Sometimes, even in sunny beautiful days such as this one, she shivers.
Superstition says it has to do with ghosts, something along the lines of every time she feels a cold sensation spreading through her body, a celestial being of dubious energy has just walked by her.
But she isn’t entirely sure it is something quite so innocent.
No, when it happens to her it isn’t just her body shaking and a funny little tickle from within. When it happens, and oh how she fears it, her mind freezes, and she forgets who she is - she forgets everything. Her whole self gets numb. Nothing makes sense.
Which is why it terrifies her, and why she never tells anyone.
They used to last only seconds, the shivers. Quick enough that it wasn’t even worth mentioning. She would tell herself that she was the Princess of Arendelle, sister of the queen, engaged to a ice harvester that was very kind to her. She would tell herself all that she had been through, how she was her own hero all long. And she was not afraid of a little body freeze. But no matter what she said or thought, during those shivers, as hard as she tried to focus, she couldn't recall anything.
Lately, however, the shivers have been longer. It takes minutes for them to disappear completely. Sometimes hours.
And what terrifies her the most is that the way she feels while under that experience takes even more time to go away.
Who am I?
I am my own hero. Am I not?
You are a terribly naive, foolish, little girl. A new voice echoes through her body. It is familiar, but she doesn’t even know who she herself is, so how can she trust herself to recognize it?
A terrible, cold laughter follows her train of thought.
Sweet, sweet Anna.
Anna. That’s her name. She trusts that voice. Everything that voice says is correct.
That’s right. Oh, dear, I am indeed the only person you can rely on.
How can she trust that voice so blindly? Because she does. She will do whatever it tells her to do.
It’s because I own you now, princess. Your heart is mine.
Yes it is. She will give it everything.
This is going to be so much fun.
And then it is gone. And she is scared out of her mind. What is going on?
———-
She sticks by her decision of not telling anyone. Whenever she feels too guilty, she remembers all the secrets Elsa kept to herself, as if to reassure her that she was allowed to have some of her own.
There was, of course, no excuse for her not to tell Kristoff about it. But who is he to her anyway? She has no idea what her feelings for him are, truly. Besides, the idea of them looking at her as if she’s crazy is too terrible for her to bear.
Secretly, she requests a meeting with Granpabbie. He is the only one that can help her now.
“Anna!” he greets her, turning from rock to troll. “Your letter said you needed to speak to me, alone, immediately. What happened?”
And she takes a deep breath before saying it aloud for the first time.
“There’s something wrong with me.”
She tells him about the shivers, how she gets oh so incredibly cold out of nowhere. How she becomes a no one, how she doesn’t believe anything.
“I see.” Granpabbie replies, his eyes concerned.
“Am I going crazy?”
“No, not at all.” He sighs, and gestures for her to sit down closer to him. “Anna, your heart was frozen. The shivers are not all that uncommon. But the rest… Is there anything else, something you are not telling me?”
And she is so ashamed, but she tells him about the mysterious voice, and how it appeals to her, and how willing she is to listen to everything it commands her to do.
“Oh. I guess. Yes I guess it could be it, but how? I’ve never considered anyone would be so foul as to... And how, if she saved herself… it, I mean I guess…” Granpabbie was thinking out loud, his whole body language frenetically searching for a conclusion.
Anna coughed in order to get his attention.
“Sorry,” he said, apologetically, “I’m sorry. Anna, when your heart was freezing, there was raw magic enveloping its very existence. It was growing cold, indifferent. It was shaping up to be nothing. That explains the state you feel when the shivers come. The voice however...”
And he swallowed a huge lump before speaking.
“The voice is more difficult to explain. I guess… If you offered your heart to anyone while it was in that state... Well, then the surrounding magic would give that person power over it. Power over you.”
It takes her a moment to take it all in.
The world was swallowing her whole. No, not this. Not him.
“But... But I defrosted it!”
“Indeed. But raw magic is difficult to contain Anna. Even after the ice was thawed, the magic remained. The question is, did you offer your heart to anyone?”
She did. She offered it to him on a goddamned silver platter.
And then it came. Her blood was replaced by wind, her shoulders danced to the rhythm of a dark, soundless melody. Her fears dissipated. She felt nothing at all.
“Anna?” She could her Grandpabbie’s concerned voice, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. “Are you alright?”
Tell him you’re fine.
“I’m fine,” she mimicked.
The voice, the voice made her feel again. She wanted to please it.
Smile.
She did.
“There is strange magic going on here.” He turned to the girl, a girl with cold eyes and a frozen smile. “Do you need anything? What is happening?”
Make him stop.
“I’m fine!” She stated. “Just the shivers. But I have no idea what you’re talking about. Regarding my heart and all that. I guess its just a consequence of the cold weather, after all.”
The troll nodded, but was obviously not convinced.
Good girl.
“I trust you’ll keep this conversation a secret?” Anna asked. “As I told you in my letter, that is not a matter I would like the queen to concern herself with.”
He seemed doubtful.
Convince him, love.
“And may I also remind you that, as Princess, you are sworn to obey me as well. Any mention of this to the queen would be treason. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
You are so sweet when you mention your title like that.
Granpabbie eyed the girl with a sad glint. “You have my word, Princess Anna.”
She did a quick bow before turning and leaving.
That voice, it made her smile. She was so happy when it spoke to her. She didn’t need anyone else.
That’s right princess. You are mine, and I’m everything.
—————
Dark magic sure was fun.
When he returned home, he thought he was done for. No more power, no more glory, just a lifetime of disgrace.
His punishment gave him, however, a lot of time to think. While he shoved and demeaned himself, his brain focused not on the pain of his sore hands but on the sweet, sweet taste of vengeance.
He knew he could use Anna’s pathetic begging to his advantage.
And so he would sneak into the his family’s library and he would read everything he could regarding ancient magic.
She gave him everything he needed, it turned out. She trusted her life in his hands, and was surrounded by strange raw magic while doing it so. To complete the binding all he had to do was mix her blood with his.
Easy enough.
When she defiantly placed herself between him and Elsa, her hand made direct contact with his sword. After she was defrosted, the cut started to bleed. And then she punched him, staining his clothes. There.
And then all he had to do was command her body to obey his ministrations. At first it was hard to concentrate and keep himself focused, but it became easier with time. He could sense that he was mastering the grasp he had on her a lot better, and was able to keep the connection for a longer period of time.
He had the girl wrapped around his finger. He could control her every move.
The funniest part was that it wouldn’t have worked if a part of Anna didn’t want to belong to him still. There must be a part of her, a part she would probably keep hidden if she could, that wanted him to have her. Funny, how after everything he had done, the girl still cared for him, wanted his attention, craved his dominance...
He was her master, as he had always been. And Anna wanted him to be so too, she just didn’t have the courage to admit it right now.
But she would soon enough.
It was curious, how he caught himself thinking about her quite often. She had the most beautiful eyes, and such an alluring smile.
Those lips of hers, oh goodness, he couldn’t wait to take a bite out of them.
Well, if he played his cards right, he would get both revenge and a sweet, sweet bride.
He could hardly wait for it.