A/N: Alright guys, starting to get really close to the wire here. I know for a fact that this story WILL have an epilogue. Counting that epilogue, there's only about 2-4 chapters left depending on how much I write. The next chapter will be the party (The party Aleks references at the end of the chapter is a different one), and depending on how many words I get down, it might be split into more than one chapter.
Like always, I'd like to thank you all for the continued support and patience and reiterate that constructive criticism is always welcomed. Ultimately it's my decision on how the story goes and progresses, but I love reading y'alls comments on what you do or don't like.
Enjoy!
After managing to finally open the door with her shaky hands, Elsa shut it behind her as she strode toward the couch, taking off her reading glasses and stuffing them in her purse as she set it on the coffee table. After she seated herself, she shut her eyes and began to rub her temples. After abruptly leaving Rapunzel when Anna texted her, she practically ran across the campus back to her dorm room. She felt every pulse of her veins as her quickened heart continued to rush blood throughout her body. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she reached back to pull her phone out of her back pocket. She could vaguely make out her shaking reflection through the blank screen.
'I think I know where your powers come from!'
The read over the text from her girlfriend time and time again in her head throughout her trip back to her room, and even now. Elsa honestly had no clue what to make of it. On one hand, Anna has been known to exaggerate a few things. It could just be her usual quirky self coming up with little ideas in her own fantasy in the middle of class. Or, what scared Elsa and made her more nervous, was that there was an actual explanation for her deformity. She never wondered where they came from, and never really cared to know. They were as much a part of her as the thoughts in her head. Anna, I really hope this isn't a joke. Because it isn't a funny one. She had always just accepted her powers for what they were, regardless if they made her different and how ostracized they made her feel. Finally exhaling her breath and steeling herself the best she could, she unlocked her phone and opened up the Skype app as she ran her hand through her hair. She hit the call button, Anna being the only one in her contact list.
Almost immediately, the redhead's smiling face appeared on the screen. Although her head took up the majority of the screen, Elsa noticed shelves lined with meticulously stacked books behind her. Anna waved at her briefly with another smile as she turned her head. "Jane! Come tell the story you told me to Elsa!"
Feeling her stomach twist and turn into knots, Elsa immediately imagined the worse. Does she know? "Anna, did yo-" She began in a strained whisper, before being cut off from a separate voice on Anna's end.
"Okay, but I really don't understand your fascination with this little tale." Came a voice which Elsa assumed was Jane due to the feminine tone and the British accent. Her assumption was correct as Anna slid to the side slightly to make room as Jane sat down beside her. She scrunched her eyebrows as she adjusted the camera on her end, before smiling and playfully giving Anna a light shove. "You're right! She is pretty!" Jane commented in a jovial tone, looking back toward the camera as Elsa covered her mouth and tried to contain her blush.
"Would I lie to you?" Anna retorted in a faux accent, turning back to Elsa with another grin as Jane rolled her eyes. "Elsa, this is Jane Porter. Artist, historian, sipper of tea, and baker of crumpets." Anna joked as Jane bowed her head, pushing back her brown hair that she kept in a bun.
"I'll have you know it's a national tragedy to skip out on tea and crumpets here in London." Jane retorted with a grin.
"And this-" Anna began, gesturing toward Elsa. "Is Elsa Delle. Future architect, a big ol' nerd, and most importantly, the one who stole my heart." She paused for a quick moment to wink at Elsa. "And my virginity."
"Anna!" Elsa exclaimed, her face growing more and more red by the second as a grin grew across her face from ear to ear. "You have to give me a warning if that's the way you're going to introduce me!"
After a quick chuckle, Jane's eyes shot between Anna and Elsa before leaning on her elbow and scratching the back of her head. "That's all good, but which one of you was on top?" She asked innocently with a smile.
Elsa rolled her eyes, allowing herself to relax a bit as she leaned into the couch. "Why does everybody ask that? Jasmine, Kristoff, Rapunzel, Merida-"
"Would you mean Merida DunBroch?" Jane butted in with a wide-eyed stare.
"Yes?" Elsa hesitantly answered.
