Elsa still didn't reply. "Please? It's Elsa day not Elsa plus a million security guards day." Elsa sighed.
"Fine."
"Yes!" Anna shouted. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. You won't be disappointed. Don't worry nothing will happen we'll just have a ton of fun." Anna bolted out the door, Elsa in tow.
"Come on!" Anna called out. She already ran past the beach and was now knee deep in the ocean. Elsa stood on the beach with her arms crossed. A few beach chairs that they had found in the cabin littered the beach, it looked like some of the security team members, who were now evacuating the beach, had been using them. Anna looked back at Elsa. "Come on in."
"I am perfectly fine from here." Elsa said. Elsa stood a few feet away from the water, donning an umbrella to block the sun. Where the hell did she get that thing?
"How are you going to protect me from the sharks?" Anna said.
"I'm sure the sharks will not bother you with the amount of sunscreen you put on."
"Hey, sunburns are no joke." Anna said, "Will you at least come in the water a little bit? It's no fun out here by myself."
"It has become apparent to me that I don't understand what fun is so I doubt I can be of any help."
"Come on then, I'll teach you." Elsa paused for a moment, her head tilted slightly to one side.
"I don't know if that's appropriate." Elsa said.
"Oh just come on. The water is great. It'll be fine. I'm sure your totally hip and cool boss, which is me, will approve. You'll love it, trust me." Elsa still remained frozen on the beach. "Fine, I didn't want to do this but as your boss, I command you to come in the water right now." Elsa smiled. She took her shoes off and entered the water but stopped when she was only ankle deep.
"There." Elsa said. "I'm in the water. Now can we go back on shore?"
"Shore? You practically are on shore, come over by me." Elsa took a couple more steps. The water was mid-way up her shin but she was still over 15 feet away from Anna.
"I think this is an adequate distance."
"Over by me." Anna motioned Elsa closer.
"But the sharks" Elsa said smiling. Anna laughed as Elsa took a few more steps forward.
"There, that's better isn't it?" Anna said.
"Not particularly."
"What do you mean? Don't you feel inspired, awe struck, ecstatic, being in the presence of me?" Anna struck a star pose.
"I think you are getting yourself confused with someone else." Anna mocked a face of offence and splashed water at Elsa.
Elsa recoiled from the water, lowering her umbrella. Her jaw dropped. Anna laughed at the expression on Elsa's face. All traces of professionalism from her face was gone. Anna bent over from laughter.
"Did you just?" Elsa began.
"Oh yeah, I definitely did." Anna said between laughs. She was almost in tears.
"I would not advise splashing your fully clothed head of security. You have no idea what she is capable of."
"It was your fault you didn't want to put a bathing suit on"
Anna splashed her again, laughing. Elsa looked down at her wet clothes then back up at Anna. When Anna finished laughing she looked up at Elsa. Her expression of shock gone, now replaced with something else. Vengeance.
"Hey, let's not do anything rash here."
Elsa rolled her sleeves up. Anna put her own hands up defensively taking steps backwards.
"We were just messing around, no need to go crazy on me." Elsa was right in front of her. She felt Elsa's arms sweep underneath her and pick her up. She was then thrown into the air before plunging completely underwater.
Anna bolted upright out of the water, sitting with her arms behind her to support. Elsa stood a few feet away. She was shaking, no, she was laughing. Uncontrollably laughing. She tried to cover it with her hand but was failing. Her laughter was something to behold. Anna had never seen her laugh this hard. It reminded her of wind chimes, although that couldn't make any sense. How could someone's laugh be like a wind chime? Nevertheless the metaphor made sense to Anna.
"You think that's funny huh?" Anna stood up.
"Yes. Yes, I do. I think I understand this 'fun' thing now."
"Oh you do, do ya?" Anna pushed a wave of water in Elsa's direction. Elsa used her umbrella to block it.
"Is that the best you can do?" Elsa teased. Anna circled her. The umbrella followed as a shield. Anna unleashed a torrent of splashes. She splashed to the right, to the left, and directly in front of her. Some of the splashes she made by smashing her arms down in front of her, which succeeded in getting herself wet. Anna stopped satisfied that Elsa had to be soaked.
Elsa moved the umbrella up, revealing her. She was almost dry except for the splashes Anna landed earlier. Elsa pretended to inspect her nails, uninterested.
