hottest part of the day [open]

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This carcass was close to fifty years old. Once upon a time, she’d fixed any holes in it with a few merfolk who couldn’t pony up when it came time to pay for their end of a bargain, but these days, when the scavengers of the sea came to dine upon the leviathan's leftover flesh, Ursula had to discontentedly watch and wait. It was so unfitting for her to live in this, in this squallor! She’d been the Sea Witch. She had the power to grand people’s dreams, and then snatch them away like treats from a toddler.

Now…

She lounged in the hollow of a cave brushed flush against the ribs of the leviathan, looking at her cauldron and feeling very, very moody. She could see the schools of tropical fish from the holes in her precious home, for Pete’s sake! Curling her tentacles over themselves while filing her nails, the sea witch grumbled to herself as the currents drifted lazily by.

”Stupid redheaded--” ”--if I had a gold coin for every--” ”--and he has the nerve to call me wicked!”

Hm. Yes. A typical day for the ocean’s no longer premier sorceress. It was rather miserable and lonely living like this, without a single customer in sight. What she wouldn’t do to get another poor, unfortunate soul in her grasp…

Flotsam, followed closely by his twin Jetsam, swam up to their provider. Their very posture alerted Ursula to the fact that there was someone else near her waters (nevermind it was at Atlantean territory, and thus her brother’s).

”Hm… and it’s only a little past noon. Can’t be a shark,” she supposed.

---

ooc: pretty sure i did this right? if not, feel free to shoot me a pm~

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(Hmm, debating joining this! How deep is Ursula right now? Is she down at the bottom of the ocean -- ie. her cave from the movies? I'm assuming so. If so, might be a bit hard for Elsa to interact with her... but could be interesting, as Elsa definitely has wishes she'd want fulfilled. xD What do you think?)

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(Fair enough! May do that then. Not sure Ursula can actually do anything for her, but it might be interesting to see what she tries to do/sell her. XP)


The fish knew something was wrong. Whole schools of deep-sea life suddenly fled upward, seeking warmer waters for, indeed, the ocean's temperature was plummeting. Warm, swaying reefs chilled and slowed. Urchins, crabs, lobsters and turtles sunk into their shells as the water thickened. It wasn't long before, even with the ocean's vast quantities of salt, the surface began to change. From the shores of the nearby beach, those beneath the waves could see a figure emerge from the sands. A human figure, clothed in a long, elegant crystal-blue dress and an even longer semi-transparent glittered cape with snow-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Arms crossed tightly over its chest, the figure moved forward, one hesitant step at a time. When it reached the fluctuating border between sand and sea, it stopped, staring down into the depths.

One more step.

The figure's foot descended towards the waves. In a split second, the temperature plunged for a second time. The sand at the bottom of the sea turned to brittle, crusted crystals. The water stopped moving entirely. Beneath the figure's foot, a crystalline snowflake had materialized as if from nowhere. Slowly, as if unsure it might be able to replicate the same result twice, the figure took another hesitant step. Again, the water froze beneath its feet and sent shudders of cold through the water. More confident now, the figure took a few more steps until it was out past the sandbar and standing firmly on ice above the ocean proper.

Elsa cast her gaze across the endlessly rising and falling of ocean waves. What had she expected, really? If there was anything here, it would be beneath her, no doubt trapped by her infernal ice by now. This would be a fruitless mission, as she had suspected it would be. It seemed pointless to her, that they asked her to come here. Freeze the ocean? Sure. She could do that. If she thought about Anna for long enough -- was she safe? Was she still in Arendelle? Was her kingdom alright? Were they looking for her? ... Did they even care about her? -- it was easy enough for her self-hatred to come bubbling back up. She felt it sit heavily in her stomach as she took another few steps forward.

What kind of big sister allowed herself to be kidnapped by some ... thing? What Queen allowed herself to be carried away from the kingdom and people who's lives and livelihoods it was her sworn duty to protect?

