"Blondie, will you stop pacing? ... Please?"

Eugene and Rapunzel are just out of the Cinema, waiting on the bus to take them back to her student flat. The brunette's arms are crossed as she paces back and forth at the bus stop, her fiancé glad that they're the only ones there. He doesn't like seeing that frown on her face, and he knows from experience that were any strangers to comment, she'd likely bite their heads off... In the nicest way.

She huffs and stops, her foot tapping as she stares up at the sky. If he weren't so concerned, Eugene would find it cute. Thankfully, Rapunzel's phone rings, distracting his fiancée from stewing in her furious worry.

Eugene is even more relieved when he realises that the voice he can vaguely hear coming from Rapunzel's handheld seems to be her Scottish flatmate's. He feels his stomach do flip-flops as he sees Rapunzel ask for the news, her features alternating between relief and horror.

She told him, as they waited for the film to start, that she was worried about a classmate. Something about the crime spate in town, some vigilante figure and a worrisome sibling. He knows probably more than he'd like about the crime spate, but nothing that could help when he doesn't know the people involved.

Finally, Rapunzel hangs up. He can't figure out the outcome. His girlfriend is still, as if trying to decide herself how she feels about it all.

"So? Is your friend alright?"

Rapunzel sighs, then gives her fiancé a big gorgeous smile. "She'll be alright. More than alright: from what Mer' says, we'll be seeing her for her birthday party tomorrow! That's unheard of."

Eugene grins in turn and gives his petite girlfriend a great big twirling hug.

Chapter 5: Progress.

Anna Gyllenblom

The workout in Master Li's class turns out to be exactly what Anna needs. The quick, fast-paced routines, the fast kicks and synchronised patterns, it helps to still her mind, to calm her heart. Their class ends, and she stands, panting but smiling, as the younger kids flop to the ground, groaning with aches and pains before scattering to the changing rooms, hungry tummies rumbling as their parents trickle in to collect them. Kristoff is sat in the corner, helping a fellow red belt clean up a scraped knee.

A hand lands on Anna's shoulder, causing her to start. She looks to her side to see the master smiling at her.
"You alright, kiddo?" There was something querying in the Asian woman's eyes, but her body language and expression made it clear she wasn't requiring a full explanation.

"Yeah..." Anna huffed, relaxing once more. Thinking back on her troubles after the mechanical bliss of exercise? They didn't seem so bad anymore. Sure, she still felt bad that Elsa got hurt despite Snowgirl's best efforts, but in the grand scheme of things, it could have ended up so much worse. Anna counted her blessings that Elsa had even made the effort to see her that morning for breakfast. It can't have been easy, knowing that she would ask. She still couldn't fathom why Elsa didn't feel she could tell her what had happened, but it wasn't unusual for Elsa to leave things unexplained. A heavy weight fell upon her heart, the same that had been weighing it down for years. She'd just have to keep on managing. The dull realisation had Anna repeating herself, a little less confidently, worry in her mind but not overwhelming anymore. "Yeah. I'm alright. Thanks Master Li."

"You can call me Mulan when class is over, you know." Mulan rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she tilted her head towards the matts. "Come on, help me with these while Kristoff finishes patching up Tuffnut over there."

The matts aren't that heavy, only requiring minimal effort to lift and drag into place, but they're bulky enough that Anna can see why Mulan appreciates the help. By the time they're done, it's just the two of them in the hall, the boys already in their changing rooms, Anna keen to do the same.

"Hey..." Mulan says, before she leaves. Her dark hair spills out of its bun as she stretches. "If you ever need someone to talk to, you know where I am... Though I suspect Kristoff is more than able to help too."

Anna doesn't quite know how to interpret the cheeky grin the older woman is giving her, though she certainly feels something leaping around in her gut at what she thinks is suggested.
"Erm, thanks? I... Uhm..."

Mulan's cheerful chuckle, hidden behind a small fist, follows Anna out of the sports hall. Kristoff is with her, leading her to where he stashed her bike the night prior. He asks the obvious questions, about how her sister is doing, how's school, when she would like to hang out and do their thing next... or just hang out, you know. It's unusual for him to do most of the talking, but she's enjoying listening to him be the one to prattle on for a change. There's a certain charm in the way he forgets himself when he reaches his stride, a naïve earnestness that bowls her over as he starts to tell her about some of the hijinks he and Sven got up to in the mountains during the last few weeks. Its nothing like the gruff exterior he puts up around strangers, that wall he throws up around people he doesn't like, doesn't trust. Anna feels privileged that he lets her see this side of him.

