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justlookatthosesausages · 4 years

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“Lift the Spirit” :: a post-Frozen 2 Elsamaren fanfic

Chapter 3: Clap together, snap together

Elsa watched Honeymaren sleep with a grin filled with love. She was lying down next to her, her cheek against her hand, her elbow propped on the fresh grass. The blonde had gone down to the river to fetch some water for them. But even when she tried to wake her wife up and insist that she should drink, the Northuldra leader refused to sit up from the comfy spot that Elsa had found for them two.

Trips to Ahtohallan however made one thirsty, contrary to popular belief, for humid glaciers didn’t change anything to the effort that was needed to hike them. So the Snow Queen was stubborn.

As Honeymaren went back to sleep, Elsa smirked discreetly and pointed with her palm to the bowl filled with water, then focused to make the drops blob out of it and form a sphere of liquid in the air. She bit her lip to refrain herself from laughing, and moved the sphere to above Honeymaren’s face.

Then she stopped focusing to make all the water fall. The brunette gasped, and accidentally swallowed water in the process. She coughed and grumbled as she wiped her face. Elsa was dead laughing, and even rolled on the grass, her hands on her belly.

“You… DORK! Okay, now I’m fully awake.”

“At least you’ve drunk water.” Mocked Elsa.

Honeymaren grabbed Elsa’s bowl, which was still full, and splashed its content on her wife’s face. Elsa gasped loudly when she received her revenge.

“You’ll regret this.” She glanced, threatening. “Water has memory, and I will not forget that.”

She waved her fingers around her wet face, and all the water on her skin floated to rearrange in another blob, which she threatened the brunette with. Surprisingly, Honeymaren then jolted forward to swallow it, and grinned after she did.

“What the hell?” Blinked Elsa.

“Well, the hares you hunted and cooked for us at noon were a feast, but I’ve got to admit, a bit dry. I’m actually thirsty.”

Elsa lifted an eyebrow. That was just tease, and she knew it.

“But that’s not the only thing I’m thirsty about…” Continued Honeymaren, smirking.

Oh. Here we go.

She turned to be in Elsa’s lap, and they were now sitting face to face, then she kissed her lips, cheeks and neck. The blonde giggled.

“You’re aware that even in the isolated patch of grass we’re in, any Northuldra can see us, right?”

“I don’t care.” Murmured Honeymaren, and Elsa could feel her smile against her skin.

Elsa bent her head and let herself go into the emotions that her wife’s touch conveyed, then she suddenly startled.

“Wait, do you hear that?”

Honeymaren giggled in her neck, her eyes still closed. “Your heart beating louder than drums? Yes dear.”

“No, I heard something up there.”

The brunette smirked from where she was, still kissing her lover’s neck, and quite enjoying how Elsa’s muscles had tensed right at the spot she was aiming.

“Honey, wait.”

The Northuldra was about to tell her she was imagining stuff, when she heard something too. Her head snapped up as she twirled, joining Elsa’s eye level, and starring in the same direction than her. Both women stood alert, keeping their gaze on the trees, but they didn’t know that it actually was a diversion trick. Another enemy was arriving from behind them.

“It’s probably a bear…” Relativized Honeymaren. It wasn’t that far-fetched, because they were often sniffing around their camp for food, especially after Elsa was the one to cook.

Elsa squinted. “No… It’s magical… I can feel it in the air.”

She then focused harder. “In fact…” She realized that the presence also was behind them, and she twirled around, throwing her arm in front of her wife, and grabbing her hand so she would get behind her.

“WATCH OUT!”

Right at the same time, a gooey monster, that had the silhouette of a two and a half meters tall muscular man, lowered its hand on them. Elsa’s fast reflexes saved them as she crafted an ice shield out of nowhere, so fast and so big fueled with her terror that it rose even higher than the size of the creature. It had the shape of a half circle barrier and was unmindfully decorated with a giant Spirits union snowflake symbol. The Snow Queen extended the shield with a flick of her hand, the other still firmly holding Honeymaren’s and forbidding her to make any move. She encompassed them almost entirely in a dome, and fled by the remaining space at the end of it. It protected them from the horrible yet clever double attack, and gave them enough time to flee. Elsa tugged on Honeymaren’s hand to take her in the move, but the Northuldra leader had already understood her plan, and they entered the village at high speed.

“ALERT!! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!! EVERYONE, GET IN FORMATION!!” Yelled the brunette with all the force in her lungs, and everyone heard, quickly placing themselves in positions.

While the Northuldra were getting prepared, Elsa kept her eyes on the monsters, trying all she could to not get physically repulsed by their hideous appearance.

So that was what dark magic could create… While her magic allowed her to bring snow and ice to life, this one seemed to make mutant humanoid forms crawl and stumble to her, like they were half alive and half dead. With a shiver, Elsa created another layer protection with a three meters tall shield to protect this entrance of the village, especially when she saw that the two monsters had followed them. The creatures didn’t run fast, in fact it was more like they walked in brisk steps, and they seemed a bit dumb because they bumped head first on her shield, due to the blur transparency of the ice. The magic matter they were made of splashed on the surface, but they didn’t die nevertheless; the two big spatters of dark black slime still seemed alive, and Elsa winced in disgust and worry when she saw it shape again. It was like ink had been mixed with mud, and was now getting the silhouette of two men again. Even if one could tell where their head was, they had no eyes, no nose, no mouth, so it made them even more scary in a way. They had long crooked fingers that now grinded, squeaked and creaked along the ice shield as they tried to climb it to get on Elsa’s side. The blonde gasped, and she waved her hands so that the surface would project them away with horizontal spikes. It was effective, for one of them got impaled right away, and the other stumbled to the grass.

The beautiful and comfy grass that Honeymaren and her had been relaxing on barely minutes ago. And that now Elsa would never want to touch again after she saw the way the monster was getting up, leaning on a hand that splattered black goo everywhere.

The creature that should have been killed with her spikes simply turned a bit more liquid to escape the ice stalagmites, shifted a bit on the side, then continued its ascension. It even helped itself with her upgrade to go to the top faster.

“Oh no, filthy slimes, not on my watch.” Muttered Elsa with a frown.

She moved her elbows back, then quickly projected her arms and hands forward, sending the ice shield slide on several tens of meters, projecting the two creatures away with the force of a freight train at full speed. She waved her hands so that the shield would splash them against the ones she had created earlier, and they all smashed in an explosion of ice and goo.

Nobody human could have survived that, for Elsa’s magical ice was as dense and unbreakable as diamond if she decided so, but she figured that they would still stand up harmless afterwards. She crafted a dome above them and flipped her hands down to trap them, but as soon as they reshaped, they started to dig to go underneath. Elsa extended the dome to go deeper in the ground, but she couldn’t do that eternally; also, she wasn’t willing to damage Nature in order to stop two stupid creatures.

She thought about if they deserved to be called stupid. They had an idiotic behavior, by they erratic moves, but they seemed really well made, or designed; she could tell quickly that the absence of eyes or nostrils actually meant that they were attracted to Elsa’s magic, and tracking her like hounds on a trail.

The blonde gulped at how the theory had been correct: she was, since the beginning, the target of those magic attacks. Victor Eiglatson was sadly as clever as she had expected. First, he had created those monsters to attack the camp in her absence to see if the Spirits of Nature could intervene against dark magic, but they couldn’t, because that was how the balance between good and evil was maintained; now, he attacked Elsa when she least expected it. He had waited for Honeymaren, her protector, to fall asleep, before launching the attack.

At the thought, Elsa crafted another ice layer for safety, and turned to search for her wife, inspecting the moves in the camp. To her deepest fear, but she had to admit, not biggest surprise, she realized that the Northuldra camp wasn’t attacked at this only entrance; the monsters had made their way to two other spots. One was taking care of by the tallest people of the camp, and the other by fearless hunters armed to the teeth led by Honeymaren. Meanwhile, the children were being taken care of at the center of the village by everyone remaining. Elsa’s eyes darted from one spot to another to count the assailants; there were six of them. Two for each entrance. She took a guess that Victor couldn’t create more creatures than that. She also noticed that, while it took at least ten people to stop the progress of two monsters, she had been able to take care of her two on her own. But this was no time to brag. It also was no time to admire how beautiful Honeymaren was when she fought, so she shook her head when her eyes checked on the Northuldra leader’s group a bit longer than needed.

Elsa twirled around to trap the two creatures in a giant ice cube, because she knew that an ice cage would be useless; they would go through the bars with their black ink constitution. She then ran to the group that wasn’t helped by Honeymaren, giving enough trust into her wife to hold the attack there longer. She pushed away the monsters with a blast of magic, and the Northuldra of the group smiled at her help and talent. However, the blonde winced and frowned; all of this was only making them gain time. They had to actually kill them, and she didn’t like this idea at all. Now she understood why Nature’s magic didn’t have to interfere with dark one. They didn’t have the same ethics. Elsa was a pacifist, and she pouted a bit at the task that was coming. She rose other walls of ice between the people and the monsters, postponing the moment when she would have to actually harm them.

