Frozen

The dragon Princess

Chapter 2

The night after she had eavesdropped on her sister and parents Ann knocked on Elsa's door and asked her if she wanted to play. She knew Elsa wouldn't answer, but she also knew it would cheer her sister up. After that she went off with her book and studied. After her change she had come to the conclusion that her book was telling the truth, that she could become a dragon and that she could use magic. Her first instinct should have been to tell her parents, she knew that, but something deeper within her told her that would be very bad. Rather than decide on which voice to listen to she ignored both for the moment and focused and learning everything she could, and the first thing was to learn how to transform. She made her way down to the dungeons, the dungeons that her parents thought she didn't know about, and the ones that had been all but closed when the town had switched to a constabulary with its own jail. Down she went into the darkness and damp. She wasn't scared, the dark never scared her, and the musty air only bothered her a little. She found that she could see better in the dark than she thought, though it was so dark under the castle that everything was still only a dim shape. She managed to reach the bottom the stairs in semi complete darkness and frowning opened her palm and tried to will a flame into existence with all her might. She felt heat flash through her and a small ball of fire exploded in her palm knocking her back on her behind. She got up, shaking her head to clear it and tried again, gently. A small, delicate flame appeared in her palm, and Anna waved it around shining the small pool of light over the stone floor, the metal door, and most importantly the dry old torch in a sconce. Anna tried to reach it, but it was set far over her head, so closing one eye, sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth and concentration, she brought up her thumb to judge the distance. She arched the arm holding the flame back and tossed it like a ball. The flame left her hand and hit the torch, sending it alight. Anna jumped up and down in glee over her success and turned to Elsa to brag, only to find no one there.

"Why would Elsa be here? She would never come down here, especially not with me." She thought and forced the sad thought aside to focus. She looked at the metal door and saw that it had a bar handle you pressed down on that she could reach. She hopped slightly to get to it, and using her weight pressed down. Metal screeched slightly, and she held her breath hoping no one would hear. When she didn't hear any footsteps coming she got her feet under her and pushed the door open with all her strength. Metal screeched again as the rusty hinges gave way and the dungeon was open in the first time in forever. Forming another flame in her hand Anna stepped inside, her book clutched to her chest as she looked around. She half expected to see a corpse, or a skeleton hanging from chains, but she found that the dungeon was clean and well maintained. It smelled damp, but not bad, and she found the doors open to cramped but clean cells. Best of all, it was large, the main gallery that led to the cells more than wide enough for a cart to go through. Anna looked around and saw a torch hanging on the wall by the door, and one hanging in a sconce on the wall between cells. Aiming carefully she threw fireballs at each torch lighting them. Some of them she missed, leaving scorch marks on the wall, but she kept trying until all the torches were lit. Then she set he book to the side and closing her eyes concentrated. She had spent all night reading the section on transformation.

"After the first change, transforming is all about willing yourself into your other form. To transform into a dragon imagine expanding outward like a cloud or a flame and to transform back imagine contracting back into the shape or your human form" Her book had explained.

"Sounds easy" She thought as she willed herself to expand outward. She thought it would be hard, but it was as if something inside her were waiting to get out. She felt herself grow and change, and unlike the first time it didn't hurt, it actually felt good, like uncurling from a cramped position into a long stretch. When it was over she looked over herself on her long neck and saw the red wings glinting in the torchlight like rubies. She looked down at her claws as they glinted gold. She felt something flex behind her and craning her neck as far as it could go she saw it was a long red tail.

"A tail, I have a tail!"She thought ecstatic as she waved her tail around hopping and romping around the room.

"I have wings too" She thought excitedly as she flapped her new appendages, sending a gust through the room, and causing the torches to flicker. Planting her feet and taking a deep breath she felt her insides heat up, and with great heave breathed out a roaring flame that left the floor scorched and black. She lay down on her belly and thought deeply about what to do next. She found the cool stone floor felt good on her scaled belly.

"I can turn into a dragon, I can breathe fire, and I can probably fly…wait, can I fly?" She wondered as she jumped to her feet and flapped her wings again.

"I have wings, so I should be able to fly. All the dragons in the stories can fly. If I can fly, I can leave the castle, I can go anywhere I want, meet new people, see things" She thought ecstatically as her wings flapped harder, sending out gusts of wind that nearly blew out the torched.

