Chapter Text
"No fuckin' way, yer a vampire?" Merida whispered to Elsa as they studied in the library.
"Half of one." She whispered back. Merida shrank small and walked over towards Elsa, standing on her textbook. Not that either of them cared to study any more today.
"Not common you see mixtures of something like us. Usually it's one or the other. But I guess if I had to put money on what would be the most common half-breeds, I'd have to say it'd be vampires." Merida crossed her arms. "So can ye still eat normal food?"
Elsa rested her face on her arms. "Yeah, I still can. Tastes fine." She rolled her pen around the page, trying to catch Merida off guard. After a few successful dodges of the plastic log Merida took to the skies, hovering in front of Elsa's face. With a slightly annoyed smirk she darted towards Elsa, pulling open her lips.
"Don't see any fangs." Merida muttered as she dodged Elsa's hand and kept her lips open. She kept her mouth clenched to keep quiet in the study space. A few others in the quiet section looked at the two of them, but not many. Elsa licked her lips after Merida let go. The pixie returned to full size in her seat.
"They retract." Elsa rubbed the side of her mouth to get the weird feeling out. "And don't do that again, please." She sighed.
"I'll think about it." the red-head mirthfully answered. Elsa sighed. "I don't know what to do about it. Like, I've been taking inhibitors for years to keep it down." She fibbed. Well, partly fibbed. "But I've been trying to get myself off them. I didn't know that those traits would flare up that badly."
"Never heard of anyone weanin' themselves off of inhibitors." Merida closed her notebook. Her attention was focused on Elsa's recent development now. "Then again, I never knew anyone who took 'em till I moved here." She leaned back.
"No one told me that I'd ever grow out of them." Elsa imagined that little orange bottle of pills. Conceal, don't feel. Her mother always told her that. She hadn't told Elsa that none of this was a permanent measure. Why? She thought, pressing her forearm against her eyes as she leaned back. Why did Mom never tell me about what I did or this 'mentoring' thing? It certainly wasn't prudishness. Elsa remembered that their room was always far away from hers for a reason. She shook her head and returned to her studying. Ethics, this time.
They made it about ten more minutes before Merida asked another question. "So, are there gonna be more changes?" She tapped the eraser end of her pencil against the desk, quietly enough so that no one could really hear.
Elsa blinked and looked up. She thought about what her dad was like. He could be in the sun, he just hated it. He always wore aviators when outside, and drank blood, and moved completely silently if he wanted to.
"Papa, watch me!" Elsa said, swinging while standing on the seat. She bent her legs and pushed in time with the swing, getting higher and higher. "Whoo hoo!" She looked to her left to see Anna and Olaf, both seated on their swings, caught up in their own competition. She was one step ahead.
"Be careful, snowflake." Her father called out, sitting on a bench on the far side of the park, feeding birds. They were eight now, which meant that they could be out at the park by themselves, but Elsa's dad wanted to stay nearby. Just not too nearby. Elsa could tell that he was still watching them, even though his glasses covered his eyes and he was looking down at the pigeons scrambling for the breadcrumbs he brought with him.
Elsa pushed higher, going almost horizontal as she felt herself go weightless. It was exhilarating. Whatever that meant. She heard it used by her mom once one morning. It sounded just right for this moment, as she felt like she was flying.
And then gravity took over, and she went for it again. A wry grin on her face as she pushed for more speed, more height. She bent her legs and threw her weight forward, trying to get it perfectly vertical.
And then her hands slipped.
Maybe they were sweaty from the hot day, maybe she was swinging too long, but she went flying, farther than she ever went before. Her feet lost traction and she kept going forward, arcing towards a water fountain that was nearby. All she could think about was how far she was going as the stone and metal pillar grew larger in her field of view. She couldn't do anything, but suddenly it stopped.
"Oof!" Elsa and her dad said in unison as he braced against her, catching her in mid-air and tumbling safely to the sand.
"Elsa!" she heard Olaf and Anna yell worriedly as they ran over to her. Her father looked down at her with a lopsided grin and his sunglasses half on. He squinted against the harsh sun. "You're okay, snowflake."
He had gotten there so quickly that most of the other parents didn't realize he had rushed over to catch her until he was walking back to the birds. The birds barely seemed to notice either.
"Haven't felt any yet, but I'll let you know when I can move faster than a speeding bullet or when I develop a lethal allergy to garlic." Elsa chuckled. "Now let's get back to this. I've got a test next week."
"I thought this was just going to be a vacation for the two of us now that the nest was empty." Agnar sighed as he held his wife close. They towed their suitcases behind them as they came out of the arrivals gate. He looked up at the sign. LaGuardia Airport.