Also, this use of magic against magic was starting to tire her a bit; she knew that sensation, for she had felt the same when she fought Bruni or Nokk ages ago. It wasn’t like she was raising an ice palace out of nowhere; dark magic was draining all of her forces at each and every defense she crafted. One creature had managed to pass on the left side of the shield, and Elsa’s head twitched to it, sending it back in one swift move of the coldest ice.

“AGH!” Suddenly screamed a Northuldra on Elsa’s left. She was holding her arm, trembling.

“What is it??” Worried the blonde.

“It splashed on me as you fended it off. The goo hurts…”

“It’s burning your skin?” Analyzed Elsa, looking away from the creatures for a moment to inspect the arm of the woman.

Indeed, until now, she hadn’t been touched by the enemy - she would never get a scratch in battle, had once said Anna - so she couldn’t know.

“It’s not exactly like fire…” Winced the Northuldra. “It’s more like it’s toxic. Like nettles mixed with rosary peas…”

Elsa blinked as she processed that. It helped that the victim was the botanist of the tribe, and yet made her confused for a moment. When she understood the sensation that the Northuldra botanist was describing, she hovered her hand above the touched part of her arm, and infused ice to calm the sensible skin.

“There. It will soothe it a bit, and I’ll have a look at it once this is all over.”

The woman blinked at the sensation. “I’m actually feeling way better already. Thank you, Fifth Spirit.”

Elsa nodded, then turned to the monsters. A frown wrinkled her usually calm features.

So they could harm the Northuldra, uh? Oh. That was it. She had a hard time motivating herself to actually harm them, but now she was enraged. When the ice wall crumbled down after the monsters insisted passing through with their long crooked fingers, she screamed and ran head first to the nearest creature, her hands glowing bright blue, her azure eyes vibrant with anger.

Honeymaren turned at her lover’s war shout. She had a peek at her between the trees. Elsa was fighting fiercely, but something made her frown. The Snow Queen rarely sweated, for her magical body always cooled off her skin. So when she saw the pearls of sweat on her forehead as she dodged from the monster’s blow, she knew that the situation was critical.

“ELSA!” She called, panic raising her voice.

“I’m okay!” Yelled the blonde back, not even looking at Honeymaren, which would have distracted her anyway.

She hit the creatures with a snow blast, and it stumbled back, then she waved in a discarding way at the Northuldra leader.

“Keep helping the people! And watch out for the dark matter they’re made off, it’s toxic!”

She could however still feel the insistent gaze of her wife on her shoulder, despite the silence coming from her that meant she had taken in account her advice.

Elsa turned around. “I’m fine, Honeymaren!” She said, but it was a blatant lie. She was out of breath, and perfectly aware that this fight was the most difficult she had ever been in.

“Elsa! Look out!” Screamed a Northuldra, pointing behind her.

The Fifth Spirit turned around, but it was too late. By the time she would raise her hands to make a shield, the creature would have finished extending their long hands to touch her.

When suddenly, something whistled next to Elsa’s ear, and planted loudly in the wood of the nearest tree, piercing the monster. It stumbled backwards with the force of the blow, and hit the three, splashing on the bark.

Elsa let out a gasp of surprise, but also relief to see that she had escaped death by a second. She recognized her wife’s arrows, identifiable by the deep green fletching feathers. The blonde twirled around and saw Honeymaren, face focused, her long bow taut for another shot, a new arrow already placed and ready to go. Elsa could see fire in her brown eyes, even with the distance. Despite the urgency and certainly her panic, Honeymaren had a perfectly composed posture, her whole body optimized to shoot the monster a second time if needed. Elsa had to say, both of those physical traits made her incredibly attractive. She gulped and focused on the way more urgent problem, and dove aside as the creature recovered and moved, refilling the hole the arrow had made in its magical body. Honeymaren immediately shot another arrow, and this time it planted right into where its heart would have been if it were human. The monster got planted to the tree from there, and stopped moving.

Elsa blinked in amazement at the precision of her wife. She had acknowledge it long ago, but now made the mental promise to never mess with her when she had a hunting bow in hand. If she could aim from that far, who knew what she could do when--

An idea suddenly struck Elsa’s mind, with the same force than an arrow.

“They don’t freeze once touched with my magic…” She muttered, thinking out loud. “Because they need to be killed with magic, though like humans.”

To prove that her suspicions were correct, the creatures started to move, like it came back to life, and started to break free from the arrow. It stood tall in front of Elsa, and the latter ran away. It wasn’t to save herself; she was running right to Honeymaren.

“Don’t shoot at it!” Ordered the Fifth Spirit.

“What?!” Frowned the brunette, and she unfocused from her aim to look at her lover. She saw on her face the familiar ‘I have a plan’ expression, and she relaxed her posture. She lowered the bow, the arrow still at the ready, and looked at Elsa.

She then looked down when she saw blue light shimmer from her hands. Elsa was staring at Honeymaren’s arrow and doing her best fo make a replica in ice, as close as she could get, while keeping the same weight and density than a regular wood one. She twirled and waved her hands until her work was done, and a satisfied grin stretched her lips.

“Try with that.”

Honeymaren delicately took the creation in her hands. It was just unbelievable. She spinned the ice arrow in her fingers. It was cold but not too cold, and radiating with strong magic to such a level that even herself could tell. It was like holding a glass replica of her own arrows, but she knew, by its density, that it would be unbreakable.

“Clever, snømus. With that, they will finally die.”

She spent a few more seconds to lift the object and observe the arrow point. Even the hafting was reproduced to perfection.

“Waow, the details are so precise…”

“No time for admiration!” Scolded Elsa.

Honeymaren hurried in her moves. She put her arrow back in her quiver, and placed Elsa’s. She looked in the distance to track the monster, which was getting hit by several Northuldra and their staffs. She aimed perfectly and, with the same astonishing precision than a regular arrow, she planted it right into the monster’s head.

Something incredibly happened then; until now, when the dark creatures were hit, they reshaped, to everyone’s disgust and disappointment. But now that they had been hit at a vital point by Elsa’s magic in a one-shot kill, they dissipated in the air, like when magic was vanishing after use.

A moment of silence appeared as most of the Sami stared at where the creature had been, pointing at the spot with their weapons. They expected it to form again, but when nothing happened, they shouted in joy. Honeymaren smirked at her successful revenge, and shook her head at her lover.

“More, more, more, create more!”

There was no need to say; Elsa was already at task. Several arrows were floating in the air around her as she modeled them in sequence, and Honeymaren grabbed them. She ran back and forth in the woods and between the huts to aim at the five remaining creatures, and in less time than it would take to say it, she killed them one by one. She hopped, she slid, she sprinted, and Elsa observed as she took care of all the enemies by herself. In satisfying ‘thwacks’, the creatures got hit at the head or at the heart, and all tumbled and died instantly like the first one.

When they all disappeared, the Northuldra couldn’t believe their eyes, but soon bursted in cheers. Everyone raised their arms in victory, some hugged, some danced, some jumped.

Elsa jogged to the middle of the camp to join Honeymaren, who was smiling widely.

“Well, I call that excellent teamwork.” Sighed the leader, in relief and pride, seeing how they all had successfully faced the dark magic attack. “Elsa, those arrows are simply amaz--”

She stopped talking when the blonde grabbed her collar and crashed her lips on hers, kissing her deeply. Honeymaren widened her eyes in surprise, and the few Northuldra around grinned and diverted their gaze politely. Elsa sighed in emotion once she stepped out of the kiss. She was slightly taller than Honeymaren, so when the brunette looked up at her confusedly and dizzily, the Snow Queen giggled.

“I had to. You have no idea how seductive you are when you’re archering.” She whispered.

Honeymaren smirked, delighted to see that for once, Elsa had taken the lead.

“Also, you saved my life. Thank you.” Said the blonde on a higher voice.

Her collar grasp turned into a hug, and Honeymaren held her tight with closed eyes.

“I will never let anyone or anything take you away from me, snømus.” She smiled.

=======

The Northuldra leader observed the state of the village, and smiled at how the Spirits now were making their best to prevent any other surprise attack. Gale, who already was a true snitch, made sure to shake every bush to check that no monster was hiding behind it.

The tribe also searched for the dark slime that had splashed on the trees or ground because it could be toxic for the environment. When they saw that no trace of it had remained once they got killed, they understood that just like Bruni’s flames disappear once Elsa stops him, the goo was linked to the creatures it belonged to and had vanished with them. Another thing that had vanished was the possible presence of Victor. The Northuldra had looked everywhere, but there was no sign of him. Only footsteps betrayed his presence, but they led to the river.

