My opposite - a story about Elsa and Red

Chapter 9

During the last evening of Red's stay, a changeable weather arouse. Gusts of wind raged through the camp and thunder sounded in the distance. Elsa held an uneasy feeling inside, as if something was wrong. The weather, the spirits, Red, all at once in a short period of time. She felt she had to go to find out. In camp there was little activity. Lots of people already went into their huts to hide. Elsa came back after a short walk and watched Red, who sat at a tree trunk by the fire staring at her drinking cup. The woman wasn't aware of Elsa's presence. She looks tired, Elsa thought. She is really strong. She managed to stay here a few days, even it seemed she had a hard time living with herself among the people. She didn't run away. She kept staring at Red, because it felt really good to her. Her heart melted every time she saw the woman or she thought about her. Already such a dear friend for someone who I only know for such a short period of time. Elsa didn't sleep very well the past few days. Many scenario's came by of how she would speak or act towards the woman. She thought about how she could impress Red or draw her closer. Her heart was constantly racing during the scenario's. She felt great love for Red and was confused it what way. And she was afraid, their connection was so precious, she feared losing it one day. It made her very wary. Elsa restrained herself a lot of times when she was with the beautiful, stunning and affectionate woman. If Elsa really followed her feelings... Suddenly, a big gust of wind came along and almost blew the fire out. Elsa let out a soft shriek because of the resistance she had to offer preventing to tip over. Red heard it, turned her head towards and then saw the woman looking at her. She wiped away the auburn strands of hair the wind had blown into her face.

'Something is wrong, isn't it?' Red noticed as if she knew what Elsa thought about the weather. Elsa had quickly put the thoughts she just had aside and flopped down on another tree trunk. She hoped Red didn't sense anything.

'Yes, we have to find out, I can feel it through my magic.' She replied, trying to act normal and talking about something else.

'Me too.' Redconfessed. Elsa felt relieved Red didn't seem to notice or at least didn't start talking about it.

'You do? How?' Elsa asked surprised and wanted to know what Red meant.

'Well...' Red stammered and looked bitterly, 'The day I set the house of my parents on fire, I was out of my mind. When I ran away, I could feel the ground under my feet heating up. All the built-up energy from the past few years erupted. It made the sky dark red for the rest of the day. It looked really scary and I was so afraid of what I could be capable of. I was scared of myself. Since that moment, I noticed the weather changed since then. I thought, if I could relax more and try to be "in ease" with myself, it would help. That's what helped you. But to me, it didn't... so far.'

Lines appeared on Elsa's forehead. She listened with compassion and thought about the words.

'I think you're not finished with that yet, but I agree with you that it might be not enough to reset the environment. Something more is going on.' Elsa consented with.

'What should we do?'

'We must find the source.' Elsa replied. 'First, I want to go to Arendelle and see if they experience the same problems and then go to the trolls and ask Pabbie for help.'  Red didn't want to say anything. She needed rest and didn't feel ready to visit such a great town full of people who don't understand anything about magic or spirits. Thinking of visiting the trolls made her fear also grow, because they lived by the Black mountain. The village where she grew up was at the other side of this mountain. The distance was far enough that it would be unlikely she would meet someone of the village. Still she didn't like the idea getting closer from what she ran away.

'What are you thinking of?' Elsa interrupted Red's thoughts.

'That I need rest.' Red sighed.

'You are not coming with me to Arendelle, are you?' Elsa asked. Red shook her head.