After Lisa's family was asleep that night, Aðalbjörn wandered out to the entrance to the spirit world. He didn't want to wake the whole house or scare little innocent Sadie with his inevitable crying.

He had never been here at night before. Now he could fully appreciate the beauty of the glaciers that transformed the entrance to the spirit world at night into a collection of beautiful elf mirrors. Each glacier glowed of a different color. The entrance was like an aurora display on the ground.

Just like his mother had loved.

Aðalbjörn couldn't take it any longer. He sank to the ground and began crying again. Everything he saw reminded him of his now deceased parents. They would have marveled at the beauty of the entrance to the spirit world at night. His mother loved auroras. Lisa had comforted him just like his mother had done for eighteen—no, seventeen—years. Karl was built big, just like his father had been. Sadie's soft ash blonde hair was just like his mother's had been.

And the whole family—Norwegians, mind you—believed in elves.

How could Aðalbjörn have been so afraid of Norwegians and their differing beliefs from his, when his parents would later die that night thanks to some drunk idiot, their last memory of their son one of a sulky teenage boy who didn't want to move?!

He would have done anything to change their parents' last memory of him. He had and still did love them with all of his heart. How could he have been so selfish? All he had cared about was that he didn't want to move. He didn't want to live among people who wouldn't understand his belief in elves. But he had wasted his energy on that fear as well, since there were even a few Norwegians that believed in elves, too, apparently.

Aðalbjörn brushed the tears off of his face and gazed around him at the glaciers. He knew he couldn't cross over into the spirit world until tomorrow, but he at least wanted to have a look at the multicolored mountains of ice. They were just so….magical. They were just like a mini Iceland in their own right.

"Excuse me, boy," said a familiarly ghostly female voice.

Aðalbjörn turned around to face the elf spirit he had waited on yesterday. Had it really been yesterday? It seemed like a lifetime ago. Yesterday, his parents had still been alive in his mind.

"What is it, ma'am?" Aðalbjörn jerked himself out of his thoughts. But he was taken aback. He couldn't imagine why the elf spirit would want to talk to him when she had been so angry yesterday, unless she wanted to snap at him some more.

But this was clearly not the case, as the elf said, "I thought you seemed like you needed my help. You look like you've been crying. Won't you tell me what's wrong?"

Aðalbjörn said a little stiffly, "What do you want with me? All you seemed to want to do was insult the bath I spent two hours making for you. I could have sworn there was a full bottle of shampoo in there!"

The elf looked a little sheepish. "Do forgive me for that," she said. "But it was necessary. You see, I overheard your little argument with your boss yesterday. I could see that he was considering firing you when you said he was too self-absorbed to notice that all the elf spirits loved you. I could just tell. Do think before you boast, dear; it's often not worth it, especially if it's done to the wrong person. To save you from being fired, I feigned being an angry customer. The bath really was perfect. I thank you for that. I didn't pretend to be too angry, of course, for I knew that would also have the opposite of the desired effect."

Aðalbjörn blinked. "So….you were only pretending to be angry to keep me off of Hans' radar? Thank you so much! I guess I shouldn't have been so quick to boast, huh? I can only imagine what he could have done to me…..but how are you here now, on the human side of the glaciers? Aren't you an elf spirit?"

The elf laughed. She had a delightful tinkling laugh. "Yes, I was only pretending. And what do you mean, am I an elf spirit? I am just an elf."

For what seemed like the thousandth time that day, tears welled up in Aðalbjörn's green eyes and spilled over.

The elf frowned. "Why, what's wrong?" she asked gently, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"My parents," said Aðalbjörn, wiping his hand across his eyes. "They were elf hunters. I spent nine months away from them in the spirit world, only to come back here to learn that they had been killed by a drunk driver the night we moved to Norway. They would have been thrilled to meet you."

"I see," said the elf. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

Aðalbjörn realized something still didn't make sense. He asked the elf, "Why do you want to help me so much? And how did you know where to find me?"

The elf laughed, "I go wherever I'm needed. And it seems like you need a friend. And an elf to prove that they exist."

Aðalbjörn's eyes filled with happy tears this time as the elf's golden curls and flowing white gown finally registered in his memory.