"We haven't been to The Bahamas before. I thought that this would be a great time to get out and travel now that Elsa's flown the coop." He sighed. "I don't know why your mother diverted us over here. God, we should be on the beach right now, up to our gills in cocktails." He stretched out his free hand like he was trying to reach for their Carribean dream. She rested her head against his forearm in response.
"She said it was an emergency, dear. And besides, she paid for this flight and the one after, and she got our booking changed too." Aria consoled her husband. The two of them looked more like a college couple fresh off of spring break instead of a twenty year-old marriage. Such was the blessing and burden of negligible senescence. It didn't help that Agnar insisted on wearing a hawaiian shirt and khakis even after Idunna called to divert them.
The couple stepped out onto the terminal to the pickup area, where lines of cabbies waited for customers tired from their flights to whisk away to the Big Apple.
Aria spotted a white stretch limousine with a pale hand waving in their direction. As they approached a well-dressed chauffeur stepped out from the other side and walked towards them while the door closer to them opened to reveal Idunna looking neutrally at them, dressed in her usual blue business skirt.
"Get in." Were her only words as the chauffeur tipped his hat to them and started loading their luggage into the trunk. Agnar and Aria scrambled in while Idunna shuffled all the way to the other end of the seat. When the door closed Agnar realized there were blackout windows, and took off his sunglasses.
Idunna took one look at him and smirked. "Nice shirt."
"I wonder whose fault that is, Mom." He said to the woman who looked like his wife's twin.
"As much as you guys surely need to catch up, we have business." A different voice called out, sitting perpendicular to them at the end of the limo's passenger section, swirling a glass of wine. She shuffled down the long seat and sat at the edge of the side couch just as the chauffeur got underway.
Her curly black hair framed a young, heart-shaped face. Her physical age was a bit older, a bit more mature than the pair of Alu-fiends before her, but the sharpness in her gaze told the group that she was more ancient than she looked.
Emerald eyes scanned the three of them, raking over Agnar as she scanned them. Aria gripped his bicep tightly as this mystery woman did so. A bemused smirk fell over her face at Aria's reaction.
Idunna sighed. "Esmeralda, Aria and Agnar. My daughter and son-in-law. Aria and Agnar, this is Esmeralda. My-" Idunna searched for the right word. "An associate of mine."
"Gosh, associate? That's all you see me as, Idunna? I'm hurt. After all we've been through." She said with insincere pain in her voice. "I'm here representing the New York Coven. Especially since you've split away, Aria." She had a natural sultriness to her voice, hiding the distaste she certainly felt as she talked to them.
The two of them gulped and shook her hand, one at a time. Since Alu-fiends were practically immortal, networks of them tended to form in populated areas. Smaller ones were often support networks, a sisterhood to keep each other sated and under the radar of the public. Some of these groups grew and grew, forming a cabal of ancient, underground power. Some were known to the authorities, like a tolerated mafia. The New York Coven was older than the United States itself. It was around when the city was still New Amsterdam. Although it didn't meddle in the beating heart of politics, the sheer number of members and its age has inevitably led it to touch the veins and arteries of its power.
Like a tumour. Aria thought bitterly. Their influence wasn't as transparent as the various vampire clans or as iron-fisted cephalite religious sects, but they were still everywhere. A long-time mistress here, a housekeeper there, a secretary somewhere. The Coven could keep tabs on what happens in New York. Sometimes they whispered to the ones in power, too.
Idunna had associated with them, for a time. Moving to New York without protection for her, her lover, and a young Aria would have been suicide. So she joined them, leaving Aria out of it. But now they called on both of them here. For what, though?
"Now, since Idunna and her business here enjoys our protection, you could say that you're part of the Coven, right?" Esmeralda said sweetly while her lips formed a predatory grin.
Idunna furrowed her brow. She had tried to keep her family away from Esmeralda and her cohorts. Sometimes that meant doing deals with them. Sinking herself deeper so that they kept away from Aria.
"Whatever qualms the Coven has with me, it's with me alone. Don't drag my daughter into this." Idunna's nails dug into her palms. She looked at Esmeralda with a different kind of smoulder in her eyes, firey and protective.
Esmeralda simply chuckled. She shook her head and downed the drink she held slowly, leaving them in suspense. Agnar fidgeted. He knew the politics of New York vampires, not the Coven. He would let the women of the house do the talking here.
"We don't have a problem with you, dear Idunna," Esmeralda replied, "and we don't want to bring Aria into this either." Aria's breath started to quicken. Idunna's eyes widened as Esmeralda's smile grew wider, reaching her ears now. "No," she spoke slowly, "I need to talk to you about your granddaughter."