Honeymaren prefered it that way, glad that this was over, at least for now. She looked for her wife through the trees. After some time walking, she heard Elsa’s voice in the distance like she was chatting with someone.

“...doesn’t have a second wave. I love you. Bye.” She said when the brunette joined her, sounding like the end of a conversation, and the latter was confused. There was no one in front of her.

“Talking to yourself?”

Elsa turned at her voice, feeling better by her sole presence. “No. I needed to create a memory of me saying that out loud to…”

She waved her hand to be more explicit, and it was like humidity in the air formed around her palm, layers of snowflakes glowing with magic and looking like floating blue sparkles.

Honeymaren smiled widely when she understood, amazed. “To send a message to Anna. You’re going to craft an ice memory of you saying that.”

Elsa smiled, and nodded.

“Holy Ahtohallan, I married a genius.” Exhaled Honeymaren.

The blonde snorted with modesty. “Actually, I’m hesitant… Do you think this is cheating? Sending fake memories as a medium of communication?”

“Don’t panic, cute Spirit. These are not fake, the one you’re making for example had just happened. You’re not a fraud against Nature’s laws.” Chuckled the Northuldra.

She placed her hands on her hips. “This actually is brilliant. As my favorite redhead once told me: ‘You cracked it!’”

“You’re favorite redhead… Anna?”

“Yes, obviously. I’m not referring to Oaken.”

“I mean, I’m surprised that she told you that. What was the context?”

“We were playing chess. I apparently made her discover a new tactic. Though I still can’t fully grasp how this game works. Sidenote: she desperately wants to beat you.”

“I can pretend that she won the next time we play.” Shrugged Elsa.

Honeymaren puffed as the blonde then waved her hand to send the message.

They both watched the pack of glowing blue snowflakes fly away and leaving the Forest towards Arendelle.

“We should change our minds.” Suggested Honeymaren, already filling her head with a dozen tasks to do to stop thinking about the attack.

“Yeah. I need to fidget with something. I’m gonna go build a cairn or two. Or twenty.”

=======

Anna was standing up and pointing at a giant map on the table of the room, indicating to her daughter the strategic points of the kingdom, but also of other kingdoms, so she could get the big picture on a country scale. Eydis was standing up next to her, very attentive and taking notes, which warmed Anna’s heart and filled her with maternal pride. Her suspicions were correct: the young blonde loved to solve problems. Whether they were a broken chair to fix with tools, an ice shortage in Summer to palliate with thanks to ice harvesting expeditions, or an economical issue that Arendelle was facing. While she smiled as she gave a small pause in her explanations to let Eydis the time to write the advices down, something shimmered on the balcony.

It caught Anna’s eye, but she thought for a moment that it was just a seagull landing on the railing in a white blur. She didn’t pay much attention, and turned to her again.

The thing kept shining, though, so she interrupted her sentence a few seconds later to keep watching by the window.

“And uh… I was saying…” She said in a troubled voice, trailing off.

“Is there something distracting you?” Smirked Eydis. “Or maybe you’re thinking of escaping?”

Anna puffed. “Don’t be silly. I love teaching you. I actually missed these sessions. It’s just…”

She walked to the window to stare through it closely, and suddenly she gasped when she recognized what it was. The redhead violently opened the handle of the door and went on the balcony, staring at what had just appeared. Eydis turned to watch, and with the open window door, she could see it clearly.

Aunt Elsa?

Somehow, Elsa was standing on the balcony, and yet it wasn’t Elsa at all. Eydis squinted and then realized that it was a representation of Elsa, in the same style than the ice statues she made sometimes, and that always amazed by how detailed they are. This one looked like Elsa herself, but entirely artic blue, with almost imperceptible irises. Another difference was that this one seemed to move, and both the girl and the woman startled when it suddenly came to life and began to talk. The voice was undeniably Elsa’s, but sounded cristaline and echoed weirdly, like if she were talking in a glass bottle.

“Anna. I have to inform you about something. The Northuldra camp has been targeted by a man with dark magic. He can create monsters made of nearly indestructible and unstoppable matter, and he attacked twice to this day.”

Anna’s knees nearly buckled at her sister’s words. Wait what? What what what? Also, she hated already how fast this pre-recorded message was. She couldn’t intervene, because it kept going without interruption.

“My fears had turned to be right. Those creatures are after me, and they are made to kill me.”

The redhead missed a heartbeat at that sentence, and her breathing hitched. The magical message continued, undaunted.

“But what the most important is, I’m safe. Honeymaren is safe too. And the whole tribe has no body to mourn. We only have lost two men yesterday, but that was another attack.”

The message obviously was something that Elsa had made in advance, so she could not hear Anna’s current reaction or replies. However, the elder knew her little sister by heart, and it was like she had predicted what would happen. Right when Anna gasped loudly, Elsa immediately continued with: “Wait, no, don’t panic. I know you well enough to know that you’re already leaving the balcony to grab a coat to come to me, and please listen, because I’m not done.”

Anna grumbled and let go of the coat she had picked up from the wardrobe, and reluctantly went back to the balcony. Eydis laughed at her mother’s reaction, because it was even more funny than if she had been scolded directly; Elsa’s ice statue was now giving a few seconds of time for Anna to come back in front of her. That was just comedy gold.

“You’re back? Okay. Good. So, I actually really don’t advise you to come because those creatures could harm you. I believe in your skills, that’s not the problem, but it would be best if you stay in Arendelle. I need to tell you about who the enemy is too, but that can wait.” “THAT CAN WAIT?!” Jolted Anna, her jaw dropping.

“Shhh”, warned Eydis. “You’re missing the rest of the message.”

“...I’ll get to Arendelle once I’m sure that this current attack doesn’t have a second wave. I love you. Bye.”

Both Anna and Eydis blinked at how the message ended. The ice statue dissolved into tiny snowflakes, and they softly swirled to get carried away by the breeze. Anna’s shoulders slumped.

“What… THE HELL?!”

Eydis snorted. “Calm down.”

“How can I be calm?” Yelled Anna, and her daughter jumped, especially at the way her mother had come back in the room, closed the balcony doors, and grabbed her coat to… Immediately go?

“Hey, she told you to stay here.”

“Yeah, and I’ve stopped listening to her advice long ago.”

“But she’s right! If those things are after her, then you’re safer here.”

Anna pretended she didn’t hear that. She put on her coat, changed her shoes, tied her hair in a more practical way, and shoved random food that was on the table into a satchel that she put across her chest.

“Mother, it’s okay…” Soothed Eydis.

“But she NEVER send messages via ice statues! We usually use Gale, or she comes by herself! Something must be wrong. Or bad. Or both.”

“She doesn’t seem that panicked… Unlike you.” Noted the princess.

Anna wasn’t paying attention anymore. She was out of breath, her eyes darting left and right to check if she needed something else from the room, and she looked like a real mess. Eydis stared at her with a dropped jaw due to disbelief. She startled when Anna suddenly came close to her, kissed her on the forehead, and left the room in a gust.

“I’ll be back when… When I’ll be back!”

“What?” Said Eydis, staring at the corridor.

A moment passed, the room now completely silent, and she blinked in utter confusion. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She knew that her mother often had improvised behaviors like those, but she was flabbergasted. Eydis kept blinking, and one of her blonde dutch braids fell off her shoulder as a perfect representation of her disarray.

=======

Kristoff smiled at Eydis’ sudden entrance in the building.

“You escaped your lesson again, uh?”

Since she was a teenager, his daughter despised theory classes, and prefered to learn manual things, so it wasn’t the first time she was entering the ice harvesters guild in a hurry. However, this time, she was not running away from an angry teacher, and in fact, Anna’s geopolitics lesson had been interesting.

The ice harvesters greeted their princess with nods and waves, and Kristoff smiled from the seat where he was, at the end of the table, which was reserved for him as both the King and the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer. He put his grinning face on his fist.

“You know, you remind me of your mother when she was younger. There was a time when she would cross the village running and find me here, in panic after she broke something in the castle or set the kitchens on fire.”

“Father!! You have to come to the castle right now.”

The blond’s smile fell and his face twisted to concern. Eydis indeed looked like her mother, but when the latter was utterly panicked. And something told him that Anna also was in a similar state as they were speaking.

“Why?!” He asked, standing and joining her on the threshold.

“Mother just received an ice message with a magical statue. I mean, a magical message with-- whatever. It’s from Elsa, and she’s imagining the worst. But I saw the message and it’s actually not that bad! And Elsa told her to not go to the Forest! But she didn’t listen! And she’s leaving anyway--”

“She’s leaving?” Repeated Kristoff, his eyes wide.