Of course, she doesn't leave his questions without answer. She doesn't rattle on at full speed as she would normally do, but she is truthful. Elsa is being Elsa. She's got a nasty looking cut under some gauze. She doesn't seem ready to talk about what happened, though she clearly needs to. School was school. It sucked, but mostly because Anna was worried about Elsa. She's not looking forward to resitting that history test. As for hanging out...

"I... Let me think on it. I'll get back to you?" There's a speculative look in his eye as he takes in her answer, as though he's trying to decipher her reasons, but not judging her. She shrugs and offers him a hopeless smile. This week's been kind of crazy and she wouldn't mind a quiet Friday night to recover, step back and reassess. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be back to our usual hijinks in no time. You'll need to show me the results of your research!"

She elbows him playfully as he fishes out his keys. Honestly, the man seems to have a key for anything. He unlocks the shed in which he'd stashed her bike, not far from the pier they'd been hanging out at last night.

"Sure." He grins, as Sven lets out a low rumble and leaps up to greet them. The dog's tongue finds Kristoff's face with ease. "Hey buddy."

She thanks him again, for everything really, before she gets ready to mount her bike. There's a brief pause as Kristoff's smile seems to falter. Anna's about to ask him what's wrong when she finds herself ensconced in a hug. It's a sweaty, smelly hug that is warm and cosy and has her skin tingling. She's half tempted to tell him that he needs a shower, but... She likes the musky smell of him enveloping her. There's something heady about him holding her close like this.

"You alright Kristoff?" She ends up asking, humour in her voice as she pats his back. It's not like him to be this demonstrative. Quickly, he releases the embrace, clasping his hands on her shoulders. It's hard to tell in the evening light, but his cheeks seem a bit more coloured than usual.

"You take care of yourself, firecracker, you hear me?" He's smiling at her, but Anna can tell he's being dead serious. She's not sure what to make of it, so she shrugs off his hands, chuckles awkwardly and mounts her bike.

"I will. You too." And she waves at him as she makes her way home.

Anna does ponder stopping a few times on the road back. Despite the fatigue from her class and the sheer tiredness aching through her bones, she's been sneaking out at nights to fight crime for the better part of the last few months. It's become an urge, an itch. Her eyes scan her route not just to prevent collisions, but also looking for signs of trouble, signs that someone out there needs Snowgirl... That someone out there needs her.

The phone in her pocket lies heavy. She knows she has emails from southern-isles13 sitting unread. She also knows that going looking for a fight in her current state of mind, let alone worn down physical condition, is just asking for trouble. Besides, if she is to be fully honest with herself, the biggest part of her ache, her desire to be outside is her reluctance to be inside.

Anna remembers the hurt she felt that morning after breakfast. She doesn't particularly want to go back to a quiet house, where Elsa will undoubtedly have locked herself away for the night, probably not even sleeping but working on some essay until the silly hours. Anna can tell, she sees the light on under Elsa's door when she sneaks back in from a night out. Sometimes she puts her ear to the door and hears Elsa muttering to herself about social science or accounts. With Gerda off, Anna doesn't even have the delight of an exciting meal to look forward to, Kai's culinary exploits often limited to meat and two veg. The staff tended to vanish off to their own quarters after seven anyway, leaving Anna to roam empty hallways, where the lack of their parents' presence would suddenly weigh heavily in the air, grief and loneliness driving her to distraction.

She remembered the year of their passing as mostly a dark, tearful struggle, where she'd found herself doing a lot of the work involved alone, when she had thought that if anything were to bring her sister to her side, it would have been that. Once things settled down, Elsa had seemed to emerge, mostly to take over the running of the estate, and Anna, despondent, had turned to her hobbies with abandon. Superhero movie marathons had echoed with a need in her soul, and when she had... Anna shakes her head. Now is not the time to be reminiscing about that.

She parks her bike in its shed. She goes in through the back door, retrieving her snowsuit from the laundry basket to put in her bag. It's a good thing Johanna never questions what gets put in.

Anna debates going straight to the kitchen to retrieve her dinner, but the bag on her shoulder feels heavy, textbooks and suit weighing her down as much as her mood. The house is dark, quiet. Despite her workout, she doesn't feel all that hungry. She heads for the stairs instead.

She hears a sound that gives her pause.

