Okay, here's the next chapter. I think we got a bit of a rough start so this chapter will be a bit more gentle. To be honestly I felt so bad for Elsa that I was tempted to give her super strength so she could beat her monster of a stepfather up :)
Enjoy!
Elsa woke up around three AM to the worst agony she had ever felt. She whimpered when she tried to move and tears started to form in her eyes. Her back was burning, her arms and legs were numb and her face stung like a hundred bees had just attacked her. She looked down at herself and found her naked body covered in blood and purple bruises with sizes like grape fruits. She cried in what seemed like forever before she finally got on her feet (with slight difficulty) and hobbled out to the bathroom. When she saw her reflection in the mirror she froze into a new state of shock and after that she had a panic attack. The right side of her upper lip, her left cheek, and her left eye were swollen and there were nasty blue and purple color printed almost everywhere on her face. How am I to cover this?! Every one will know tomorrow! He'll kill me! I better stay home… But I can't, it's only my second day in school, people will wonder where that weird girl is… Another tear fell from her eye and her cheek was damp.
She stepped sobbing into the shower where she washed off the dried blood. She merely couldn't touch herself without feeling an intense pain. It was easier to cry in the hot water and Elsa let all her tears out. When she was finished, she dried her body slowly because the pain didn't allow her to be fast. She dried her hair with another towel, brushed it, and braided it into a side braid. The blonde found some stronger painkillers which she took. She smeared her entire body in some aloe vera ointment and wrapped bandages around the worst wounds. Then she wrapped a towel around her body and hobbled out to the fridge where she found a bag of frozen peas. She brought the back into the the kitchen where she found a tea towel that she wrapped around the bag of frozen peas. Then she hobbled back to her bed and laid on her back, groaning in agony. She relaxed a bit when she let the bag of peas, wrapped in the tea towel, cover her whole face and soon everything went black.
The alarm clock rang loudly and Elsa moaned exhausted as she turned back to the cruel reality. She took away the now lukewarm and soaked bag of peas from her face. I can't do it today, I can't do it today! I can't go to school! But then I'm forced to stay here the rest of the day with Derek… The last thought made her get up and limp to the bathroom. Her face was less swollen now but the bruises still looked horrible. She tried to cover them gently with her make up to avoid too much pain. She had to use a lot of powder to hide her black eye and just to be safe she covered the other eye in black eye shadow. Once she was satisfied with the result she went back to her room (still hobbling) and found a light blue long sleeved T-shirt and a pair of high waist boyfriend jeans, which she had inherited from her mother. She had used them in the eighties when she was about Elsa's age, and Elsa loved them. They were her favorite pair of jeans.
After her mother died in a tragic car crash when Elsa was about sixteen years old, the blonde would (when her stepfather wasn't home) find comfort in pulling out all of her mother's clothes and cover up in them. The smell was still there and she'd imagine her mother lying beside her and console her. But her mother wouldn't be there, whenever Derek got mad at her and convince him to stay away from her daughter, anymore. He was so in love with her mother that she only had to threat him that she would leave him if he hurt her daughter and then he would calm down and apologize. But he had never had sympathy with Elsa. He had told her just after her mother's funeral that she reminded him all the time that her mother had someone else in her life once and he couldn't stand that. But her real father had left her mother without knowing she was pregnant. And since no one knew where he was and she hadn't any family left he had to let her stay with him. So he soothed himself by making her his new housemaid and punchbag.
"Elsa? Are you awake?" Elsa opened her eyes up half and her vision was blurry. She blinked a few times and found herself in her class room with everyone's eyes on her. She sat up straight and cleared her throat while blushing furiously. "S-sorry, can you repeat the question p-please?" Ariel looked concerned when she said, "Can we talk? Outside?" The blonde felt her heart beat as fast as a rapid's. "O-of course." She got up and hobbled outside the classroom with her classmates' eyes on her. Ariel noticed the limping and exclaimed concerned, "Oh dear, what happened to you?"Elsa's eyes shot up in fear as she replied stuttering, "N-nothing! I-I-I just… I just fell down the stairs when I got home yesterday, it's nothing really!" Ariel narrowed her eyes slightly. It was obvious she didn't believe a single word the blonde had spoken. But she shrugged it of to Elsa's relief. "Okay," the redhead said. "But I trust you to tell me if I'm doing something wrong in my methods of teaching." Elsa blinked twice in confusion. "W-what?" "Oh I just supposed since you told me that nothing was wrong with you, then it's my fault that you are not paying attention and doze off to sleep in my classes." Ariel spoke and for the first time Elsa saw her strict expression. "N-no! Please it's not you, it was me! I guess I just didn't sleep very well tonight…" Well that's true for sure. You slept like hell last night. "I really love your classes, Miss. They are my favorite!"She couldn't help but grin and blush like a maniac when she said it. A smile spread on the teacher's face and her eyes softened. "Please Elsa, just call me Ariel. And I'm glad you like my classes. Let's go inside again, let me help you." Ariel supported Elsa when going back into the room and everyone's attention turned towards the two women once more.
