The Rift

Chapter 17

Anna hummed happily to herself, the evening fire warming her and her closest companions. She twirled some red wine in a glass in her hand and looked around the library. Kristoff, Sven and Olaf were fixated on a stack of cards, Kristoff's tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. Marie sat at a nearby couch, her attention switching between them and a piece of parchment before her. A gentle hand touched Anna's shoulder, and she watched as Elsa glided passed her and sat next to Marie.

Her sister leaned over, lightly touching the foreigner's shoulder. "What are you working on?" she asked softly.

Anna lifted the book in her hands closer to her face but peered over the top. Marie smoothed out a corner of the paper, seemingly nervous about Elsa's touch. "The kids are doing a project about their homes and wanted me to do one, too, but I lived in an apartment. There's not much to draw about an apartment..."

Elsa curled her legs underneath her gown and asked, "What if you drew what you wanted in a home instead?" Anna nearly choked on her wine.

Marie's left hand scribbled. "Hm..." The brunette continued scribbling for a few minutes. Anna watched, occasionally catching Kristoff's eye as he quietly observed from behind. "Done!" Marie exclaimed.

Elsa tilted her head. "What's this?"

Olaf trotted to their sides and looked over Marie's blueprints. "Very nice touch with the surrounding porch and a room just for baths." He paused and peered at the parchment. "What's this? An office?"

"Yeah!" Marie replied. She pointed at the paper, a small crowd soon surrounding her. "I'd like a room just for writing. It could also be my room or a guest room. The upstairs would be the master bedroom and-"

"But if your room is downstairs, who would be in the master bedroom?" Kristoff asked.

The icicles crackled throughout the guest room of Arendelle's castle. Elsa took in a shaky breath and retracted them. "Tell us, Anna. What did Pabbie say?"

Anna swallowed a lump in her throat. "I shouldn't have waited to tell you," she said quietly. Elsa tensed. The ginger looked at her sister. "Marie isn't of this world, so if her purpose is fulfilled, or she loses that purpose...If she doesn't have her dark powers, it will kill her."

Suddenly, the balcony doors burst open. Everyone instinctively covered their heads as a beam of darkness snaked around Elsa. Anna yelled and charged forward, but Kristoff caught her. Elsa grew still, her eyes momentarily turning a solid black as Marie's darkness played a memory across her mind. As quickly as it had entered, it shot through the doors once more, leaving debris in its wake.

Anna took a step towards her. "What did-?" she began to ask, but Elsa bolted for the balcony and pointed a hand at the sky. Ice spiraled above the town. A moment of silence hung in the air before her magic exploded and formed into the shape of an intricate red snowflake. Anna felt the air around her harden. She looked at her sister. Elsa's eyes were glazed over with a look of hatred that Anna hoped she would never see in her lifetime. The sisters made eye contact, nodded, and turned around, Elsa leaping off the balcony and Anna rushing out of the castle room.

A horn blared across the town as Elsa sprinted across the fjord's surface, her feet freezing the water upon impact. She halted and faced the town, raising her arms. The Red Flake. It was Arendelle's highest security breach system. Although Anna had assumed the throne, she did not remove The Red Flake's influence in case of an emergency. Elsa heard the familiar neigh of The Nokk behind her. "No!" she demanded. "This is my fight." The Nokk bowed its head. Elsa gritted her teeth and began to raise an ice barrier around the town, shielding everything inside. A tiny ball of darkness twirled in front of her. "Show me where they are," Elsa ordered. It shot over the frozen fjord, the ice mage not far behind. As she ran, she coated her body with ice armor, dawning it red to match the ambience.