"I'm well acquainted with her cousins the Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dungwall families." She scoffed with a small grin and shook her head. "A few of them are real cabbages, a little arse backwards if you ask me. But good people nonetheless." She commented, clearing her throat and brushing back her hair again. "But you want to hear about this story that Anna here is all a fuss about, don't you?"
Elsa shrugged and tried to play off her nervousness. "If Anna is excited about it, it must be pretty interesting." She commented, looking over toward Anna and returned the smile she had plastered on her face.
"Okay, well, there's a little backstory to it." Jane began, clearing her throat again. "When I picked up Anna here at the airport, I asked her about her last name of Aren. After asking about a few of her relatives, the growing suspicion I had about her family tree bore fruit so to speak. And as it turns out, you and her are related!"
Elsa shook her head, eyes widening as she could feel her heart fall in her chest. "What?" She asked bluntly, looking back over toward Anna for any kind of reassurance. She offered only a shrug in response.
"But don't worry. You two are like, seventh cousins. Barely any blood in common, if any at all." She continued, much to Elsa's relief. "But you and I, Elsa, are second cousins."
"What?" Elsa repeated again, dumbfounded that she could have any relatives who would still claim her as family.
"Your father, Adgar Delle, is my great uncle." Jane continued to explain, a large grin stretched across her face. "Did he tell you anything about his much older sister?"
"No?" Elsa replied. Thinking back, she couldn't remember her father mentioning any family outside of the immediate household. If anything, Edgar may as well been a part of her family. "I'm sorry, Jane. But, my father never mentioned any kind of siblings."
Jane waved her hand and shook her head. "Well, that's alright. He had a sister about thirty years his elder named Agnis. By the time your father was born, she was already married with child. That child being my father, Archimedes Q Porter."
"So we're really related, huh?" Elsa asked, trying to process this information that she was just given. Before today, she assumed that she and Aleks were the last two in their family since their father never mentioned anyone else. She didn't really know how to feel, but she knew that a part of her was excited with this new knowledge. Periodically looking back at Anna, she was surprised to find her as silent as she was. Every so often, she'd play with the ends of her pigtails or nod along with what Jane was saying.
"But there's so much more! When I was digging through our family trees, I found one of my father's old history books that focused on the Scandinavian region during the Dark Ages. There are very few records of this time, and even fewer of this kingdom that I traced the bloodlines through. The past couple of nights I've been up until four or five in the morning chasing strings on this wild goose chase. But, it turns out, I managed to find these records." She stood up and turned toward the shelves behind her. After a short period, she bent over and stood back up carrying a book which was probably as thick as her forearm. Returning to the camera, she sat back down and placed the book with a dull thud onto the table. "Of the kingdom of, get this-" She looked over toward Anna for a brief moment before returning her gaze back at Elsa. "Arendelle! Literally you and Anna's last names squished together! They were led jointly by two families. The Aren's and the Delle's each had a king on the throne that ruled with equal power."
Anna nodded, pulling the book over to her side and started to flip through the pages. "Weird, right Els? Well, not weird I guess. It's actually pretty cool. But that's not the exciting part that I texted you about earlier!"
Pulling the book back from Anna, Jane began to run her fingers over the pages. "They were one of the last remaining pagan people in old Scandinavia when Christianity began to spread through Eurpoe."
Elsa shook her head and tried to collect her thoughts, readjusting herself on the couch and absentmindedly began to twirl the ends of her braid with her free hand. "How long did that last though?" She asked, already forming different theories in her mind of how that related to her and her powers.
"Well, pagans were known to have different deities for many different things." Jane began, flipping through the dated pages before landing on a specific page, drumming her fingers on it. "Gods of the sky, land, fertility, livestock, etcetera. But there is this myth, an extremely old folktale, that the pagan gods of these people were actually living, breathing people capable of controlling the world around them. But, when Christianity finally found itself taking root in the populace, the people started to turn on their own gods. Claiming them heretics and blasphemers as they set out with a goal to kill them." Running her fingers over the page as she read, the flipped the page and nodded. "But the part Anna was so interested apart is when they set out on killing one of their primordial deities, the goddess of winter who was claimed to have the power of ice and snow and all of its fury at her fingertips."