"You are not very good at this." Elsa said back to her emotionless voice. Anna charged at her. The two collided with a mighty thump and a splash of water. Anna tackled Elsa to the ground, reaching for the umbrella. Elsa managed to keep her head above water with one hand, the other kept the umbrella away. Elsa was still laughing. Anna pushed Elsa's head underwater, using it as leverage to get closer to the umbrella. Even so, it stayed out of reach. When Anna released her head, Elsa came up for air, but her expression had changed. Panic? As always, Anna couldn't completely tell, but it definitely was something she recognized.
Elsa was no longer underneath her. She saw a blur of motion and then Elsa's hands grabbed her shoulders and she was thrust underwater. At first she it was fun. After a few seconds Anna tried to get up, but Elsa kept her down. She tried again then she realized something was wrong. Elsa's grip was too rough. Her fingers dug into Anna's shoulders. Bubbles escaped her mouth as she screamed at Elsa.
Anna started to panic. She pushed with her legs, trying to get a hold on something, anything. She flailed her arms around. Elsa was bigger, stronger, and more experienced than her. More bubbles escaped her as she screamed. For help? She didn't know. She felt her body weakening. She felt the edges of her blurred underwater vision begin to fade to black.
She was above again. She leaned over, coughing up water, gasping for breath.
"Anna, I am so sorry." She heard Elsa say.
"What," breath, "the fuck," breath, "was that?"
"Anna. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Didn't mean to what?" Anna said, regaining her breath. "Try and fucking kill me?" She stood up and wiped sand from her knees. "Jesus Christ."
Anna stormed off the beach leaving Elsa sitting in the water alone. Anna started making her way back to the cabin but just before she was out of earshot she turned back. "Just when I start to..." her angry face contorted to sadness. Her eyes welled up with tears as she turned back and ran into cabin.
What is wrong with me? Elsa thought.
She looked down at her hands. She hadn't been wearing her gloves. Why wasn't she wearing her gloves? Tears pricked her eyes. She didn't think she was capable of crying anymore. She couldn't even remember the last time she cried, well, the last time she cried. Inside a movie theater was different. Inside a theater she was crying for Westley or Elliot, she rarely ever cried for herself.
She had let Anna down again, which she had vowed never to do. Once again, she failed. Completely and utterly. She had just tried to kill her client, but then again, in this particular instance, that fact wasn't what bothered her most.
For a few short moments she felt normal. Anna had made her feel normal. Anna. The person she just tried to kill. The person who moments ago smelled like sunscreen and summer, the person who was warm to the touch and had a bubbly excitement she couldn't contain. Anna, who didn't deserve to be terrified by Elsa. That's what bothered her most, she had just tried to kill Anna.
Elsa considered running off. That might be the best course of action at this point. They had only known each other for less than a week and already she had almost killed Anna not once, but twice.
Why wasn't I wearing gloves? It was an oversight on her part. She was sure she was wearing them at the mall. When had she taken them off? She couldn't think straight. I shouldn't even had stepped in the water in the first place.
The initially warm inviting water felt cold and she sat, wallowing in it. She deserved it. She almost wished a shark would come up and eat her right now.
Sharks. Anna was afraid sharks. When Anna said she was scared of them Elsa thought it was so… funny. She didn't find things funny anymore but somehow Anna brought those feelings back. How could I have crushed that? It was all her fault. I'm vile. I'm horrid. I'm disgusting. The urge to cry was even stronger now.
Elsa shifted her body around so she faced the open sea. She couldn't have anyone see her like this. You're an emotionless robot. You're a monster. You're an Ice Queen. She could hear the comments in her head, unraveling her mind. She checked behind her to see if anyone was there. The beach was completely empty. Anna must've gone inside. She looked back out at the ocean. A tear ran down her cheek. Then another, and another and another. They wouldn't stop. Years of pent up emotion released itself. Elsa rested her arms on her knees and buried her head in the crook of her elbow and sobbed. Why am I crying?
Elsa had seen some terrible things in life she lived. She'd seen people blown apart, stabbed, and shot. She herself had been shot and stabbed numerous times. She'd lost people she had worked with for years but she never cried about them. Few things hurt this much. But why? That was the question burning in Elsa's mind. It etched itself somewhere deep inside.
Because Anna is your friend. Elsa thought.
Although that couldn't have been true. For starters, she had only known Anna for a week and now Anna hated her entire being. She had only a limited amount of interactions with Anna. Only a handful were actually worth remembering and two of them involved Elsa hurting her. Even though she knew most things about the past week we not worth remember, she remembered every second. All the same, Elsa couldn't help but feel the companionship she felt around Anna.