Eydis didn’t even have to answer. He already was running to the castle, and she followed him close. But it was too late. When they arrived to the courtyard, the stables doors were opened wide, with the evidence that she had just left.

Kristoff sighed. “Did she at least take food with her?”

“Well, mostly chocolate and strawberries.”

=======

Elsa was satisfied to see on the following morning that everything that had been broken during the battle had been fixed, and that they had managed to place everything back to where it was. Her hands on her hips, she smiled with a huff as she watched the village returning to its casual activities.

“Fifth Spirit, may I ask for your help?” Came a timid voice behind her, and she turned.

It was Hilka, a girl from the family living a hut away from the reindeer paddock. She was really shy and also very pious, so Elsa wasn’t surprised to see that she had took off her hat and was placing it above her heart, not daring to look at Elsa directly, and instead staring at the dirt on the ground.

“Please, Hilka, you can call me Elsa, I told you already.” Assured the blonde in a soft and smiling voice.

The girl blushed. “But I’d never dare to be this familiar with a magical divinity...”

“If that makes you uncomfortable, you can keep calling me Fifth Spirit, it’s okay. But I swear that I don’t mind it if you call me Elsa. In fact, none of us, the Spirits, mind.” She searched for an example. “See, you don’t have a name for the Wind Spirit, and yet since Olaf nicknamed them Gale, I call them Gale, and they don’t mind at all. You know, except from Nokk, who’s the most susceptible being I’ve ever seen, no one actually cares.” She giggled.

It made the Northuldra smile, and she seemed relaxed. She finally dared to look at her in the eyes, and Elsa realized for the first time that she had emerald-like irises.

“Could you please help me lift a barrel… Elsa?”

“Sure!” Chimed the blonde, delighted by the way she dared now.

They walked to the barrel in question, and the Fifth Spirit noted that indeed, they usually asked Gale or an Earth Giant to help with it, but they were busy keeping an eye on the village’s surrounding to prevent any attack.

Elsa casually waved her hand, and a gust of snowflakes surrounded the barrel in a magic blue glow, lifting it in a cold wind, and moving it to the spot Hilka was pointing at, a few meters away.

“There. Anything else?” Smiled Elsa once she conjured her snowflakes down to delicately place the barrel on the floor of the stock.

Hilka seemed to be in complete awe to the miracle that her deity had just made. Elsa had casually lifted a very heavy barrel that would have taken two strong men and a lot of effort to move away. Now, Elsa was just looking at her like she had simply picked a twig from the ground, and was asking for the next instruction.

“That… That is all.” Muttered the girl.

“Okay. Tell me if you need anything else.”

The Northuldra blushed and nodded vividly, then Elsa walked to her hut. On her way, she heard Gale going down from the treetops to float above her head, and the Wind Spirit shared a feeling, that resonated to Elsa’s heart. It brought a flash of the Elemental Stones to the blonde’s mind, and she smiled.

“Yeah, the four of you are forgiven and really helpful.” She said, interpreting the meaning of her emotion. “Together, we--”

Gale suddenly tugged on her double train, making her lose her balance. “Hey! Rude. I was talking. What did I tell you about not interrupting people?”

The magic wind however was insistent.

“What is it?”

They floated above her, making different sounds.

“Approaching from the South?” Frowned Elsa, interpreting Gale’s chimes.

She now understood why the Wind Spirit had exhaled that familiar feeling earlier. They had been mentioning the actual Elemental Stones place, not what they represented.

“Who is approaching from the South, Gale?” Inquired the Fifth Spirit, her worry rising, because she knew that Honeymaren was there picking up weeds with other Northuldra.

Gale then made a very specific chime, and it was absolutely unique; it meant one and only word.

“Anna?!”

Elsa twirled around, nearly tripping on the ground covered with pine needles as she suddenly dashed to the South. No time to summon Nokk. She was running so fast that wind was whistling in her ears, and even Gale had to rush to follow the athletic and dramatic human.

=======

Honeymaren startled when she heard hooves coming at full speed, someone heavily jumping to the ground and running to her. If that wasn’t enough to announce Anna’s arrival, the redhead appeared panting and haggard right in front of her, and yelled her name the instant she recognized her.

“HONEYMAREN! WHERE IS ELSA?!”

If the Northuldra leader wasn’t used to the Arendellian sisters’ drama, she would have stumbled to the grass instantly. There, she only dropped her jaw and tried to talk, but it was hard to ignore Anna’s dress that clearly wasn’t meant for riding.

Apparently, her processing took half a second too long to Anna’s taste, for she grabbed her shoulders and dove her teal blue eyes in hers. It felt like she inspected her very soul, and Honeymaren’s words vanished in her mouth even more.

“WHAT HAPPENED?!”

The brunette’s ears rang at how hard she was yelling. The other Northuldra stopped picking up the weeds to stare at the scene with worry.

“What is going on?!”

“Woah, Anna, okay, hello, and sweet Ahtohallan, calm down.”

“I don’t want to be calm! Is Elsa safe?”

“I… Yes, she is! What the heck, Anna?! Are you okay?”

Anna squinted suspiciously. “If I am okay? You’re not calling me ‘fire head’. Something must be wrong.”

Honeymaren blinked, torn between the need to burst of laughter or be seriously concerned for her sister-in-law. “Now you’re overinterpreting.”

“I just hate it when she uses ice statues memories as a message!”

The brunette finally understood what this was all about, from the context of Anna’s dress to why she was in such distress. The Queen was breathing loudly, close to hyperventilation.

“Yeah, I know. But she had no choice. The Wind Spirit is bu--”

“ELSA!!” Screamed Anna suddenly, looking over Honeymaren’s shoulder, and the latter jumped at the sudden shriek. Once again, her ears rang, and she winced.

While the redhead ran at full speed to her elder, she shook her ear lobe. “Ouch.”

“ELSA!”

She hugged her fiercely, but it was short; she then stepped back and checked her arms, legs, waist, face… Elsa couldn’t say anything for how rushed and abrupt her gestures were. Then, once Anna made sure that she was alright, she slapped her arm.

“AOH! What was that for??” Winced the blonde.

“Being an idiot!”

“I’m sorry…?!” Recoiled Elsa. She had no idea what was going on.

“Why did you send me an ice statue message?” Growled Anna, and the Northuldra watched as it looked like she was her mother in this moment.

“Gale’s busy, and the Spirits in general aren’t really in the mood to leave the Forest. We’re all a bit… Disarrayed…”

Anna’s scolding frown transformed into a worried expression. “Do you mean the Spirits, or the Northuldra?”

Elsa’s hands, which had remained in Anna’s after the hug, started to retract. The redhead gripped them.

“Elsa.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine now.”

Anna didn’t even bother to get the nuance. She didn’t believe her. She stared right into her eyes, and Elsa blinked at the intense irises. They were filled with wisdom and foresight, sharpened with her years of monarchy and motherhood. In addition, there also was the experience of years of knowing her elder sister by heart, and Anna recognized the mimics Elsa had when she minimized her actual mood to not panic her sister.

“No you’re not.”

Elsa came closer to insist. “I swear I am.”

The Queen still didn’t seem convinced. When Honeymaren approached, she turned to her vividly. “Maren, is she saying the truth? Is she really fine?”

“Hey!” Gasped Elsa.

The brunette chuckled at how she preferred to ask her to be sure. “She is. No trick there. She’s only very concerned, but you know, that’s just Elsa in the daily.”

Anna sighed. “Good.”

Elsa let go of her younger’s hands to cross her arms with a pout. Anna winced at her reaction. “Excuse me. It’s just that at least, with Maren, I know if you’re hiding something.”

The blonde kept pouting.

“Why did you come to the Forest!?”

“Well, happy to see you too.” Replied the Queen with sarcasm.

“I specifically told you not to come!!”

Anna put her hands on her hips.

“As far as I know, I’m a grown adult, and can do whatever the hell I want. Also, I HAD to. Did you even proofread your message, you dramatic oaf?!”

Elsa blinked as she moved back at the scold. “Uh… No…”

Anna sighed longly and rubbed the top of her nose with her thumb and index. “Sometimes I wonder if you didn’t leave your brain cells up the North Mountain.”

Honeymaren bit her lip as she sadly looked at Anna, then at her wife. “Elsa, she hates it when you use ice statues for messages.”

The blonde was so preoccupied by other topics that her mind didn’t grasp the problem, and she frowned as she was about to ask ‘Why?’.

And then it hit her.

She distinctly remembered the day Ahtohallan had showed memories of Anna curled in that pit, sobbing after she thought that she had lost everything. And one sinister thing had started this long night of sorrow. The last message that Elsa could send before freezing eternally for going too far in the glacier: an ice statue.