Aria didn't care that she made it obvious that Esmeralda was bothering her. Of course it did. They had gone great lengths to hide Elsa away in Armoria. The fact that Armoria was a government hideout as much as it was a sanctuary was supposed to keep her safe and unknown to The Coven. Apparently not.
"How?" Aria turned to Agnar, who responded through gritted teeth, trying to keep himself from tackling Esmeralda. His hands clenched, and Aria occasionally heard the sound of his knuckles popping from the pressure.
"We have our methods." She barely paid attention to the large, angry man in the car. "And we know about her… unique condition."
Idunna gulped. The Coven's reach was that great, it seemed. They had some way of knowing the goings-on in Armoria, too. Her lips trembled as she spoke. "W-why do you want her?" Idunna bit her lip to calm herself, as her hands were clenched as tight as Agnar's, if a lot less intimidating.
Esmeralda left them in uncomfortable silence once again. She's definitely milking this moment. Idunna thought.
"Well, for one it's our right to induct the family of members into our group." Esmeralda crossed her legs. Idunna growled softly in response. If you stretched her association enough, one could consider her part of the Coven. And she knew how much the Coven liked to stretch things.
"She deserves to at least know we exist and have a place for her." Esmeralda said in a voice that dripped with fake concern. "After all, only now is she being mentored by someone. Someone you had to send, Idunna." Esmeralda smirked and leaned back.
Aria looked at her mother with hurt and betrayal scrawled over the panic on her face. "Wha-" She mouthed to Idunna, who only gestured to drop the issue for now.
"You birthed a miracle, Aria." Esmeralda suddenly took her hands, looking at her intently. She couldn't escape the other woman's grip. "An Alu-fiend that can breed with us."
Aria's shock and disgust only intensified. "You want to do what with Elsa?!" She shrieked, and Agnar did the same moments after she did. He picked up Esmeralda by the collar of her blazer, hauling her close. "You will not touch my daughter." He growled. Esmeralda simply smiled sadly, prying his hands from her suit. "Unfortunately, The Coven has decided." She said while straightening her attire.
"The Coven can go kiss my ass!" Aria shouted. "She deserves a normal life, without any of this bullshit! I don't want her hanging around The Coven's influence at all!" She snapped.
Esmeralda sighed, looking at them like she was talking to children. "Like I said, The Coven has decided. Mother Maleficent has put out a Coven Pact. We're claiming Elsa Christian."
Idunna's nostrils flared. "Why would Maleficent waste time on this? Just because of the novelty?"
Esmeralda shook her head. "Not just the novelty, dear Idunna. The future. Normally new Alu-fiends have to be born from unions with men outside of our covens. It doesn't affect our genetic dominance, but imagine if we didn't have to. What would an Alu-fiend born of only Alu-fiend blood look like? They could be more powerful than before."
She shuffled over to the divider, asking the driver to let her off. They stopped in a parking lot and the raven-haired Alu-fiend got out, peeking back in for one last word. "This pact will not end, Idunna. She will know of us." Esmeralda warned them before closing the car door and walking away.
"Back to my building, please." Idunna's hand shook as she pressed the intercom. The limo started up again. Almost ten minutes passed by in silence before Aria spoke up again. "You sent someone to mentor Elsa?"
"I had to do it." Idunna replied softly.
"You went behind my back and sabotaged what I did for her? How do we know that this woman wasn't the one that leaked Elsa to The Coven? How can we trust who you sent? What were-"
"It was Belle." Idunna growled at her daughter. She couldn't stand it when someone badmouthed her, no matter if they knew or not. "I trust her. She would never have leaked it."
Aria's brow remained furrowed. "You still undermined me, mother! I wanted a normal life for her, one where she didn't have to deal with her traits going off. She had enough to deal with in high school, I wanted her to be normal-"
"And it wasn't going to work, Aria." Idunna snapped back, raising her voice now. Agnar remained deep in thought on his end of the car. "She was going to outgrow those inhibitors at some point, and you still needed to teach her everything she must know to exist peacefully in society." Idunna pressed her finger into her daughter's chest. "So yes I sent Belle to train her. To make sure she's actually prepared for life. Because it doesn't matter if you hide her traits, they're going to break free at some point and if she doesn't know how to control them then she'll never be 'normal' like you want, Aria."
"She wants a normal life too." Aria grumbled. "Is there any way to stop this… Coven Pact?"
Idunna shook her head. "It's a call for everyone in the Coven to do their best to fulfill its goal. Even I can't get in the way of it in any official capacity." She looked downcast. "I'll think of something. You two are booked on a flight to The Bahamas tomorrow. Don't worry about it. We'll talk more when you get back. We'll need to act fast before they get bold enough to try something crazy with Elsa."
Her mother's voice didn't inspire confidence in Aria. As much as she said not to, she couldn't help but worry about it.