Anna nodded, running her eyes over the pages as she glanced over Jane's shoulder and periodically looking back up at Elsa. "She was the last one they managed to kill." She muttered under her breath, but still loud enough that Elsa picked it up.
"Right." Jane began. "But before they struck her down, she swore with her dying breath that she will live on. She cursed that whomever struck the final blow would see her reborn as the firstborn daughter of every new generation in that cursed bloodline-"
Elsa's eyes widened as she cut Jane off. "And it was the Delle king who struck the final blow." She muttered.
"Actually, the story doesn't say who actually killed her. How do you know that, Elsa?" Jane asked as she shut the book and pushed it aside.
Shaking her head, Elsa waved her off and smiled. "I-I'm just making an assumption. " She lied, knowing very well it was more than an assumption. "But tell me, Jane, if only the firstborn daughter of the generation would be cursed, wouldn't that mean you're the reborn goddess?"
"No, actually. I'm too far from the original bloodline. My grandmother only had one child, and that was my father. He would have been close enough but he isn't female. Obviously." She shrugged. "But these are just old stories from an ancient kingdom long since passed. And that actually concludes all of my knowledge on Arendelle, however I do know a lot about our family trees. Like Rapunzel, for instance. She's Anna's first cousin, but through her great grandmother, she's my third cousin which makes her your fourth cousin." She exemplified with a large grin.
Elsa chuckled and offered a small smile in response, her mind otherwise occupied by the old story. The fact that not only she's supposedly a pagan goddess reborn, but the fact that there have obviously been other people that bore the same powers she does. And not only that, but the very odds that both her and Aleks being twins, were both technically the first born of the generation and as such both 'gifted'. A part of her immediately wanted to tell her twin this knowledge that she was just told. That, although far-fetched, there's an actual reason as to why they're so different from anyone else. Amidst her own thoughts, she didn't notice that Anna was trying to get her attention from the other side of the screen. When she finally did, she shook her head again and beamed at the redhead. "I expected much worse, Anna." She admitted once she realized Jane wasn't next to Anna anymore.
"What do you mean?" She asked with a grin, holding her head in her hands. "That there'd be some ancient prophecy that results in your death in some kind of 'sword sacrifice'?"
"Well, no." She replied with a small chuckle. "But I was nervous. I still am, in a way. If the entire bloodline thing turns out to be the truth, it has a lot of implications."
"That some of your distant ancestors were actually ancient X-Men?" Anna joked, successfully coaxing a small smile from the blonde.
"Well, no. But that maybe Aleks and I aren't just freaks of nature and that other people had these abilities and similar hardships that we have because of them." She shrugged. "It's kind of comforting in a strange way."
"Also, it turns out that you have more family than you thought you did! Although she isn't a part of your immediately family, you still have strong ties with Jane!" Anna added in an excited tone, stretching out her hands for emphasis.
"You're right." Elsa admitted with a nod. "Although I knew my father wasn't born in the States, I never really thought about the possibility of having family overseas." She brought her hand up to her face, placing her index finger between her teeth. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she didn't know her father as well as she thought. Even before the death of her mother, he never really spoke about his own personal life. If he did, she was much too young to remember any of it. She just preferred to remember him as the man he used to be before the cruise. As she was about to open her mouth to say something, she glanced Anna absentmindedly running her middle finger over her collarbone. Despite the relatively small screen, she was still able to barely make out a few of the red marks around her girlfriend's neck that hadn't quite fully healed from the night before she left. "What are you doing, Anna?" She asked innocently after she removed her knuckle from between her teeth.
Anna slightly jumped as she immediately pulled her hand back and slowly shook her head. "Oh, nothing. You just look really good at that angle." She admitted shyly, a blush starting to spread across her cheeks. "Well, I mean you always look good but I mean… damn. Reminds me of the night before I left after we got out of the shower for the second time and I tripped and fell onto the bed, but dragged you with me and I think I'll just be quiet now."
