"A witch?" Asked Iduna as she raised her eyes dubiously at Vanessa. She didn't really look like a witch, but then again that would explain how she had the girl suspended in a floating bubble while she stood on a chariot that would run across water.
"I see the look of prejudice in your eyes," remarked Vanessa in mock-hurt. "Not all witches are bad, you know; I just saved you from drowning, didn't I?"
"…Thank you?" Replied Iduna awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. "I'm not sure I have anything you want in return, though."
"Not yet, you may not," agreed Vanessa with a nod. "But I'll say I'm mildly interested in what you seek out in the Twin Rivers… I have a hunch that it'll be an enlightening experience, even for me."
At that moment the Morphling burst out of the water next to her chariot, assuming the Captain of the Guard's form as he glared at the sea witch.
"I will have to suspect you have been up to something fishy," the form spoke, and Iduna realized that the water spirit was mimicking the Captain from Iduna's memory, when he had interrogated her about the Nightmare Spirit.
"Funny trick," scoffed Vanessa, dismissively waving her hands as a small wave rushed up, crumbling the Morphling's assumed form.
"What are you suggesting?" Iduna dared to ask, assuming that by the Twin Rivers she was talking about Ahtohallan. So there are two rivers there instead of one?
"I'm suggesting that we make a deal," cooed Vanessa, and with a lurch Iduna's bubble descended until their eyes were almost level with each other. "It's a simple favor, really. I take you safely to where you want to go, and in return… I get to see whatever you want to see there too."
There was something fishy about the way she spoke, as if she had ulterior motives that Iduna couldn't begin to grasp. But for all her suspicions, she really didn't have much of a choice… and the deal itself didn't sound like it was so terrible.
"We have a deal," she told Vanessa, who smiled widely upon the positive answer.
"Then all we need is a sign contracts," remarked the sea witch as she produced a piece of parchment and a fishbone quill out of thin air before handing them over to Iduna. "Don't worry about the paper getting wet, just sign in your name and the deal is sealed!"
Iduna never had a situation when she had a paper to sign – that was usually Agnarr's job. She did read the paper carefully so that she wasn't being tricked, or at least she tried to decipher Vanessa's complex handwriting.
"Excellent," breathed Vanessa as Iduna signed the contract, and the parchment immediately flew out of her hands and vanished. "Now that we got the hard part over with, all there's left to do is go. Hop on, young lady. This old lady is always glad to help!"
With a snap of her fingers Iduna's bubble popped, having the young girl fall into Vanessa's chariot with a yelp of surprise. At once the two Moray eels pulling the chariot broke into a powerful swim, pulling the vehicle across the Dark Sea with incredulous speed. The raging waves had no power over the sea witch; a small area of calm space was maintained around the quick-moving chariot, and any wave that dares to invade it was quickly dissolved as if it had slammed into a wall.
"So, a Northuldra that had been trapped outside her own home, yes?" Remarked Vanessa, apparently trying a conversation. "I know that feeling, little girl; I, too, have a home that I can never go back to."
"You're trapped inside this Mist too, then?" Iduna assumed innocently.
"Oh no; you didn't think the Mist extends all the way into the sea, did you?" Laughed Vanessa in a way that had Iduna flush with embarrassment. "I only visited here to collect some special sea herbs that only grow in the north, dearie. They're quite essential for many of my potions, you know."
"Then why can't you go home?" Asked Iduna, a little saddened by the thought.
"Magic, of course," answered Vanessa, that bitter tone crawling in her voice again. "You see, I once lived in a kingdom of merfolk, but they were afraid of what I was capable of and banished me."
"I'm sorry," mumbled Iduna, afraid that she had offended the woman.
"Meh, I'm way past grudges, so don't you mind," shrugged Vanessa. "But enough about me. What do you know about the Twin Rivers? You seem quite ignorant for someone who's willing to risk her life to go there."
"Just old legends," replied Iduna, leaving out the fact that she'd heard a lot from Maleficent too. "But it's enough to know that it holds answers about the past and who we are."
"Ah, yes; water holds on to memories," muttered Vanessa with a snort. "But your elders apparently haven't told you that the past isn't the only thing it can offer."
