"So... My dad?" I prompt when both girls are silent. 

Mahina sighs first. Kalia seems to interested in scooting away from me. "Well..." Mahina rubs the necklace around her neck. "So..."

"What?" I demand. 

Kalia scowls. "There's no right way to say it, Sister." She says to Mahina. "Elicia, you father is the god of Death, Hades."

I stare at them in shock. "W-what?"

Anna visibly winces and I turn to her. "You knew my father is the god of death? How did that even happen? I thought Hades was on the Isle!"

"He was. " Kalia acknowledges. "But he earned his way back. Years ago, your mother went to visit the Isle to see if she could get Hans to repent after she heard he had a child. But he refused, and so she went to a few other villains. All of them laughed in her face until Hades, who thought her proposal sounded like a way to get off the Isle, so he accepted with the intent to betray her as soon as he got out of the barrier."

"But he didn't?" I guess.

"Nope!" Kalia and Mahina chorus. 

"He fell in love with her." Kalia says. 

"The god of Death. Fell in love with my mom. The Snow Queen."

They both nod. 

"The god of freaking Death. With blue flamey hair."

They nod again. "Although his hair went out years ago, now he has real hair." Kalia says, like that changes everything. 

"Okay." I clear my throat. "Um, so, why am I cursed?"

"Not finished!" Kalia says. "So your father came to Auradon, with the full intent of being a good guy, and your mother trusted him, but then..." she coughs. "When Elsa got pregnant..."

"Everyone thought Hades had... erm..." Mahina squirms, glancing at Ella, Krissy, and Andy, none of whom appear to be listening until they feel everyone's eyes on them.

"What?" Andy asks, running a hand through his hair. "Do I got a spider?"

"We get it, Mahina." I say quickly. "Just, um, skip that part."

"Yeah. Well, everyone chased Hades away, and Elsa tried to stop them, but the only people who came to her aid was Princess Merida and your Aunt."

Anna smiles slightly. "I offered to hide him in Arendelle, but he said he'd always wanted to go to Scotland. And he's been there ever since, far as I know."

Kalia nods. "And when you were born, he tried to come back. He tried to visit your mother in the North Mountain, but..."

"People were waiting for him to who up. And..." Mahina stops.

"Enough hesitatin'!" Sera snaps. "Just spit out all of the story, ya snails!"

Mahina and Kalia share sad looks. "Well... because he tried to visit you... a bunch of Auradonians attacked him."

"To protect my mom?" I ask. 

"To protect themselves. The lord of the dead scared them. They just didn't want to admit it." Kalia explains. 

"So what happened to King Zombie?" Sera asks. Carlos elbows her. "What?"

"He turned part human." Mahina said sadly. "He had to use an enormous amount of power to get out of there, and it drained him. That's why his fire hair is gone... and why he never came to see you again, Elicia."

"Okay, seriously, call me Ellie." I say. "This 'Elicia' business is killing me."

Everyone goes silent.

"Bad timing." I decide. 

Everyone nods. I notice Aunt Anna is white as snow.

Mahina clears her throat again. "Um, yes, well, Ellie, your dad's powers, as you know, are death-y and dark. So... Are you really sure you want to know why you're cursed?"

"Yes!" I say. 

"Your parents' powers do not mix well." Kalia says slowly. "You know that. But can you guess why?"

"Um, because his head can catch on fire?" I guess, knowing full well I got it wrong. 

"No. What else is Hades the god of?"

"Uhh...."

"Fear!" Carlos jumps in. Everyone looks at him. "What? I read a greek mythology book once."

Kalia nods, smiling. "Yes, fear. He has a helm of darkness that lets him send out fear, and when mixed with your mom's powers...."

"Wait, why is fear and ice bad.... ooohhhhh...." I  say, finally getting it. 

"Oh what?" Sera demands. "I still don't get it!"

"Remember what makes my mom's---and now my--- powers worse?" I ask. "What emotion...?"

"Y'all are makin ' no sense---ohhhhhh..." 

"Fear was the worst thing she could feel whenever she used her powers. Like when she held the scepter when she was coronated?  But what does that have to do with the curse?"

"When you mom accidentally sent a bit of her powers into you, she molded your father's powers with hers. Death is inside you, quite literally." Kalia says. 

I hold up my hand and summon some of my familiar ice. "But I've never felt anything like that."

"Tell me, what does your powers do when you get scared or angry?" Mahina asks. 

"And what happens when you're in a situation that's life-threatening?" Kalia chimes in.

"I freeze."

They both look smug. "That's your father's side effects. When you need it most, you can't die."

"But... the curse is killing me." I say. 

Mahina looks a bit concerned. "Not totally. It's draining you, which is an entirely different thing."

"But is there a way to stop it? Completely?" Carlos asks. 

They both look at each other. "Yes."

"How?" Sera snaps when they don't elaborate. 

"Your powers. They don't hurt to use, do they?" Mahina asks. 

"Uh, no."

"Then I need you to go into the water."

"Wait, why?" I ask as she and Kalia both stand up. 

"We need you to try and drown yourself."

"WHAT?" Sera yells. "Are you crazy, she could die!"

Kalia rolls her eyes. "Uh, yes, that's the point."

I stand up with everyone else. I see Krissy, Andy, and Ella playing off on the shore away from here with those other two guys that were with Kalia. 

"HOW exactly would dying help my curse?" I ask. 

Mahina answers first. "Your powers freeze you when you need it correct? So the last time you froze, where were you?"

"On the Isle."

"The Isle's magic-prohibiting barrier messed with it, and your fear that you must have felt when you were dying may have slowed it as well... but in any case, you being on the Isle and almost dying made the fear soak into your ice part of yourself, sort of like an unwanted disease."

"Still not getting how drowning would help."

"Silly, you obviously need to reverse the effects!" Kalia scolds. "You need to feel no fear this time, and when you freeze again it should force the curse out!"

"But she could die." Carlos so wisely points out. "Aren't you worried this might not work?"

They both automatically shake their heads. "We're positive. We could stab her, but there would be a chance she might not survive that. She needs to willingly try to kill herself." Kalia says. 

Sera sighs. "You're sure this is the only way to get 'er back to normal?"

They nod. 

Everyone turns to me. 

"So... I just have to drown myself without getting scared?" I ask slowly. 

"And no one can help you." Mahina instructs. 

I nod. "Because that wouldn't be any fun," I mutter under my breath, turning back to the ocean. I can practically hear everybody tense up and hold their breath as I walk towards the water. 

I turn back. "Um, I don't think it's possible to breathe in underwater. Like, isn't there some thing that's in someone's head that physically won't let you?"

Mahina raises her oar. "We could always knock you out."

"Won't that fall under not helping me?"

"Technically, it would be the oar helping you."

"Fine. Just don't give me a concussion, oka---" Mahina whacks my head and the world turns black as she shoves me into the water. 

_________________________________

Okay, so for the people that read the FIRST version where she breathed in, someone pointed out that that can't happen, so I hope this one is more realistic. 

Hope you liked this chapter!! If some stuff about her dad or her curse doesn't make sense, PLEASE comment! It makes sense to me, but that's probably only because I'm the one writing it. Comment if you need something explained better, and I'll go back an fix it!

As always though, I hope you enjoyed! 

Also, anyone else happy that I finally got rid of Ellie's stupid death thingy? Eh?