"Anna." Elsa stated with a coy giggle, remembering the exact moment that Anna was talking about. The memory of which caused her to shift uncomfortably in her seat. "I'm sure you don't want to give yourself the same problem you had this morning."
Anna groaned. "You're right. The professor was talking about the broken window fallacy and all I could think about was vagina." She shrugged. "Specifically yours." Clearing her throat, her eyes darted in every which way before nodding to herself. "And you know, I never got to take care of that issue."
"Well, do you have any more classes for the day? Maybe you can just slip away for a few minutes." Elsa suggested with a small shrug of her own.
"Nah, and I probably could. But I think I'll hold off until I get back home." She leaned forward until she was awkwardly close to the camera and Elsa could see little more than her large aquamarine eyes. "Then I'm going to ravage you until you're begging for mercy. Then I'll sit on your face."
Elsa scoffed and let out a tiny giggle. "Ravage, huh? You're such a charmer, Ms. Aren."
Anna winked before backing away from the camera. "I've actually been trying to learn my way with the lingo over here. I ordered french fries this morning and the server looked at me funny. Jane had to tell me that they're called 'chips' in the UK. But then I asked her what do they call chips, and she said that they called them 'crisps' and that all just sound really silly and unnecessary to me. I mean, sure, they're crispy and all but that isn't really their namesake." She let out her breath with a huff and rolled her eyes. "Brits are weird, Elsa."
Aleks pushed past Hans as she strode through the door, feeling the door slam shortly afterward. Grabbing at her hair, she brushed it back briefly before sitting down on the couch and crossing her legs. Watching Hans open the door and slam it again behind him, he took his wallet out of his back pocket and tossed it, hitting the wall behind Aleks. "It's total bullshit, Hans." She accused curtly, crossing her arms over her chest and digging her nails into her arms.
"You're right, it is total bullshit. You fucking embarrassed me in front of some of my closest friends." He retorted, picking his wallet off of the floor only to toss it across the room again. This time, it hit a cup in the kitchen as glass shattered against the floor.
With a scoff, Aleks rolled her eyes. "No, Hans. You did that. There was no way in hell I was going to give you a fucking lap dance at some bullshit party when half of your so called "friends" were trying to grope me." She stated, scoffing again as she stood up from the couch and started to make her way toward the door. She didn't make it very far before she felt Hans grab her by the wrist.
"Where the hell are you going?" He demanded, tugging on her wrist until he managed to grab a hold of the other one too.
"I'm going back to the campus, Hans. To go the fuck to bed." She spat in response, glaring at Hans as his green eyes bore into her. "I'd appreciate it if you'd let me go, this hurts."
With a half-smile, Hans twirled her around and gently pushed her against the wall. "Now why would you do that, babe?" He whispered, placing a kiss on Aleks' forehead.
Smelling the alcohol on his breath, Aleks' stomach started to turn as she grimaced. "Because apparently since I'm such a damn embarrassment, I'm getting away from you while you sober up." She retorted and attempted to push Hans off of her, only to have him push her against the wall a bit harder.
"You don't have to go back to your dorm to go to bed; I've got one right here." He whispered again, tightening his grip on her wrists as he lowered his head and placed another kiss on her cheek.
Fed up with the different frustrations throughout the day and the degradation of the night, it all started to hit her as tears started to collect around her eyes. She tried again to get out from under Hans, but he nearly had his entire weight on her at this point. "Damnit, Hans! Just let me go!" She pleaded, voice cracking as she felt a tear fall from the corner of her eye.
"Come on babe, what are you? A-"
"A monster, Hans? Is that what I am?" She muttered, clenching her fists and digging her nails into her palms.
"What do you mean?" Hans asked, low and gravely, lowering his head again to kiss her on the neck. "I've never called you a monster."
"Don't play those fucking game-"
"It's everyone else who thinks you're a monster." He commented, trailing kisses across her neck. "Punching Anna in the face, pushing away your sister, killing your father."
Aleks felt his scruff scratch her neck as he shook his head. "You know damn well why I did the things I've done." She admitted as another tear trailed its way down the side of her face.
"And despite all of that, I still love you."