"Anna?" She thinks it's her imagination playing tricks on her. "Anna, is that you?"

Mind tricks or not, Anna's not one to ignore her sister's voice. She turns towards the half open door down the corridor, notices now the thin sliver of light coming from it. Feeling shy, Anna peers around the door into the sitting room.

"Elsa?" Anna doesn't like the hesitation, the disbelief she hears in her own voice.

It is Elsa. She's sat in one of the armchairs, one of the tables pulled close. She seems to be working on some paperwork under the light of the table lamp, empty plate nearby left from dinner. The chinking Anna had heard before Elsa called out must have come from the cup of tea in it's saucer.

"Hey." There's a soft smile on her big sister's face. From this angle, Anna can't quite make out the bandage on her cheek. "How was your class?"

"Fine," Anna responds automatically. She shakes herself out of her stupor. Gingerly, she steps into the room, hands twisting at the strap of her bag. "How are you?"

Elsa's smile turns slightly sardonic before she schools her features into a neutral expression. She sighs. Anna sits on the sofa.

"I..." Elsa's hands are crossed over one another in her lap. She's looking away, but then her gaze centres on Anna's. "I wanted to apologise for this morning."

Anna's brow creases. What for?
"Uh? Els-" Anna's reply is cut short when Elsa continues, the younger sister's heart is thumping.

"You were clearly distraught when you saw the bandage on my cheek," at this Elsa points a finger at the changed bandage. Anna's delighted to see that it's been downgraded from a square gauze pad to a large plaster. The skin around it still looks a little inflamed, but it's miles better than the sight that had greeted her at breakfast. Elsa's hand flits away from her face to rest upon her breast. "And I... I refused to give you any explanation for it."

"It's alright, Elsa. If you don't want to..." Anna doesn't really want Elsa to stop, but she wants to make sure she knows the option's there. The words are out automatically, a buffer in case Anna is merely getting her hopes up. If Elsa is intent on doing what she thinks she is doing...

"No, Anna, you have a right to know." There's a crack in Elsa's voice, like when she'd been close, so close to opening up at breakfast. "I... Yesterday evening, I... I went down to the port..."

Anna, for once, manages to keep quiet as Elsa searches for her words.

"There... I... The pedestrian street I was on..." It's rare to see Elsa struggle so much with a sentence, her language usually so concise. Anna's stomach churns at the thought of anything phasing her sister this much. "I... I was assaulted. This... woman. She... I think she was running away from someone and... She held me at knifepoint to try and... dissuade them."

Even though Anna secretly knew, hearing it like this, from Elsa's mouth, it's disquieting. Shame washes through her, making her head heavy and her gut twist. Anger rears its head, and she clenches her fist. She frowns, her mind revisiting all her emotions from that altercation. If she were to get her hands on that red-haired old witch right now, she...

"I'm okay, Anna." She feels Elsa's hand land on her shoulder. She doesn't know when she got up, nor what to say. She blinks up at Elsa's icy blue eyes. It's the closest she's seen them in years. "I got away with just a... just a scratch."

Elsa's smiling, but Anna can tell it's forced.

"Are you... You are going to the police about it, right?" Anna sniffles, her eyes feel hot and wet. "If you... if you need someone to go with..."

"Sh... hush..." A gloved thumb comes up to wipe away a tear on Anna's cheek. "It's being sorted. Thanks, Anna. Thank you."

Elsa's eyes look wet too. Anna's arms twitch, a need in her soul. She reaches out, hoping against hope that she'll be able to reach out and give Elsa the hug that they both clearly need.

The gloved hands come and still Anna's upper arms with surprising strength. Anna thinks she can decipher an apology in Elsa's face before the mask falls once again. The moment's broken.

"I... I've got work to do." Elsa's voice, infuriatingly, is back to its usual business-like stride. Anna really envies that control. "I won't manage breakfast tomorrow but... I'll take you to school... if you want?"

"Yes..." Anna breathes. "Yes! I... I would like that."

Elsa nods, collects her papers, and leaves the sitting room. Anna has no doubt that she is away to lock herself in her room, sit up far too late staring at maps of the estate and various written propositions on her desk. She must have a desk in there, right?

Anna stays sat in the sitting room, still overcome with emotion. It's irritating, how little she feels she knows about her sister... but she knows, in her heart, that this evening was important. Elsa acknowledged that she had a right to know what happened to her. She acknowledged that they are still family. A connection was made.