Her heart began to race. Ice spread out from where she stood in the middle of the ocean, stopping waves in their tracks.

Worst of all, she thought, was that no one out here, in this world, would understand her curse.

Don't feel. Don't feel. You mustn't feel...

She looked around again. Nothing, for miles. She was all alone. Probably for the best, too. At least she couldn't hurt anyone.

[Deleted]

Alone, Ursula explore the sea beyond her carcass home. That was when she saw it. Thick as she was, the temperature drop didn’t bother her nearly as much as it had bothered her precious pets. Still, the ocean had never frozen like this before. The occasional stray chunk of ice drifted down this far once every blue moon, but for the surface to be sheeted in it…

Ursula knew witchcraft when she saw it. Gliding through the water to the edge of the pure white top, she hauled herself above the surface to see what was going on. Beneath her weight, the edges of the ice cracked and gave way. This was fine by her. She merely slithered atop it, seeking out whatever had caused this madness.

Then, she spied Elsa. On reflex, she analyzed the girl and found her to be just Ursula’s type: a potential victim, of course. Her favorite kind of person.

”Darling, you look to be rather troubled,” Ursula called, still towards the edge of the ice. Hm… even as fatty as she was, this weather was a bit much. Her voice was honeyed, though. She kept her composure, wondering if there was something she could get out of this ordeal.

If nothing else, she’d stay around to see if her worthless brother bothered to surface or if the precious princess came down from her castle. All in all, Ursula had nothing but gain to earn from this encounter. ”What’s wrong, dear? Troubles on the surface world?” There were always troubles on the surface world. Humans didn’t seem to know how to keep themselves in order.

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"Darling, you look to be rather troubled," came a voice from the sea.

Elsa whirled around, eyes wide. She could scarcely believe what she found sitting on a loose chunk of ice before her: a half-woman, half-octopus with big eyes, full red lips, a head of white hair not far in colour from her own and a seashell necklace. She was a bit on the heavy side -- no doubt her weight had broken the ice and that was why she sat upon it now -- but her voice more than made up for it. Behind the seeds of a cackle, her voice was smooth as ice, alluring and mysterious. Inviting.

"What's wrong, dear?" the woman went on. "Troubles on the surface world?"

Elsa's heart sank. She had hoped that the ocean, besides what she expected of it, was uninhabited by sentient creatures such as this... woman. Knowing that it wasn't -- how many more were there of people like this one living beneath the freezing waves? -- filled Elsa with guilt. Her ice creeped a little further away with her worries, securing another row of waves, and she cursed herself.

Elsa gave the woman a small smile, crossing her arms. Her fingers fidgeted nervously against her skin. She squeezed her arms together, hoping her companion wouldn't notice.

"You have no idea," she said, forcing herself to laugh. "Not so much on the surface world..."

Her smile faded. One hand escaped its prison and nestled in the crux of her chest, above her heart.

"... Just in here."

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These young woman always had such open hearts. Say the slightest sweet thing and they just open up. Still, Ursula kept her routine up. She crossed one arm under the elbow of her free hand, which touched her jowls as she paid adamant attention to Elsa’s little spiel. She made note of the ice. It was clearly not fully under the stranger’s control. It might not even be remotely under the stranger’s control.

But, it was powerful and that was all that really mattered to Ursula.

Noting the girl’s clear nervousness, Ursula said nothing of it. ”Oh, darling. You needn’t beat yourself up about what goes on inside. The heart’s a, a wild thing. Fickle.” Had a tendency to lead people into trouble and straight into her clutches. Good for Ursula, though, right? Tenderly checking the newly formed ice bridge between her former solo-float and the rest of Elsa’s expase, Ursula used her tentacles to mosy herself along. Hm, if this wasn’t so cold, it’d be kind of pleasant.

The short squat woman waved generally in Elsa’s direction. ”Now. What is it that’s bothering you? I’m sure it’s nothing an old charm worker like me can’t fix.” An exchange could always be made.

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Elsa chuckled again at the woman's words.