With an audible gasp, the Fifth Spirit then realized that it meant that Anna had thought, when she received her message in Arendelle, that it was her last way of communication before tragedy.

Without any further addition, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Anna, clenching tight as she buried her face in her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean… I didn’t realize…”

She passed a hand in her younger’s back in case she needed to cry.

Yet Anna didn’t cry. She simply sighed. Of course Elsa hadn’t meant it. But what kind of crazy situation were they in that she forgot it when she sent the message?

She gave a pat to Elsa’s shoulder to tell her that she was fine with it, and that she had long figured that it was done by mistake.

The blonde looked deeply sorry as she detached from the hug. “Now it makes sense on why you wanted to come... Wait... How did you come? I thought that Kristoff didn’t want to have another reindeer after Sven.”

“I rode a horse. I had to think fast. In every meaning of the term: I rushed to the royal stables and asked for Rask.”

Elsa lifted surprised eyebrows, and looked over her sister’s shoulder to see the now fully grown horse calmly walking to them, as Anna had hurried to go down to finish her route running.

“Rask!” Exclaimed Elsa, her face lighting up.

The horse neighed, and she petted his head with affection, scratching him in the right spots.

“Hey there. It’s been a while, uh?”

“That’s a very athletic horse.” Commented Honeymaren, impressed.

“He is.” Smiled Elsa. “He proved his talent many years ago. And his name definitely suits him.”

“So you’ve rode him already. I was wondering how you knew him.” Smiled her wife.

“Yeah, she did.” Confirmed Anna. “Fun fact: it also was out worry and need to go fast to a neighbor land.”

Elsa giggled, admitting that the parallel was funny. She looked at Rask’s eyes. “You live through the sisters’ drama, don’t you?”

The horse snorted, like he actually laughed from that.

She took off his bridle, saddle, stirrups and bags, and gently led him to the water point where the reindeers were.

Anna and Honeymaren followed, mute at the expert way she did that.

“I hope we have enough hay for him to eat. We obviously weren’t expecting you.” Said Elsa.

Anna frowned.

“Wait, if you didn’t expect me, then how did you know I was there?”

“Gale is standing guard. I mean… Floating guard...? So they told me when they saw you arrive at the horizon. They make a specific sound when they’re carrying a letter from you. I quickly learned that this sound meant ‘Anna’. Honestly, this is one of my favorite sounds to hear in the world now.”

“Aww. And what’s your top favorite?”

“Hmm… That’s a good question. Probably Honeymaren’s laugh.”

The Northuldra eye-rolled as she was petting Rask. “And I’m the romantic flirt, uh?” She mumbled.

The redhead had lifted her head to the sky and observed the Wind Spirit guarding the camp, shaking the pine trees branches on their way. “They’re doing a great job.” She smiled. “Now I understand why you didn’t want to send me a letter, to not disturb their work. Or maybe their duty?”

Honeymaren shrugged at the nuance. The Spirits were so dedicated to protection that it could also be called ‘vocation’.

“If you understand, does that mean that you’ve forgiven me?” Asked Elsa, only half joking.

“Certainly not.”

Elsa pouted at Anna’s frown. It made Honeymaren laugh, and she lifted her hands to put one on each sister.

“Come on, you two. Let’s sit down.”

“No, wait, no time to sit down.” Rejected Anna. “Maren, you will stay here. Elsa and I, we go back to Arendelle and suit up, with outfits and weapons, warn everyone about the situation, and come back ASAP.”

Elsa blinked. “Waow, waow, calm down. No ASAP. You will get some rest. Even if we go and come back on Nokk, you can’t make all of that in one go. Have some sleep.”

“Look who’s talking!”

“Listen to her.” Advised Honeymaren.

Anna stared at her judgingly. “Of course you defend her. Tsk, I miss the time you two weren’t married and you were on my side, Maren.”

After some insistence, they sat down on a lying trunk.

“I’ll need to talk to Mattias when we’re in Arendelle.” Announced Elsa. “We had planned to ask him something through a letter too, and, well…”

“What was it?” Asked Anna.

“He knows who Victor Eiglatson is.”

Anna rose an eyebrow. “What does Victor Eiglatson have to do with any of that?”

Elsa and Honeymaren widened their eyes. “You know him too?” They said, in one voice.

The redhead stared at them. “Why, yeah. We put him in jail years ago with Mattias, for insulting the Crown. He recently escaped.”

She thought it would be impossible, but the two women dilated their eyes even more.

“Escaped? Someone escaped Arendelle’s prison?” Asked Elsa.

“Why didn’t you tell us anything about him?!” Asked Honeymaren.

Anna blinked. “Do you guys ever read newspapers?” She reproached.

Then it hit her that no, obviously. And that was why her sister-in-law made that remark. “Sorry, but you didn’t ask about him. Also, the investigation is still ongoing to know how he managed to escape. He’s the first one in the History of Arendelle to do that.”

“Anna.”

“What?”

“He’s the man who attacked us with his monsters. He has dark magic.”

“Ohhh, that would explain how-- WAIT, WHAT?!”

The Queen’s eyes darted from Elsa’s face to Honeymaren’s, and they both nodded. She blinked confusedly. “Are you certain? Did you ask Ahtohallan?”

They nodded again.

“Holy cheese and crackers. Now I’m terrified. But it all makes so much sense.”

“Let me guess…” Started Honeymaren. “The hate he has towards the Crown… He insulted Elsa’s name, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, how do you know?”

The brunette sighed. “He has some common past with the previous Fifth Spirit. And it’s obvious that they were enemies.”

Anna nodded slowly. “Yes… It would just explain everything. He used to be in the Arendelle army, Mattias can tell you more about him. He kept proclaiming that Elsa should die.”

Elsa gulped and looked down. “Well, he’s consistent. And tenacious. He tried to kill me, after all.”

Anna looked at her, feeling heartbroken for her.

“Hey, Elsa… Are you okay?”

She didn’t have the time to put her hand on Elsa’s back that the blonde stood up. “I’m fine. Do you want tea?”

“Uh… Yeah, actually, it’s a good idea.”

She watched her walk away, but had enough experience to know that Elsa needed some time alone with her thoughts. The blonde had obviously used this suggestion as an excuse to make the most of the round trip to the hut where they dried the herbs. Anna sighed and looked at Honeymaren.

“She’s feeling guilty for the two deaths, right?”

The brunette nodded sadly. “You know her. And she still think that she doesn’t deserve anyone’s love. As her sister, you surely know what I mean…”

“And as her wife, you do as well.” Snorted Anna.

They giggled a bit. It was best to laugh about it.

“You should see her face when she opens your letters next to me.”

“Maybe I send her too many…” Winced the redhead. “Sometimes I feel like I’m too talkative, or too worried, or too curious.”

“Don’t. She loves them. She even keeps them and stores them neatly in a wooden box. It’s in a chest in our hut.”

“Oh my goodness, really? It’s so nice!” Grinned Anna.

Elsa had come back with three mugs, holding them in a way that would have burned the hands of anyone not fitted with ice and snow powers.

“You keep all of my letters?” Asked Anna, her smile not leaving her while her sister sat down.

“No, I actually always give them to Bruni and ask him to burn them down.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha. I’m dead laughing.”

Elsa smirked and sipped, watching her with a side glance. Anna smiled, because she saw in her azure blue eyes that all guilt had gone, now replaced by tease. She loved that Elsa could switch from one mood to the other.

They drank their tea peacefully, though their topic of discussion remained about this mysterious Eiglatson.

=======

Elsa hugged Honeymaren tight, her face buried in her neck, taking in her natural scent.

“I love you.” She muttered, like she was still shy to say it, even after 4 years of marriage.

Honeymaren slightly pulled back to look at her lover. “I love you too, snømus. You’re glowing.”

Elsa’s eyes widened, panic suddenly stretching her features.

“I am?”

Her hands detached from her wife’s waist, like she was afraid of hurting her, and even took a safe step back.

Honeymaren laughed. “No, not really! I mean, you do, baby. You always do. But not literally.”

Elsa blinked, then sighed. The brunette continued to laugh, taking her hands back. “Why are you so tensed about it?”

“Sorry, it’s just…” Muttered the blonde, looking elsewhere. “Since the magic attack, I’m afraid that my powers got affected in a way…”

“Shh… They aren’t. They never will. Ever. You’re safe for the rest of your life now.”

She caressed her cheek, and a small smile tugged Elsa’s lips, but it went away too soon. “I just don’t want to go through this again.”

“Losing control?” Guessed Honeymaren.

Elsa missed a heartbeat at her wife’s wise analysis.

“You’re not losing control.” Assured the brunette.

“I know, but those creatures will come back, you can’t deny it. What if that time, I’m not--”

Honeymaren silenced her with a kiss. She had found out long ago that it was an infallible way to make Elsa’s worries vanish right away. The blonde closed her eyes, and melted in the kiss. Yep, love indeed was the key against anxiety. Honeymaren looked at her when they parted.