Anna basks in the feeling. It isn't until her stomach rumbles, loudly, that Anna makes the effort to move.

Elsa Countess of Gyllenblom

Friday starts the same as many Fridays before. I awake early, scrub and go to the kitchens to grab a pot of coffee and same pastries to take back up to my study. I become progressively more alert as the early breakfast works its magic and my mind starts to work the numbers on my worksheet with an efficiency approximating that of a small calculator. I smile, hearing the noise of a zombie down the hall heading to the bathroom. Anna's up.

It feels strange, but I'm at peace. The cut on my face is still a little sore when I lean against it, but it's healing well, impressing Kai with the speed of recovery. I've managed to mask most of it with a touch of make-up, so hopefully none of the other students in my morning class will notice. I've written out most of what I remember from the attack on Wednesday, which will hopefully make the police interview at noon that much more expedient. I'm still nervous at the prospect of it, but... If I'm able to give Anna the bare bones of it, I can handle some police detectives.

I did worry, last night, that I let Anna in too close. I remember holding her shoulder, her arms, wiping her tears the same way I did when we were children. She even leaned in to give me a hug. I managed to stop that, thankfully. Still, I was an emotional wreck when I went up to my room, my papers strewn across the desk as I gave in to tears. I couldn't even tell why I was crying. Anna wasn't hurt. I hadn't lied or actively pretended to be fine. I just...

I remember hanging on to my friend, spilling my fears, my feelings, Merida never once seeming to judge me, no matter how I imagined she might. I remember Anna, sitting quietly as I explained what happened, not questioning, not intruding beyond what I allowed. It... It feels good to have let it all out. Maybe, just maybe...

I remember Mama and Papa leaving on their trip, smiling as I reiterate my wish that they could stay. Papa's reassurances that day had been hard to believe, but now...

Maybe I'll be able to tell Anna the truth. Maybe I'll be able to tell her about my magic, my powers...

But no. I shake my head, refusing to let my hopes soar, nor my fears sour my mood. Today is going to be hard enough without entertaining such follies.

Elsa Countess of Gyllenblom

"Are you picking me up after school?" Anna asks, voice half hopeful as she gets in the back seat. I look in the rear-view mirror and see her smile, hesitant, unsure.

I smile back and shake my head.

"As much as I would love to..." I can see Anna's eyes dim, her brow crease. I guess I'd better explain. "I've been invited to a get together by one of my classmates. I was thinking of going."

And I can feel a strange bubble of in my gut, excitement I think? There's also a minuscule weight in my heart, worry, anticipation... I'm not used to social gatherings. I force myself to dismiss those worries. If I am to run the family estate, I'll need to show face at official events. This night out will be good practice.

I try not to shudder when I think that in a few months' time I'll be officially inheriting the estate and mother's duties.

I barely notice Anna's stuttering as I drive up past the local primary we both used to attend. My mind wandered back to thoughts of what I'd missed out on by being home schooled through secondary and high school. I only glance up at her reflection when I hear her exclaim.

"You what?!"

I'm glad for the stop sign as I pull the handbrake and turn in my seat. I arch my brow at her, trying hard not to smile at her surprise. I had surprised myself too, by deciding I'd go.

"That's awesome! Can I come?"

I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the road.
"Don't try your luck, sis."

The endearment leaves my lips before I can think about it. The little squeal I hear in the back is delightful, but I feel regret. I know that this feigned proximity probably won't last... Every time I've come close, something always happens that burns me, sets our relationship back.

It's not Anna's fault, I think as I drive up to her high school's drop off zone. She gets out of the car, giving me an enthusiastic wave and thumbs up. I just... Watching her walk away to interact with her classmates, carefree and energetic, I envy her and am starkly reminded of how very long I have been distant.

I have a long path ahead of me but, for the first time since I was a child, I have hope that one day, maybe, we'll be as close as we once were.

It's amazing what having a knife to your throat can do to your priorities in life.

I'm leaning against my arm, resting on the steering wheel. I watch as Anna's twin braids disappear into the building. The sun feels warm.

At the klaxon of the car behind me, I glance down at the satchel in the passenger seat next to me. Right, I need to go to class. I sit up, get the car in gear and breathe in deep. It's normally an ordeal for me, going to university, as much as I chose it. I need to brace myself for it, mentally build up my defences.

Yet today I drive off with a smile. I realised yesterday. I have friends, looking out for me.

Author's note: a shorter chapter, but nice to have something a bit more uplifting now. :)