"If only it were just my heart," she said. Her eyes drifted away from the octopus's, out to the ever-expanding frozen plains that emanated from her feet. She saw, from the corner of her eye, the octopus pull herself off of her little island and onto the main ice bridge. Her movements were smooth, calm, slow -- something Elsa hadn't expected. She didn't seem too bothered by the ice either, which was a relief. A smile returned to Elsa's lips as the frosty plains halted somewhere in the distance. Elsa's eyes found those of the woman as her companion probed her further. Did she just call herself a 'charm worker'?

"I think you can see the problem," said Elsa, jerking her head towards the ice that surrounded them. Quickly, she added, "You shouldn't come any closer. I... I don't want to hurt you, and sometimes..."

She stopped herself as a pang of guilt struck her chest. Her eyes fell and she shook her head, returning her arms to their defensive cross against her chest. What use was there in explaining? By the end of the day, this woman and everyone else beneath the waves would be frozen solid by her hand. That was part of the deal. She had to do it, if she ever wanted to return to Arendelle.

No matter how much the guilt built up.

"Nevermind. You should probably get out of here, before you can't. I think I'm beyond being saved by a few charms..."

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Ursula halted when Elsa insisted. It might appear that she did it out of respect and some sense of personal space, but in reality she just wasn’t keen on joining Morgana as an octo-pop. Still, she kept up the sweet but eccentric old woman routine. People ate that up. Her tentacles curled closer to her, small scratches left upon the surface of the ice by the sharp ridges of her suction cups. She considered the girl’s words.

”Have you tried?” she pressed. This one was an old trick of hers. Just a few simple questions. Twist the truth. Her voice was not inquisitive, like a mother that was certain which of her brood had taken a cookie but wanted to hear it from their mouths. ”Fixing it, I mean. There’s no problem without a solution.” Still, she knew better than to get pushy. ”Why, even my magic’s got a method. But, you’re a grown woman. I shouldn’t have questioned you.” On that note, Ursula would make her way towards the edge of the ice.

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Elsa listened to the witch's words, despite avoiding her eyes.

"Have you tried? Fixing it, I mean. There's no problem without a solution," the witch had said.

Her frown would not go unnoticed by the witch, she was sure of that. But the question was almost insulting, until she took a moment to really think about it: had she tried fixing it? Sure, she had tried, on the night of her coronation, after her selfish escape from Arendelle, from the judging eyes of her people at her perverse sorcery. From Anna, and her wide, shocked yet understanding eyes, despite everything. She had tried to remove herself from the picture. She had believed that, alone, atop the Northern Mountain, cut off from the rest of the world and her sister, her powers would no longer rule over her life, her every waking thought, her every torturous nightmare.

Instead, she'd cast an Eternal Winter on Arendelle as she fled, the storm inside her so violent with fear and anxiety that had been building for years ever since that one fateful night in the ballroom. The night that changed her life forever. The night her parents made the decision for her, amongst a tribe of trolls who had saved her sister's life and removed all traces of Elsa's magical abilities in Anna's head.

Her parents had tried to fix her.

Conceal, don't feel, don't let them in. Don't let them see.

She repeated the words to herself in her head like a hymn, their warning so entrenched in her psyche that they swirled around in the vortex at her core, chained to the problem itself. Her parents had tried to fix her. She ran away.

And so was the witch. Elsa's head jerked up as her eyes finally registered the subtle squirming of the octopus's movements.

"No!" she said. She swallowed, her hand pressing even harder against her chest. "No... please, I'm sorry. Don't go."

Her eyes dropped back down for a second time. Shame held them there.

"My parents tried, when I was very young," she said. "To fix me. They took me to some trolls who could do magic, in the mountains. They... they told me I had these powers, that they were beautiful, but dangerous. That if I didn't control them, fear would become my enemy and it would undo me. They weren't far from the truth."

She forced herself to lift her head, her deep blue eyes finding the witch's.

"Please... if you know of any magic that can get rid of this ... this storm inside me..."