“We’ve been ready for this one. We’ll be even more for the next. Even if it means more angry.”

Elsa smiled, her eyes still closed, then chuckled. When she opened them, two calm walnut irises were embracing her mentally in a warm cocoon.

She bit her lip, her hands roaming the brunette’s hips.

“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, okay?” She teased.

“How is taking care of a tribe ‘stupid’?” Smiled Honeymaren. “Also, now that the dork one of the couple is gone, I’m safe.”

“I’m not a dork.” Huffed the blonde with a pout.

“Sure you are. May I remind you that I surprised you and Bruni having a tongue blep competition the other day?”

Elsa blushed lightly. They often had fun with the Fire Spirit, and she refused that Honeymaren made this an awkward moment. They had laughed a lot.

Ryder snorted. “Did you win?”

The Northuldra leader turned to her brother, frowning at how he once again eavesdropped one of their conversations. “You do not get to tease her. Only I do. And of course she did.”

They all laughed. Anna smiled as Elsa kissed her wife deeply, then the blonde joined her on Nokk’s back.

The Fifth Spirit placed her hands on the water horse’s neck, and Anna placed hers around her waist.

With a final nod, and wave to the Northuldra, they dashed to the South, Anna once again impressed by the swift moves of Nokk, even if it was for the hundredth time. Via the water stream, they would arrive to Arendelle in a record speed.

A long silence passed after they disappeared on the horizon, the Sami slowly getting back to their tasks.

Ryder looked at her sister’s behavior, and smiled tenderly.

“Nervous much?”

Honeymaren stared at him. “How do you know I’m nervous?”

Ryder chuckled. “First, because I am your brother and I can tell when you’re worried about something. And second, because you have that big mannerism when you’re concerned about Elsa. When she’s away in Arendelle or in Ahtohallan or simply not around for too long... You always fiddle with your ice wedding ring.”

Honeymaren sighed. She couldn’t help this mannerism, so actually, she was fairly certain that Ryder wasn’t the only person who noticed it; the whole folk probably did. Except of course for Elsa, because Honeymaren didn’t do that in her presence, by definition.

“It relaxes me to touch her magic. And this ring is the product of her magic mixed with her love for me. So it brings a lot of happiness to my mind and heart. It erases sad thoughts. Also, it’s the easiest way to know that she’s safe.” She confessed.

Ryder didn’t have to comment out loud to say that he understood her drift. If Elsa were to die, then the ring would instantly melt.

Honeymaren gulped, looking at her brother, who now felt sorry for bringing that up.

“Damn, I didn’t mean to make you think about that. Look, Elsa will be fine. She’s with Nokk and Anna. And they’ll arrive to Arendelle soon. We’re worried about her too, you know? She’s still our Fifth Spirit.”

“I know, of course. I’m not hogging on her.”

Ryder smiled. “Those last days filled with dangers and threats have been heavy for all of us.”

Honeymaren nodded. “And it’s out of question that I get some rest.”

Her brother grinned. “Let’s go practice.”

========

Wind blowed in Anna’s ears as they traveled at high speed to Arendelle. In fact, they could see the castle appearing in the horizon, and the Queen smiled as she held her sister in a hug.

“Are you alright back there?” Worried Elsa, wondering why she was now holding her that way.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Assured Anna, and the blonde was happy to hear the smile in her voice. “I’m just happy that you’re safe.”

“It’s been a crazy week, but Honeymaren helped me go through this. She’s purely amazing.” Admitted Elsa.

Her younger could feel the upcoming praise, and grinned in advance.

“I owe her so much. You know, I used to be scared of thunderstorms because they reminded me of that night we lost mother and father, and that time I almost drowned in the Dark Sea because of... You, buddy.” She smirked as she patted Nokk, and they neighed.

“...But she healed me from them. She has a way to take care of me that is… So unique. And sweet, and nice.”

Anna smiled. “Like honey?”

Elsa frowned, and turned to slightly stare at her. “Honey is nice?”

“Well, it is unique and sweet. But also nice because it’s used as a medicine.” Smirked the redhead.

“I meant that Honeymaren had a warm way to reassure me.”

“Honey can be heated.” Grinned Anna.

“Will you please stop comparing my wife to actual food?”

“Well, by the way you constantly devour her with your gaze… Ouch!”

Elsa had pinched her leg, and she laughed.

They finally arrived in the kingdom, and Nokk made a show when they let them them go down on the harbor pontoon. Elsa thanked the magical horse with a loving scratch and they left in a bounce, merging with the water. The Fifth Spirit got all the usual acclamations from the townspeople, and she, as usual, blushed a bit and thanked them bashfully as they made their way to the castle.

“Walk faster, Anna. Why are you so slow? I thought you were in a hurry.”

“I am. But I want you to fully get those claps that you deserve.”

Elsa grumbled with modesty until they arrived to the castle’s gates. Inside, they quickly were greeted by the servants, and the youngest of them hurried to go upstairs to warn their family of their arrival.

“His Majesty got a bit worried by your sudden leave, but Princess Eydis was able to reason with him.” Smiled Ronny, the new butler.

Anna giggled. “I expected no less.”

“AUNTIE!!” Yelled two children at the top of the hall’s stairs, and they smiled at their joyful and loud entrance.

“Next praise; after the people, your nephew and niece.” Announced Anna with a tap on her elder’s shoulder.

Elsa got emotional when she understood that Anna insisted she should get more into the spotlight.

Isak tackled her waist for a hug with his tiny arms. Eydis search for room and decided to hug Elsa’s neck. The blonde’s lips trembled in joy, and she closed her eyes as she hugged them as tight as possible with her arms.

“I missed you too, little rascals.”

Then she realized how tall her niece was.

“Eydis!” She exclaimed. “You’re growing up so fast!! I’m astounded.”

“The physician says that I’ll be taller than mother when I’m an adult.” Grinned the girl.

“I don’t like idea at all!” Frowned Anna, who had been hearing her from where she was talking with Ronny to check on the news.

“Though, you haven’t seen me in a while. That’s maybe why you’re impressed.” Said Eydis.

Ouch. Touché.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to come more often.” Muttered Elsa, feeling bad, and her guilt was perceptible.

“Eydis, do I need to remind you that last time she came to the castle, you were up the eastern mountains in an ice harvesting expedition?” Reprimanded the Queen.

Isak looked at them, his eyes darting from one to the other. Did she say that to defend her sister or to scold hers for going out of the castle for too long?

“Yeah, sorry…” Groaned Eydis.

“It’s okay. How was it?” Asked Elsa.

“Elsa!” Frowned the redhead.

“What? I’m genuinely interested.”

“Sure you are. You should see your face when ice is mentioned.”

Isak giggled at her mother’s remark.

“The lake on the north-east valley had a thick surface and we harvested a lot of ice this year. It was awesome.” Whispered Eydis to her aunt’s ear.

“Tell me more at dinner.” Grinned Elsa.

Kristoff soon came down the stairs with diplomats he visibly had a meeting with, and they greeted.

Elsa later asked to talk to the King and Queen alone, and suggested them to go to Mattias and Halima’s house to ask him about Victor Eiglatson. It was better to keep it secret from the children and staff for now.

“Maybe that later, we can warn the guards.” Suggested Elsa on a low voice.

The two other nodded, and they exited the castle, pretending to go on a walk.

What they didn’t know was that Eydis had been listening in the shadows, and now was following them discreetly from a distance.

=======

“Please come in, I’ll make some coffee.” Invited Mattias.

Elsa worried instantly. Since Mattias was retired, he had little habits that Anna and her had become really good at finding out. When he prepared coffee at such a time in the afternoon, it meant that he was embarrassed about something. Given his face when they explained their venue and said the name ‘Victor Eiglatson’, she would bet that he was not willing to talk about him.

“This Victor is a terrible man.” He murmured once they were all seated in his living room.

Halima and Anna exchanged a gaze. Victor’s arrest had marked the old man thoroughly. Mattias was deeply kind and sensible - which made him a compassionate general - and to face Victor’s mean and violent personality had shocked him.

“I suppose that Anna told you about when and why we put him in prison.” Gulped the black man, talking to Elsa.

The latter nodded.

“What else to do know about him? Maybe information about his past? Anything would be helpful.”

Mattias took the time to drink a bit of his cup before answering with a sigh.

“All I know is that he used to be a merchant, with a business based on trades between kingdoms, and he often went back and forth between the Forest and Arendelle; even before King Runeard started looking into the potential of the Northuldra land.”

“Waoh, long ago then.” Kristoff noted.

No wonder why Elsa described his face in the memories of Ahtohallan as an old cranky and stiff man.