Then why couldn't Elsa control herself? She had kept her instinctual outbursts down to a minimum before meeting Anna. She didn't have any loss of control for almost 3 years. Then Anna waltzed into her life and she couldn't control it.
Anna who wasn't afraid of her reputation, who talked to her for more than 5 minutes, who despite almost being killed by Elsa, still continued to talk to her. Well, that wasn't true either. Anna had to talk to Elsa. After all, Elsa was her head of security. It would be strange if Anna didn't talk to her. Anna didn't like her, she couldn't. She only needed Elsa. Elsa was a a tool in Anna's tool belt. Elsa was just another security guard on just another day in Anna's life.
Elsa gripped herself tighter. Her crying had slowed. She wasn't sobbing anymore but a few tears still escaped her. She had to get herself together. She sat up, pushing the tears out of her face. There was no doubt that her eyes were red. She'd just pretend it was the salt from the ocean. She had to make it up to Anna. Had to. Failure here wasn't an option. Maybe they could go see another movie again, just too smooth things over, she thought. How is that going to fix anything? Elsa thought. She stood up and started walking towards the beach. She needed to get even. This was all her fault. Everything. Her. Fault.
After getting to the beach she picked a direction. East. She decided at random and began walking down the beach. She'd need to get an adequate distance away, she didn't want anyone seeing her.
Despicable, revolting, awful, inhuman.
Those words rung in her head on an eternal loop. Somewhere deep inside her she knew they were right. She didn't want to and knew that she shouldn't believe them but she couldn't help it. How else could someone describe Elsa? No one ever used a positive adjective to describe her.
Hideous, repulsive, gross, horrid, rotten.
Elsa had made it a fair ways down the beach. She stopped walking and turned to face the jungle. She walked over to a nearby tree trunk protruding from the ground. By the looks of it, it was a palm tree. She clenched her fist and punched. First with one fist, then with the other. She continued punching one after the other.
Dreadful, wicked, useless, unimportant.
The words faded into the background as they were replaced with pain. The tree thudded at a constant tempo with the beat of her fists. Thud thud thud thud. She felt the skin around her knuckles begin to crack. Warm blood oozed out of them. Thud thud thud thud. She felt her bones in her hands strain under the physical barrage. Thud. Thud. Thud. The noises slowed to a stop. She looked at her hands. They were already beginning to swell. She was bleeding from several small scratches. She could see small blotches of blood imprinted in the shape of her knuckles on the tree. I deserve this. She thought. I deserve this. She turned around, flexing and relaxing her hands, feeling the pain.
She meandered along the beach towards the cabin. The sun was low in the sky now and cast reds and oranges over the dark blue ocean and into the sky. Somewhere in the distance a bird cawed. Her eyes felt heavy. It had been a long day, much longer than she had anticipated. She walked onto the porch and stood by the slider door. She hoped, no, wished, Anna wasn't inside. She slid the door open. The door to Anna's room was closed. Thank god.
Elsa slid the door shut behind her and walked into the bathroom to asses her wounds. The bathroom was small, smaller than she anticipated but it would do the job. A cabinet mirror hung on the wall, just above the sink. The sink had a little extra counter space to the side. Next to that, a toilet and then a full shower with a bathtub.
She turned the tap water on and let it run. Looking at her hands, she had done less damage than she thought but still a sizeable amount. Her knuckles were beginning to bruise up now. She pulled a bit of bark out from between her middle and ring knuckle. She let out a small gasp of pain and gritted her teeth. I deserve this. She ran her knuckles under the water. She cleaned the smears of blood off the best she could but she was still bleeding so it wasn't perfect.
She opened the mirror cabinet, relieved to find a first aid kit. She set it on the counter and ripped it open. After a long period of applying ointments and bandages, along with a few muttered swear words, Elsa's knuckles were dressed. Her fists looked like a boxer's, wrapped and ready to fight. Minus the blood that was permeating though the bandages.
Elsa yawned and covered her mouth with one hand. She walked out in the living room and rearranged a few pillows on the couch before laying down. The couch was wicker with a thin amount of cushioning underneath it, not meant to sleep on. She could already feel the pressure of it on her shoulder. She looked around for a blanket but couldn't find one. Then again, after the fiasco with Anna, a blanket wasn't justified. I deserve this was her last thought before sleep engulfed her.