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Bingo. Ursula halted in her tracks, turning as if she was really curious, as if she really didn’t know what Elsa wanted. Already, she was writing up a mental contract. A hand on what passed for her hips (it was more like an oversized love handle), Ursula waited patiently. Trolls? Hm, she’d heard of them. From what she understood, they weren’t particularly powerful magic users. She’d keep that information to herself, though. Elsa’s trolls might not be the same as Ursula’s trolls.

When Elsa looked up, Ursula pursed her lips, then smiled. ”Hm, I might be able to help you, darling.” She squirmed back over, suction cups once again leaving shallow patterns over the ice. Gesturing wildly, she began her pitch. ”Your problem is fear, right? Sounds like you just need some time away from yourself, then, sweetheart!” Ursula laughed, as if the solution was oh-so simple. ”Tell you what; why don’t I lock up your powers for a while--my magic number is three, so how does three days without your ice sound, hm? That should be plenty of time to figure out how to handle yourself and othes?” This wasn’t the contract yet, just the lure to get Elsa to become more interested. ”Of course, there are terms and conditions with my kind of magic--but all for everone’s safety.” There was a jab there, a subtle one. Ursula’s magic was structured, formulaic. Whereas Elsa’s, up until now, was… chaotic, to say the least. ”Mmhmhmhmhm, so, how does three days without your external storm sound? I can fix that up in a jiffy.”

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"Only three days?"

The words slipped past Elsa's lips before she realized what was she saying. Even still, she couldn't deny there was disappointment in her voice. She shouldn't be disappointed -- after all, without her powers, how was she to complete her task? How was she to get home? Xehanort had promised her information, given her the means to travel to different worlds. He'd been nothing but kind to her, and yet now she wanted to throw all of that away? To a woman she'd just met? An octopus she'd just met?

She clenched and unclenched the fist at her chest. Guilt spurred her ice sheets onward, and she could hear them groan into motion over the gentle whistling of the sea breeze.

What had her father said that night, to answer the troll's burning question?

"Born or cursed with the powers?"

"Born."

She could have laughed if she had not been so scared. Always so, so scared. Fear ruled her very soul from that night on. For a decade and a half she had lived in that bedroom, playing quietly by herself while Anna knocked at her door and roamed the halls. Terrified to touch, terrified to feel. Even during her happiest times during those long, isolated years, fear nurtured the storm inside, made it grow and grow and grow. Fear of hurting her parents, of letting her father down, of freezing the house more times than she could count. Fear of failing to be a good daughter, a good Princess; fear of practicing her magic, despite its beauty and the joy it once brought to her; fear of never being able to leave that room again.

Fear of hurting Anna.

No matter what her father had said that night, no matter if it was the truth, he'd been wrong.

It was a curse. One she'd never been able to live with.

"I mean," she said, pulling herself out of her thoughts, "Some time away from myself sounds... wonderful. What are your terms... Ursula, is it?"

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Ursula waved her hand around, letting out a few humming noises as she considered how long she could make the Exchange last for. ”Well, I work in threes. A more binding contract could be for up to three years--but this is a trial, isn’t it, doll?”

As the air grew colder, Ursula took a step back. She felt her tentacles beginning to get stiff. So, exactly how powerful were Elsa’s powers…? Ursula was about to see if she could find out, right now. ”Tis, tis, my darling. Give me a moment--I’m gonna have to get the mojo going.”

Rolling her hands over each other in the chilly air, golden light soon began golden dust floating around Ursula’s hands. Soon, a golden papyrus paper formed, curling elegantly. ”Now, for three days, you’ll be free of all this ice. I’ll hold on to it, sort of like a bank. … they do have banks on the surface, don’t they? Anyway, during that time, if you must find peace with yourself, you’ll be given back in full your ice powers. If not, well, I can’t really have you going around freezing everything, darling.” Oh, so noble. Surely Ursula was looking out for everyone’s good--not just her own selfish interests. ”If you fail to find any semblance of peace, you powers will remain in my possession.” So, the Exchange was set up, magical contract waiting to be signed--Elsa’s finger would do fine, but spoken consent work as well. Ice would be taken and replaced with normalcy; powers for a concept. Maybe Elsa’s hair might temporarily change colors, even!