"What do you mean?" Asked Iduna in confusion. Was there still more to this place than she knew?
"I mean that your knowledge of the Twin Rivers is… quite one-sided," chuckled Vanessa as she pointed ahead. "See for yourself, and you'll know."
Following her gaze along her fingertips, Iduna did see – and could only be stunned at the sight that she beheld.
An island covered with black rocks had come into sight out of the fog, looking just big enough that the city of Arendelle might fit right in it. At once Iduna understood why Vanessa called Ahtohallan the Twin Rivers, for indeed there were two rivers that started from the top of the island and ran down in opposite directions.
While one was a normal river of water, albeit a very large and wide one, that ran down to the east shore, but the other, the one that flowed west… was a path of molten lava.
Ahtohallan was a volcanic island.
"A river of fire and water…" gasped Iduna in amazement. Now she understood what Vanessa had meant; Ahtohallan not only held the water that remembers, it also was home to the fire that foretells. It was a place for both the past and the future.
"And that's my end of the bargain," spoke the sea witch as her chariot reached the southeast shore of the island, closer to the river of water. "It's your choice what you wish to see, depending on what kind of answers you want, as long as you would share it with me. That will be your payment for my services."
"Okay…" mumbled Iduna as she stepped down on the island somewhat nervously. Then, suddenly, the started as a distant sound of a roar struck her ears. "Oh, no…"
"Hmm, looks like your draconic friend is looking for you," sniffed Vanessa with a hint of disdain as she looked behind them. Sure enough, the Ice Dragon had returned, approaching Ahtohallan from high above with such speed that it was already hovering over its summit by the time her words were over. The Mist Knight could be seen as well, hot on the drake's tail and trying to hack at it with its sword.
Upon reaching Ahtohallan the Ice Dragon finally swung around to face its opponent, but not before shooting a glance at Iduna. Then, with a furious roar, it fired a massive breath of cold energy at the Mist Knight, who barely managed to gallop out of its way.
But the dragon's attack did not relent, as its destructive breath continued to follow the air spirit like a moving pillar of death. Iduna could only watch in horror as the Mist Knight began circumventing Ahtohallan in its attempt to escape, and the breath followed – straight onto the waist of the river.
"NO!" Cried the young girl as frost began creeping up the mythical river by the dragon's attack, which gathered together into a wave of ice that slowly began covering its entire length – until it was been transformed into an enormous glacier.
"Trust dragons to stir up trouble," commented Vanessa dully, looking more annoyed than afraid of witnessing a dragon rampage in front of her. Iduna couldn't stay so calm; she had finally arrived on the place where her destiny would be found, but how was she supposed to do it if the Ice Dragon laid waste to it?
Her answer came in the form of a tremor in the ground, and she turned left to see that the Mist Knight had already raced over to the other half of the island, causing the dragon's icy breath to strike the river of lava as well. As if responding to the offense, the molten fire began boiling up dangerously, until the top of the island suddenly exploded with a loud BANG that sent Iduna to the ground.
"Way to anger a magical volcano…." Vanessa's groan was lost under more explosions as plumes of smoke and flaming rocks began spewing out of the volcano, some of them flying so high that they struck the Ice Dragon and induced pained bellows. So ferocious was the blast the even the Mist Knight had to turn tail and flee into the fog.
Iduna, unfortunately, was just a human girl, and couldn't do the same when a bolt of volcanic bomb was headed straight for her. She barely had time to jump out of the way as the bear-sized boulder crashed into where she'd been a second ago, but she couldn't get up in time for the flames to leap onto her.
Iduna had no time to scream as the flames engulfed her.
That's a big IF I threw right there; what if Ahtohallan wasn't always a river of ice? What if it could show more than just the past? We'll have to wait for the next chapter to see what the fire wants Iduna to see...
I've been pointed out in the comments that chronologically Maleficent and Iduna can never meet, which of course I knew. But if you think about it, Tangled is presumed to be centuries earlier than Frozen, yet Rapunzel and Eugene appeared as cameo. If Disney is willing to bend the timeline for a little collaboration, I think I can allow myself a little more liberty :)