Ariel stopped her baby sister after class. "Can I talk to you? It won't be more than a minute." Anna shrugged confused, "Well okay, what's going on?" Ariel waited for the last student to leave the room before she locked the door and spoke, "Can you do me a favor?" Anna nodded still wondering what was bugging her sister. "Can you please go and talk to Elsa? I'm a bit afraid that she hasn't got any friends." Anna shrugged, "Of course I can do that, sis. But last time I tried to be friendly and start a conversation, she closed off just like a shell. It was like she didn't want to talk to anyone. But I can try again if you really want me to." Ariel nodded, "It would be nice if you would, there's just something about her…" Anna eyebrows furrowed at the realization she just got. "Oh yeah, she is very beautiful and clever and mysterious…" She blinked playfully at her sister. Ariel blushed furiously, "Anna! That was not what I meant!"Anna only merely held back a laughter when she saw her sister's embarrassment. "Oh, it's okay. I understand. The teacher student relationship is a classic and I must admit if I were gay the two of us would be fighting to win this girl's heart." Ariel rolled her eyes. "Anna, just because I actually care for my student's wellbeing, doesn't mean that I'm in love with them! I… I just have an uneasy feeling about this girl." Anna's smile grew bigger as she held her playful expression. "Yeah, I bet this uneasy feeling won't go away until I invite her for a slumber party in our apartment and force her to wear the most exposing tiny dress you could dream of!" If possible Ariels face grew even redder and almost matched the color of her hair. Anna couldn't hold back the laughter anymore and since it was her own snorting exploding laugh, Ariel couldn't help but laugh either. Once both of them finally calmed down Anna said while gasping for air, "I…"gasp"shall do my…"gasp"best to…"gasp"win her over." Ariel smiled gratefully, "Thank you, no one has ever resisted your charm, Anna. You could make the most impossible person in the world smile."
Elsa sat in the corner of the cafeteria and ate her lunch in peace. She had bought a salad because everything else wasn't vegetarian friendly. But the peace didn't last forever and suddenly she saw the strawberry blonde girl from yesterday sitting opposite her. It's Ariel's baby sister! But what does she want with me? She must think I'm biggest loser on the planet, the way I acted yesterday. But Elsa was wrong. "Hi, Elsa!" The freckled girl said smiling widely and startled the blonde. She choked on her salad and the redhead jumped up and tried to help the poor girl by knocking on her back. This caused the blonde to scream in pain and fall to the floor. "Oh my God!" Anna exclaimed in utter concern. "Elsa are you all right?!" Elsa sniffled and tried her best not to cry, "Y-yeah, I-I'm fine! Excuse me!" She got up and started to hobble away from the redhead. But Anna ran towards her and grabbed her side to support her. "Elsa you need to get crutches if you have gotten a sprain." Elsa bit her lip and nodded. "So," Anna said smiling once more. "Where would you like to go?" To a faraway land where no one will ever find or hurt me again. "I was just on my way to the ladies room…" Elsa mumbled. "Okay," Anna exclaimed happily. "Let me help you get there, it's the least I can do since I caused you this pain." Elsa's eyes widened and she shook her head violently. "No, no, no, no, no, no! It wasn't your fault, it was… it was my own fault, you really don't have to follow me…" The redhead gave her a warm smile, "I insist," she said with her puppy eyes and Elsa sighed defeated.
Because she knew Anna was standing just outside the toilet, Elsa cried in silence. She took off her T-shirt and watched her back from the mirror. The old scars were deep and some places were beginning to open up to a new wound. Crimson red liquid dripped from them and made a stain on the floor which Elsa immediately cleaned up after wrapping toilet paper around the wound. She made sure that no one would notice that she had cried and then she went out to the freckled girl on the other side of the door. "Are you okay?" Anna asked concerned. Elsa smiled weakly, "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry."