Three days passed since the night of the incident and Anna still hesitates to meet with their father. Elsa was starting to feel the burden of her fasting. She wakes up a lot with severe headaches and is utterly fatigued.
With all that happened recently, Elsa was thankful that her sister does not have any power outbursts lately, and their father hasn't stepped foot in their room. Truth be told, Elsa was wishing for things to normalize, for her sister to meet their father already. She wasn't sure how long she could keep up with the charades. Her body is begging for food. But her sister's health and happiness come first. She'll endure, as much and as long as it takes. Elsa will endure.
Gerda quietly entered their room. She knows the struggles Elsa is going through and understands the little girl needs help. Slowly and quietly, their caretaker opened the door careful not to wake little Anna. She carefully placed a tray with food on the bedside table and gently nudged the elder princess.
"Ms. Gerda?" Elsa rubbed her eyes adjusting to the bright light of the room. "Papa wants me down?"
Gerda gave her a sweet smile. "No sweet princess. You haven't been eating for days now and I believe your body aches for food?"
Hearing their caretaker's comments, Elsa quickly sat up and placed her finger on their caretaker's lips. "Shhh, my sister might hear you." However, the sudden movement caused the princess to feel lightheaded and she immediately fell back to bed.
With a panicked look on her face, Gerda showed the princess her food. "You need to eat princess. Your body is already protesting." She grabbed a spoonful of porridge and placed it near the princess' mouth. "Eat."
Elsa pushed the hand away and swayed her head left and right. "You know Papa checks the food supplies considering Anna hasn't been eating. You'll get punished for disobeying the King's order."
"I do not care princess, you need to eat."
"Thank you but no." She smiled and forced herself up yet again. Her headache is worsening but she chose to keep it to herself for now.
Anna then spoke shocking the both of them. "You haven't been eating? Because of me? But you said… and I… how can I… it's…" Anna was panicking now. "You lied? But?" Flames started to form on her hands as panic took over.
Elsa was in no condition to help her sister now. Her body felt heavy and she's got this terrible headache. But of course, she'll brush this aside. Her problems mean nothing compared to what her sister will go through if their father finds out. She needs to contain this as soon as she can.
The princess looked at Gerda, pleading with the latter to help her get to her sister. Though hesitant at first, Gerda knew there was nothing she could do to help. It was only up to the elder princess.
Gerda placed her arms under the princess and immediately noticed how hot she was. Was she running a fever? No, no time to think of these now. Anna needs help, and she needs help fast. The caretaker carefully placed the elder princess beside her sister and moved to the end of the room to give them space.
"Hey, sis I'm here okay? Nothing is wrong just relax." Elsa placed her hands on top of her sisters covering the fireball with her ice-covered hand.
Anna tried to pull away, but her sister's grip was tighter. "You'll hurt yourself further. Don't."
"You won't hurt me. You won't and you know it. Right?" Elsa assured her sister
The fire was not easily contained and would occasionally burst out. However, after a few minutes Elsa's power successfully contained it. She did her best to hide her pain, but she was just a kid, and both her sister and Gerda took notice whenever her jaw tightens, or her eyes slightly twitched. "Just relax."
Anna knew she was hurting her sister. She knew she had to get her powers under control, and she knew she had to do it quickly. She knows what to do. Just relax. The powers are hers, she is the master of it. She can do this. Together with her sister as always.
It took a few minutes for the fire to be extinguished. But as soon as it was extinguished Agnarr enters the room, seeing the smoke through their room. "What is going on?" He sees the fire seconds before the sisters contained it. He also sees the porridge near Elsa's table thinking this was for her sister who hasn't been eating. Rage filled his body and his vision started to darken.
"What did I say about using your blasted powers?" Agnarr's voice was filled with fury.
"Papa, I didn't" Anna tried to reason with him.
"You used your powers." He took a rod out of his pocket and turned the switch on causing electricity to flow at the end. You need to be taught a lesson.
Panic was showing in Anna's face and rendered her incapable of moving. Elsa saw the fear in her sister's face. She needed to do something, anything. But her body refused to follow. No, not now. Stupid body move. Your sister needs you. Move. Elsa kept shouting at herself. She was too exhausted following the events leading to this but she knows she needs to move now. NOW!
Agnarr slowly approached his youngest, his vision still filled with anger. He raises the rod and prepares to electrocute his daughter. "You need to learn this lesson."
Elsa was panicking now. She was able to stand up, but is unsure if she would make to her sister. Move. Move. Move now. With all her strength she ran to her sister hoping to be able to do anything.
As Agnarr move the rod closer, Anna raised her arms to cover her face and closed her eyes. "No, please." She heard the electricity and knew what was about to happen. She had never experienced her father's punishments as her sister was always there to save her. Always there to take the blame, the hurt, the punishments. Always there to shield her from any misdeeds. It was selfish of her to wish for her sister's rescue, especially considering how sick she was from lack of food. Lack of food because Anna was too scared to face her father. Too scared to face the consequences of her actions.
"They were mistakes, you're only five. Give yourself a break little sister." She would hear her sister tell her. "And you're only eight. It is not your job to shield your sister from everything. Besides, you've suffered Agnarr's wrath alone for six years since you were born. You've already mastered control over your powers. You should no longer be punished for the mistakes of your sister. It's not fair. It's not fair to you." She would hear their mother scold Elsa. Truth be told their mother was angry at herself for not being able to do anything for either of them. She scolds Elsa to justify her silence. Anna knows this. She knows but she can't help feeling abandoned by her mother's words.
However, her sister's replies always bring a warm feeling to her little heart. "She's my sister and I love her. I will protect her from papa the best I could, and that is my choice. I don't care if I have to take every punishment from papa. I will not let anyone hurt her as long as I am here." Their mother would usually be speechless by now. How can you counter that from an eight-year-old, short of saying they're stupid? Is loving someone stupid? No, not by a long shot.
Anna knew the condition of her sister. Knew she should ask Elsa to rest and to let herself take their father's punishment. She will not die after all. It will be over soon. But she's just a child and she's absolutely afraid. As she anticipated the incoming pain. Anna can't help but whisper a soft "Save me." Knowing full well it was useless. Elsa was too weak to save her.
Notes: Thank you all for reading and giving this story a shot. I see a few reviews on how Agnarr is a horrible person and I agree. This version of him at least and is not way the same in the movies. Megara from Hercules once said. "People always do crazy things when their in love." Well, it's the same for the King except it's out of fear and not love. He's scared how people will react if they find out his children has powers. Not just for him but for his family. He thinks people will put them in the stake. His methods could have been handled way better but fear brings out the worse in people.
Elsa Tomago - Thank you for giving this a shot. I've seen your reviews in different stories I have read and all I can say is... It is an honor to be reviewed by you. I hope you will continue to enjoy this story as much as I enjoy posting it. :).
Ending notes: This is about to get a lot harsher before the eventual calm.
Edit notes: Since things are about to get a lot harsher, and I don't think the fandom would want to subject our little princesses to any more suffering. I am deciding to discontinue this story before someone hunt me down. *runs away* Thank you for giving this a shot.