“I was told that he was very rigid when he was in the army”, added Mattias. “Something must have happened in his life, because I always found it odd that a merchant could become this harsh. Who knows, maybe he enrolled in the Arendelle military forces to plan revenge over something.”

He then pretended to stir his coffee to look down.

“Anyhow, high-ranking soldiers started reporting his hateful behavior to me, so I had to act.” Said the man in a low tone. “He was extremely violent in his words and swore many times he would kill Elsa one day.”

He lifted his face, and Elsa’s eyebrows knotted in a sad expression.

“Don’t ask me to repeat what he shouted when we took him away and locked him in the prison. I’d never dare to put such words in my mouth.” Muttered Mattias.

She gave him a sad smile. “It’s okay. You don’t need to. I know how much he hates me.”

Anna turned an intrigued face to her, so she continued: “When we saw memories of him in Ahtohallan, I saw that he had a common past with, say, my previous life. The former Fifth Spirit.”

“The man who was the Northuldra leader before Yelena, right?” Remembered Halima.

Elsa nodded. “Yes. For now, I can’t access his memories about the moment or moments he met Victor, but when the day comes, I’ll certainly have to face a truth I might not appreciate.”

They all gave her sad stares over their coffee cups, and Anna put a hand on her thigh. They had learned that their grandfather was murderer and a colonizer, and now they might learn that the previous Fifth Spirit did something that was worth a deadly revenge? The sisters exchanged a gaze to bring the other courage, but in their souls, they both were trembling.

Anna gulped. “Thank you for your help, Mattias.”

“Please, stay.” Smiled Halima. “There’s plenty more of coffee, and it’s been a while since we’ve last seen you. We have a lot to catch up on.”

“It’s true.” Grinned Elsa.

Her smile then turned malicious.

“By the way, do you have one more cup? We have another person joining us.”

Anna frowned. “What?”

Mattias did as well. “Who?”

Elsa simply stood up in silence, and opened the nearest window briskly.

A girl suddenly screamed on the other side, jumping in fright.

Anna’s eyes jolted wide. “Eydis?!”

The princess titled her head back within sight, and smiled nervously with gritted teeth. “Hiii.”

Anna dropped her jaw in astonishment. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

“She’s been following us since we left the castle.” Informed Elsa with a sly smile. “I was wondering if she would dare to come in or sneak back through the village.”

Eydis blinked at her aunt. “Wait, you could tell I was following you all along?”

“What, you think you can escape my sight?” Smirked the Snow Queen. “Eydis, I hunt several times a week. And now that I mention this, I actually realize that I have a lot to teach you about how to walk silently to go undetected.”

“You will NOT teach her that.” Scolded Anna.

The princess grinned with a giggle. Elsa closed the window when Halima opened the door for her, and the teenager entered. Then she cleared her throat, and huffed as she placed her hands on her hips, proud chest up.

“Well, now I know your little secret. So you have to take me with you.”

Everyone exclaimed.

“No, Eydis, you can’t possibly--”

“That’s too dangerous.”

“You shouldn’t--”

“There’s no way we’re allowing you--”

She snorted at all their refusals flying at the same time.

“Say what you want, I heard all about this Eiglatson, and I want to come.”

Her mother frowned. “Oh, you won’t, young lady. This is adult business.”

“I’m thirteen!!” Exclaimed the princess.

“And that is way too young.” Persisted Anna.

“You were eighteen when you had your first big adventure!” Replied Eydis with a rebellious frown. “What does it change?”

Anna scoffed. “Well, five years, for starters!”

The young blonde sighed and pouted. “Mama, please let me come with you.”

“Oh, now you ‘Mama’ me?”

“Please! I can fight, I can think strategically, I can help you!”

Elsa recognized in her niece’s begging the traits than Anna.

“I swear I’ll stay with you, Mama.”

The Queen sighed longly, looking at Kristoff to get his advice. But the blond was staring at Halima as she poured a cup of coffee to the new guest.

“Wait, do you have something else to drink? She’s too young for cafeine.” Frowned Kristoff, worried for her health.

Her wife stared at him with sarcasm. “That’s the only part that concerns you?”

“What?” He said with lifted eyebrows.

Anna blinked. “I’m sorry, did you miss the whole part where our daughter asked to come with us and face mortal danger?”

Kristoff didn’t seem to be bothered by it. He shrugged. “She’s excellent at fighting. You said it yourself the other day. And if she swears to stay with us, she doesn’t risk anything.”

Anna jaw dropped. Eydis smirked. “You said I was an excellent fighter?”

Now the redhead blushed. “I… I did not understate that you could come along with us in a battle.” She insisted, weighing on that word as she stared at the King.

Kristoff was ignoring her now, helping Halima pour a glass of fresh fruit juice to Eydis.

Mattias and Elsa were enjoying the scene with discreet smiles.

“Also, it would be rude to doubt about my worth.” Teased the princess, referring to her encounter with no less than Thor when she was a child.

Anna grunted at that clever point. After a while, she sighed longly, and her shoulders slumped. “Fiiiine. Eydis, you can come.”

The princess bit her lip and tried all she could to not make any noise as she internally screamed in joy, her fists tight.

“But you NEVER leave our side, okay?”

Eydis nodded with sparkling eyes. “I promise. Pinky promise.”

Anna melted in a smile, and Elsa observed as mother and daughter tied their pinky fingers together.

The blonde noticed once more how close they were. She was intrigued by the pinky promise, and wondered when they had decided of the cute gesture. Eydis wasn’t the type of child who lied. She even sometimes was awfully direct, and rarely put filters to her remarks if she wasn’t in a royal context or surrounded by dignitaries. She was never afraid to speak the truth. Then why the pinky promise?

Elsa gulped. Was it because when she was the one to promise something, she only did it it orally, and often broke the promise because she used it as a device? She looked at Anna sadly. Was it because her younger sister had been disappointed multiple times and hated it? And therefore created this with her daughter so that she would never break her promise, unlike her?

“Elsa?”

Did Anna hate her for how many times she had broken her promises?

“Elsa!”

The blonde startled, suddenly aware of her surroundings. Time had passed, and Mattias had just told a really good joke, to which everyone laughed, except for Elsa. Anna looked at her while the others were distracted.

“What’s wrong?”

The Fifth Spirit gulped. “Nothing.”

“Elsa.”

Now she had called her with a scolding tone.

“You can tell, uh?” Sighed the elder.

“Obviously.”

The blonde inhaled calmly, and muttered what she had on her heart. “Are you… Are you mad at me for the numerous times I broke my promises?”

Anna blinked at that odd doubt. She then linked it to what had possibly made her come to this conclusion, and smiled sadly.

“Elsa… Of course I’m not. You know, even if I’m upset sometimes, I also have an open mind. I know that there are times when you can’t keep them. And yes, I have entirely forgiven you for that one time you sent me away to save my life. You do realize that, if you didn’t break a promise here and there, I’d be dead by now?”

Elsa giggled slightly. “I suppose.”

Anna booped her nose. “Take those sad thoughts out of your mind, okay? Tonight, I’m gonna ask the cooks to make us a chocolate cake.”

The blonde grinned.

Eydis turned to her mother. “Hey, I was thinking… Why can’t Ahtohallan help?”

The Queen smiled at her clever question. “She already is helping, sweetheart. By giving Elsa her blessing to use her powers against Victor. And based on what happened on the last attack, I can tell you they’re very effective.”

“Awesome.” Beamed Eydis, admiration in her eyes. “In fact, you’re like Joan of Arc.”

Mattias blinked. “Uh?”

“Yeah, because she heard voices, then those voices asked her to go at some place, then she became a fierce warrior, and now she’s a tough legend.”

Anna laughed, then suddenly gasped with wide eyes. “Oh my gods, you are like Joan of Arc.”

Elsa puffed. “And you only realize it now?”

They started helping Halima to clear the table, and the redhead approached her elder. She started to open her mouth, and Elsa rose a finger to stop her right in her tracks.

“No, I will not pose for an epic painting riding Nokk and waving the Arendelle flag.”

Anna closed her mouth and pouted.

=======

They prepared their battle gears and equipments and placed them in a wagon, that would be drawn by two horses given the four people on it and the heavy weapons and armors that were transported. Anna had asked the soldiers to stay in Arendelle, for there was no need for them to come alone and this was the perfect opening to attack the kingdom while they were gone.

“Why don’t you go there flying?” Asked Isak when they packed their stuff, still unaware on how physics work.

Eydis burst out of laughter. “Oh my, if only. I’d love to go there in a flying house.”

Anna overheard them as she closed a chest aboard the wagon. “You know, there’s a guy named Zeppelin in Germany who’s thinking about that.”

The two children exhaled in amazement.