"I've seen you before!" he exclaimed. "Many times, looking in the glaciers back in Iceland. Even when I was very little. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you yesterday! I thought you looked familiar. But I always knew there were elves in those glaciers."

"Yep, I know you, the little strawberry blond boy I watched grow up from his first elf hunt at the age of three to his last hunt in Iceland before his big move," said the elf. "I've seen you from time to time your whole life, practically. But I had always been afraid that a boy like you wouldn't want to talk to an elf. But I knew right away when I saw you in the spirit world that I had to befriend you, and that there was no more time to lose. I never did find out your name, though. Won't you tell me what it is?"

"Aðalbjörn is my name. What's yours?"

"Lovely, lovely name," said the elf. "I am Heiðrúnn."

Aðalbjörn was curious as to why Heiðrúnn had been afraid he wouldn't want to talk to her. "You know, I've always loved elves," he said. "Why would I not have wanted to talk to you?"

Heiðrúnn sighed. "Ah, yes. Well, I'm afraid that I sometimes have irrational fears that make me waste opportunities because I'm afraid to do certain things. I'm not exactly sure why I was afraid, though. Silly me."

Aðalbjörn mused, "I guess just the thought of the unknown?"

"Maybe."

"So tell me more about yourself, Heiðrúnn."

The elf started, "Okay, so you already know my name's Heiðrúnn and that I have silly fears sometimes. What else is there? I've been around for a long time. My life was once perfectly, positively idyllic, dear. I love glaciers and cold beaches. I used to run a little salon by the glaciers, which make for excellent mirrors. I just treated female elves such as myself to a spa day, or a haircut, or a dress fitting, whatever it was they came in for. But I closed the salon down last year so I could dedicate all my time to looking for my family."

"Your family?" Aðalbjörn was confused.

Heiðrúnn explained sadly, "I once had a husband and two little elf children, but some time ago they were washed away in a glacier run. It seems like such a long time ago. I've looked all over the world for them. I haven't seen them since, and I haven't much hope left that they are even alive."

"I'm so sorry, Heiðrúnn," Aðalbjörn said softly. "I just found out today that my parents have been dead for nine months. That feels horrible enough. I can't even imagine what it feels like not knowing and slowly losing hope. You know what, though? I will help you find them. Right after I go see my girlf—I mean, a friend tomorrow. I need to ask her something important."

"You mean like a proposal?" Heiðrúnn said excitedly, not missing what Aðalbjörn had been about to call Elsa. "Ooh, I just love weddings! Can't I tag along?"

Aðalbjörn blushed. "No, not quite like that, but sure, you can come along," he said. "She just became my girlfriend today, though. You see, she has—well, had—ice powers, and I need to find out if she knows that her kingdom—Arendelle—has been stuck in winter for three years."

Heiðrúnn nodded, her long golden curls bobbing. "I understand," she said.

Aðalbjörn said regretfully, "I need to get back to my neighbors' house now. They have generously let me spend the night at their house after coming back from the spirit world and finding out about my parents. Will you meet me here in the morning, though, when the glaciers turn back into land? You can tell me more about yourself, and I'll help you look for your family. If I, a human boy, can find an elf, then that elf can certainly find her elf family. The boy will just be there to support her and help her."

Heiðrúnn's sky blue eyes shone. "Dear Aðalbjörn," she said, caressing the boy's cheek with her fingertips. All right, then. I will see you in the morning."

A/N: The character Lisa was inspired by the Norwegian voice of Elsa, Lisa Stokke. Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, the Icelandic Elsa, lends her name to Aðalbjörn's now deceased (sorry!) mom, and to the preppy jerk guy Erlend mentioned in chapter 4.

Heiðrúnn is pronounced "HAYTH-roon" (voiced th like in then) and has something to do with a goat. Either it means goat or a goat in Norse mythology has the name; I don't remember where I read it.

Speaking of name pronunciation, I believe Aðalbjörn is pronounced something like "ahth-all-pjörn" in Icelandic. That's probably REALLY wrong. The Icelandic Ö is pronounced something like the u in the word put.

Ískristallar I'm guessing is pronounced "ees-kris-taht-lar" or something like that. Double L's in Icelandic are pronounced something like the 'tl' sound in the word settle.

Again, I have no actual experience whatsoever with the language. Anyone who speaks Icelandic, please correct me if I'm wrong!