Disney Twins

Chapter 13 - "We're in this Together"

A/N: I was too impatient to wait for these last couple chapters to go through my beta readers so bear with me if there are any errors.

* * *

Anna looked up with concern as Elsa dashed outside. "Are you okay?" she called.

"No!" Elsa threw a terrified glance over her shoulder. Her hands were shaking, and her breathing came in short, rapid bursts.

"What's wrong, lass?" Merida asked as they all hurried over to her.

"Pitch!" Elsa exclaimed. "Pitch Black!"

"What's pitch black?" Rapunzel asked.

"No, Pitch Black! The Boogeyman!"

Anna, Rapunzel, and Merida all exchanged a confused look. "The Boogeyman is after you?" Anna asked hesitantly.

"Yes!" Elsa exclaimed.

Jack landed near them. "What's going on?"

"Pitch is in the castle!"

Anna saw him tense up completely. "You saw him?"

"Yes, he –" Elsa gulped for air. "I was in my room, and he came – I can't do it again, I can't do it again..." She started crying.

"Hey, princess." Jack stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I need you to tell me what happened. Can you please tell me what happened?"

Elsa took a deep breath, seemingly comforted by his presence. "I went up to my room, after we talked. Pitch appeared and told me how he tried to use me before and – and he said he gave me my powers." She looked at Jack with tear-filled eyes. "From your staff."

"From me?" Jack whispered.

"Um, excuse me?" Anna said. "Can you fill in the rest of us please? Who's Pitch, and what's he trying to do with Elsa?"

Jack and Elsa turned to them. "Pitch Black is the Boogeyman," Jack said. "A long time ago he tried to get me to join him and make the whole world cold and dark, but I refused. And I thought he set his sights on Elsa because she has almost the same powers as me, but I guess that's not quite what happened."

"He orchestrated it," Elsa said. "He found out about the golden flower, and how it was used to cure Rapunzel's – our mother. So after we were born, he gave me my powers, and then he followed me to Arendelle and made the trolls scare me into losing control of them."

The rest of the group was shocked into silence, except for Eugene who murmured, "That's ridiculously messed up."

"'Fear will be your enemy,'" Anna said slowly. "Do you think...maybe they were trying to warn you?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" Elsa squeezed her eyes shut. "Why would they warn me but also scare me?"

"You said Pitch made them do it," Kristoff said. "I know the trolls – they would never let someone make them do something. I think maybe they were warning you."

"Why would they warn Elsa but get Hans to try and kill her?" Rapunzel asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"The trolls play by their own rules," Kristoff explained. "They're not really loyal to anyone besides each other. Now that it's had a chance to sink in, I'm not that surprised that they were trying to get me into the royal family. But if the Boogeyman was trying to get them to do something against their will, they would absolutely sneak in a hidden message."

"Not that anyone understood it!" Elsa wailed. "I'm in this whole mess because of them!"

"What's Pitch trying to do now?" Jack asked.

"He's trying to scare me again. And it's working. I accidentally froze the floor in my room while I was talking to him. I'm losing control again." She buried her face in her hands.

"Hey, hey," Jack said softly. "It's okay. What happened last time will not happen again, okay? We know what's going on, and we're all here for you."

Elsa shook her head. "I've never felt fear that strong before, except for..." She looked up at Anna and then burst into tears again.

Anna knew what she was remembering.

"I know," Jack murmured. "He's making sure you won't think rationally. It's not you, it's all him. He's manipulating you."

"I don't know what to do!" Elsa flung her arms up and then threw them around Jack and sobbed into his shoulder.

The rest of them stood around awkwardly. Anna had never met Jack – Merida had briefly explained who he was to them, but all she knew was that Elsa had introduced him as her friend, although she had said she got the feeling that wasn't all that was going on between them. Anna was inclined to agree; she'd never seen Elsa look like she trusted someone that much. Especially enough to let them touch her while she was upset.

"We can stand up to him," Rapunzel said. "I've got powers too. You're not alone Elsa. I'm not leaving you. If he ever tries to make you feel that way again, just remember that I'm here. We're in this together."

"We all are," Anna said. "I'm here too, Else. I may not have powers, but I will still give everything I have to make you feel safe."

"You're okay, princess," Jack murmured, stroking her hair. "Everything is going to be okay."

* * *

Elsa had trouble falling asleep that night. Anna had insisted on sleeping in her room, which helped, but she was wound too tightly from the events of the day. All afternoon she had been tense, dreading another encounter with Pitch. She hadn't strayed away from any of her friends, and Jack had refused to leave her side.

And when she finally fell asleep, she had another nightmare.

Elsa woke, shaking. She looked over to Anna, who was still fast asleep. Quietly, she slipped out of bed and went down to the ballroom.

"Elsa?"

She whirled around. "Rapunzel! You scared me!"

Rapunzel looked just as shaken. "Did you have a nightmare too?"

Elsa was shocked. "You had one?"

Rapunzel nodded gravely. "He must be targeting me too now."

They stood there, just looking at each other. They had a connection, one that ran far deeper than either of them could have imagined. They were twins, they both had powers – and now Pitch was after them.

"We're in this together," Elsa repeated in a whisper, realizing just how much that meant.

Rapunzel nodded.

Elsa turned around. "Okay, Pitch. We're not afraid of you anymore. We're ready. Let's do this, right here, right now."

The shadows melded together to create the form of a man. Pitch stepped away from the wall, grinning. "If you say so..."