“I love technology.” Smiled Eydis broadly. “You know, Isak, science actually is really close to magic, in a way.”

“Oh?”

“That makes me think… Father, did you pack my Thermos flask?”

“Yeah, I did.” Answered Kristoff, his voice muffled as he was checking the wheels with the cartwright.

They spent the afternoon with family and talked about so many different topics at dinner that Elsa’s head spinned with joy at how many things had changed in Arendelle. She also got to know Ronny better, now that he was the new butler and replacing Kai, and the servant promised to keep an eye on Isak while they were all gone. Mattias also had promised to check on the little prince from time to time, feeling sorry for not helping in the battle, given his old age.

The Fifth Spirit was now lost in her thoughts, staring at the night sky from Isak’s bedroom.

“Auntie! Thank you for the magic colors!” Jolted the boy, grabbing her out of her reverie.

Elsa turned and squinted in confusion. “Uhh… The what?”

He lifted his head with a big smile, and pointed at the windows. “The beautiful magic lights in the sky!”

She tried to understand. Oh. He was referring to the northern lights.

“Sweetie, this is not my doing. They’re due to solar wind and magnetic disturbances.” She simply said, on a casual nerdy tone.

Therefore, the boy stared at her with a blink. “What?”

Elsa realized what she had said, and remembered that she was talking to a child, and shook her head as she immediately corrected herself. “I’m kidding. Yes. Magic. Of course it’s magic. Obviously.”

She then smiled when the boy grinned and looked up at the aurora borealis with sparkling eyes. She sighed tenderly at how he was the perfect mix of Kristoff and Anna, having exactly what she found touching in the two people, in addition to his usual cuteness. While Eydis was the spitting image of her mother, minus the freckles and with messy blonde hair, Isak had as much facial features from his father than his mother, and sported very curly red hair.

Elsa passed a hand in that tiny bush. “You know what those magic lights also mean? That it’s time to go to bed.”

Isak giggled at her touch. “Mama says that it means that the sky is awake.”

“Yeah, well, your mother isn’t really the best example for sleeping schedules. Come on, chop chop, in the sheets.”

He groaned a bit, but once his aunt tucked him in and sang half of a lullaby, he dozed off. Elsa smiled tenderly again, looking at him. She would never stop being emotional at how her family had grown. Isak always had loved magic, literally from the earliest age. The Spirits had been keeping an eye on Anna’s children every time they would visit the Forest, and Isak had been born there. Elsa remembered with a smile how Gale actually was the first one to have played with him as a baby, twirling softly above the wooden cradle and waving his rattle.

“Elsa, can we talk for a minute?”

The blonde jumped high in surprise at the sudden voice at the door frame.

“Damn it, Anna, do you want me to freeze your son??” Gasped Elsa, one hand on her heart while the other clenched on Isak’s sheets, trying her best not to let out the ice that had rushed to her fingertips at the spook. She furiously glanced at her sister, who apparently found her reaction funny.

“I couldn’t help observing you. You’re very cute.”

“You mean, Isak and I? Or just me?” Asked Elsa, standing up to join her, and matching her whispering tone to not wake the child.

“Mmmh, both.” Answered the Queen, thinking it would be the best answer.

Elsa eye-rolled, and she followed her to her study so they could be in a private spot.

“Okay, what did you want to talk about?”

“I need to know as much information as possible before we leave. What were the creatures like, from your point of view?”

Elsa tried her best to not omit any detail when describing the monsters.

Anna frowned. “How can something be loathsome, disgusting and fascinating at the same time?”

“That’s truly how I feel about them. As they’re also magical beings, I can’t help but admire how they’re made.”

She had a shiver at that admission, and Anna passed a hand in her back. Her elder was having conflicted emotions lately. She wanted to know more about Victor Eiglatson, and stop his doings, but he also captivated her. The redhead smiled as she thought of a joke to make her feel better.

“You know what else is loathsome, disgusting and fascinating at the same time?”

“What?” Snorted Elsa, hearing the jesting tone.

“Your wife.”

“Excuse me?”

“Have you ever seen Honeymaren running away with her face covered with purple after she ate all the berries you spent an hour picking up?”

Elsa burst out of laughter.

“Yeah, very funny.” Groaned Anna. “I’m never helping Northuldra gatherings again. She’s a dork.”

“I’m well aware.” Giggled Elsa, who couldn’t stop imagining Honeymaren laughing out loud as she was chased by a furious Anna.

“She hides that childish personality really well under her serious leader and calm lover masks.” Admitted the blonde.

They smiled and looked at the beautiful night through the study’s window.

“Why did you ask me about the creatures?” Frowned Elsa, suspicious.

“Well, we don’t all have magic to protect us. And I just ordered a new custom-made armor that I couldn’t wait to use. This is the perfect occasion.”

She rubbed her hands excitedly with a spark in the eye, and Elsa laughed.

=======

The Elemental Stones was a symbolic place for a meetup, but the spot where once stood the dam had turned out to be just as well. Indeed, now that it was completely destroyed since years, moss had appeared on the rubble and stones, and where once stood a horrible construction, had grown a tree. On the bank of the river, it was now the size of a house, and the Northuldra had decided not to cut it because of how beautiful this sign of Nature was. How meaningful was it, that a fruit tree had grown at this exact place, among the ruins? And now was feeding the whole tribe?

Anna often asked to see the tree when she visited Elsa, so naturally, when Honeymaren picked a place to go to celebrate their venue, she had chosen to sit in the resplendent grass under the tree.

“I’m getting good at this.” Smiled Eydis happily, turning the wooden spoon in the kettle.

Kristoff smiled down at her. “Yeah, you’re getting a hand to it. I think that all the Northuldra can’t wait to taste your soup.”

Anna looked at them lovingly and sat down next to Elsa and Honeymaren, who were cuddling on the ground. The brunette noticed how nervous Anna was when she kept staring at the corn she was in charge of cooking.

“You don’t need to put your family through pressure to cook a perfect meal, fire head. Your presence among us already is fulfilling.”

The Queen drummed with her hands on her knees. “Nonsense. I want to make sure that the whole tribe eats well.”

Elsa smiled. “You don’t need to watch over the corn like that. You know, we were on a hike once with Honey and we forgot it on the fire because we got distracted, and all the kernels had exploded. Yet the result turned delicious.”

Anna scoffed.

“Exploded corn? You can’t make much of that. A lot of Northuldra specialities will certainly go through time, but this? Naaah.”

Elsa shrugged as she drank some water.

“Wait…” Suddenly realized Anna. “Distracted? What had possibly distracted you during meal?”

Honeymaren smirked. “It depends what you mean by ‘meal’...”

Elsa spat and coughed at her wife’s words. The brunette grinned happily, but Anna was confused and didn’t catch the naughty innuendo.

Kristoff turned to them.

“The meal will be ready soon. Hey, Anna, could you get Ryder? He’s surely busy in the vicinity of reindeers.”

“Sure.”

The redhead stood up and walked through the camp. When she found him, he was painting the enclosure with a layer of odorous lacker.

The Queen winced like she had just received a physical blow. “Waoh! What’s that smell?”

With the wind blowing in her direction, she felt attacked, and almost blamed Gale for doing it on purpose. Ryder interrupted his brush strokes to look at her apologetically, though with a smirk.

“Yeah, you don’t want to know what I put in that brown mixture for it to resist heavy rains.”

Anna’s eyes widened. She wanted to ask ‘reindeer poop?’ but refrained herself.

“Boiled linseed oil is what smells the worst.” Explained Ryder, resuming to polishing the barrier. “But with it, we can go through Autumn’s weather without any problem.”

The redhead smiled with admiration. “It’s nice to see that even as a nomad tribe, you put so much effort and care into those little things.”

“Just because we change our living place every now and then, doesn’t mean that we can’t let the wood get damaged. I prefer our reindeers’ enclose to be pretty.” Smiled Ryder.

Anna grinned back. His love for reindeers would always be cute to her.

“Where are you moving after Winter?”

“Hmm, a bit more West, at the same hills we’ve been to last year.”

“Oh! Yeah! They’re beautiful.”

“They are. It’s not all; the soil fertility is why we go there again. We had good seed stock.”

He finished painting the fence, then looked at the spot where the Arendellians had set up.

“Do you need help to unload your wagon?” Proposed the man.

Anna smiled. “No, it okay. We took care of it already. There is no shortage of kind people in your tribe.”

Ryder tilted his head at the enormous chest that had been added to the armory hut.

“Waoh, that looks heavy.”

The Queen smirked. “Yeah, not gonna lie, we all brought our own battle equipment.”

“I wonder what type of weapon each of you picked.”

Anna grinned. “Want to have a look?”

She led Ryder to the chest, and invited him to open it. He smiled as he did.

When he saw what was inside, his eyes widened in astonishment.

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