In a different part of her mind, Ursula busily thought up the right incantation she’d have to perform to work this. Gelum, rheum, listen tides of the Atlantean Sea, animus, sensus, animulus adamas, valet to me. That should do it. She’d gotten a bit rusty since she’d performed her last Exchange.

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So, three days. Three days to know what living a normal life was like. A life without the storm. A life without powers. A life without fear. Dozens of probing questions leaped into Elsa's head: Where was she going to sleep? Where was she going to go? What if the ice bridge melted and she couldn't get back to Ursula in case she failed? What of her task, her promise, her reward? What of Arendelle and Anna?

"Well, I work in threes," the witch was saying. "A more binding contract could be up to three years--but this is a trial, isn't it, doll?"

Elsa supposed the witch was right. It was probably a smarter idea in the long run, a three day trial. That gave her enough time to herself and would only delay her slightly in terms of completing her work. The ice field groaned again. That was her life now, wasn't it? Her curse. Sure, it was powerful, and once upon a time, atop a snowy mountain, she'd revelled in her magic. She'd let go of her fears and embraced her powers. She'd been free. That was, until she'd learned of the Eternal Winter that she'd cast upon Arendelle -- an Eternal Winter that, like so many years before, nearly ended her sister's life.

It would be nice to feel free like she had then, even if only for a few days.

Still, before she signed the floating parchment, she had a few questions.

"I understand," said Elsa. "But how will you know if I've found peace? How will I get back to you if I fail? How will you store something like this...?"

She wanted to ask another: "How will you get them out of me?" It hung on her tongue, but she pulled it back in. She wondered how she might answer if someone asked her how she'd managed to freeze her own kingdom to near-extinction. In the end, she concluded that, perhaps, some questions were too dark, too ugly to ask.

[Deleted]

”Well, the magic will know.” While Ursula was tempted to lie on a lot of things, that was one it was simply useless to lie about. Magic, even when used for dark purposes, was still magic. It did what it did and nothing more or less. If the contractual magic said it would return Elsa’s powers should she find peace at the end of the three days, then it would fulfill what mission it had been cast for. If not, it would remain in Ursula’s possession. ”At the end of three days, the contract will be either fulfilled or voided, and since I’ll hang on to it, I’ll know to go looking for you.” After all, she’d have a bartering chip then. Even if Elsa wanted her powers back then, Ursula hadn’t had anyone captive to her, indebted to her, in such a long, long time.

What kind of polyp would the snow queen make?

Finally, Ursula lifted the shell laced ‘round her throat. ”Very fragile, very fiercely protected. It’s magic, as well. Your powers will be kept here.” Of course, in the same vein that Ursula had been able to tap into Ariel’s voice that time, she’d be able to take into Elsa’s powers… but t’was best not to try that underwater. Maybe a later date, if all things worked out.

The golden scroll waited.

[Deleted]

Elsa listened intently while the witch explained. She nodded her head at several points, knowing full well the strange laws magic followed of its own accord, the way it knew when it had been used up or how it pined for more sustenance. The witch promised her she would find her when the time expired. Elsa nodded, but couldn't help but notice the octopus-woman's eyes crawl across her body. Elsa crossed her arms defensively but said nothing of it. This was her decision, after all. Ursula had every right to insure her own side of the bargain.

The witch lifted her shell necklace. Elsa's eyes followed it, chased it as it swung back and forth on its string. The home of her ice, at least for the next three days. Longer, she hoped, if all went well.

Her heart sunk. Memories of Anna flashed across her vision. She shut them out. The ice stood still, frozen white caps locked in eternal spirals on the horizon.

"I accept."

Elsa pressed her finger to the scroll and spelled out her name.