"Who's down here?" She heard a voice shout, causing her to freeze in place. Without thinking she began to feel herself retract, until she was a small girl with soft skin again. Thinking quickly she dove into one of the cells near the dungeon door just as it was shoved open and two men in the coats of the castle guard came in.

"Who's in here?" one called.

"No one Bjorg" His companion said.

"Then who lit the torches and why is the floor scorched?" Bjorg asked putting a hand on the floor. As quietly as she could Anna opened the door and slipped behind the two men who were studying the black mark in the floor, so intensely that they didn't notice her back out the door and run up the stairs. She didn't stop running until she had shut herself in her room and slid to the floor with a relieved sigh. She didn't go back to the dungeon again and didn't dare transform within the castle, so she focused on learning magic. The easiest for her to use was fire magic. She could summon flames in her hands and could put her hands to candles and even into a raging fire without being burned.

"The heat doesn't bother me" She thought in wonder as she pulled her hand out of said fire and looked at it.

"I wish I could show Elsa this" Anna thought. She kept her fire to a minimum, knowing how dangerous it could be and not wanting anyone to see. She made a promise that the first person she would show her powers to would be Elsa. Fire wasn't the only magic she could use, at least according to her book just the easiest.

"There are four main types of magic in the world, fire, water, earth, and air. Each magic is strengthened and weakened by the others. Depending on your affinity for magic, you will have strength in some and weakness in others, but all will be within your reach" The book said.

"You can find a book, but you must be quick" She heard her father say from the other end of the library. Her hearing and other senses had grown stronger after her change so now she could also smell her father's cologne and the crisp cold scent of her sister. Anna snuggled down deeper into her chair and kept reading as she heard them walk around the library. She turned a page that showed a picture of the four magic's. A cross showed earth at the north, air in the east, fire in the south, and water in the west. Lines of writing showed what was strong and what was weak.

"I think I good at fire, so, I'm strong with earth, and wind, but am also weak against earth and water…I don't get it" Anna thought as she heard her father and sister move closer, and their scents grow stronger. She caught a thick waft of her Sisters scent heard her step in front of her chair.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, and almost felt her start

"Anna?" Elsa asked. Anna looked over her book at her older sister. She was wearing heavy cloths, and had on white cotton gloves.

"She never wore gloves before?" Anna noticed frowning behind her book.

"What does aff…aff…affinity mean?" She asked trying her hardest to sound out the word.

"It means you're really good at something" Elsa said quietly. She and Anna looked at each other for a moment before Anna dropped her eyes back to her book. As much as she would love to drop it, grab her sister's hand and run off to play, she knew her father would never allow it, and neither would Elsa. A spark of something hot glowed in the deepest part of her, but she ignored it as she continued to try to puzzle out the chart in front of her.

"What are you reading?" Elsa asked and Anna felt her coming closer. Anna thought for a moment on what to tell her.

"Would she even believe me?" Anna wondered. So instead of telling her Anna handed the book toward Elsa. Her sister blanched and stepped back a moment, then stepped forward and reached out to the book.

"Elsa, what are you doing?!" Their father shouted. Elsa leapt back in alarm and the cold crisp scent filled her nose until she was ready to sneeze as she pulled back clutching the book to her chest. Anna looked to see their father standing across from them, a disapproving look on his face.

"I was just wondering what Anna was reading" Elsa explained.

"Have you chosen your book?" Her father asked.

"Yes father" Elsa said sadly holding up the book clutched in one hand.

"Come along then" He said and turning left, Elsa following slowly, casting a sad look back at Anna. Anna smiled back brightly, and saw Elsa smile tremulously back. The smile fell as soon as they were out of sight and Anna went back to reading. If everyone else abandoned her, at least she had her book, and the secrets it contained.

So second chapter. If Anna seems smart for a six-seven year old, I always thought she was intelligent, if not on the same level as Elsa. Elsa may be the wiser and smarter of the two, but Anna is the fearless one who takes every challenge head on, and is smart enough to work things out with effort, trial and error, and hey, if you have nothing to do but learn how to use your powers and you don't have fear mucking up your control.