8/17/20: Started
9/9/20: Completed
YURI
Chapter Summery: Elsa and Anna meet their Aunt and Grand-mother, and learn yet more surprising information about their mother.
Disclaimer: I don't own Elsa, Anna or any other Disney characters or locations that appear or are mentioned in this work of fiction, Disney does.
NOTE: Ended up splitting this part in two, but it works out, it's a sort of calm before the storm.
- Thirty minutes later -
- Northuldra camp -
Arriving at the camp, the sisters saw that it was quite sizable, with tents dotted around, children laughing and playing, adults walking around, mingling with each other, cooking food over an open fire, even reindeer were nearby.
"Well..." stated Anna. "You guys like your reindeer huh? Saw a few back with the others."
"Yeah, aside from protecting the camp from your people, I actually tend to the reindeer."
"Oh." replied Anna.
"But I'm not weird like my brother." stated Honeymaren with a smirk. "I talk to the reindeer, yeah; but I don't talk 'for' them."
Elsa and Anna simply chuckle at the comment, both thinking of Kristoff and had the same thought...
'What if Kristoff is Northuldran too?'
Their arrival to the camp soon brought numerous eyes on them, Silvia in particular; before Honeymaren attempted to calm the Northuldra's concern as she announced...
"It's ok everyone, they're outsiders from beyond the mist that the spirits allowed in. These are the children of Iduna; Elsa and Anna." stated Honeymaren as she gestured to the sisters, who both gave a nervous wave of their hand and a...
"Hello."
There were a couple whispers, though loud enough that they could be heard, comments about them getting through the mist and if they were really Iduna's children, or Iduna actually being alive. Despite the whispers though, a majority of the Northuldra returned the greeting, before Honeymaren placed a hand to Silvia's shoulder and added...
"And this is their friend, Silvia."
A number of, primarily men, stared at Silvia, though a few of those men were hit on the shoulder by whom was assumed to be their wives, eyeing their husbands disapprovingly.
Honeymaren then looked to Silvia and commented...
"The path towards the shipwreck is in that direction, pass where that big rock is."
Pointing to the left of the camp, Silvia saw the rock.
"Thanks, I'll be back in a little while you two." replied Silvia, before she began to walk away.
However, Silvia didn't get two yards in before a localized, stiff wind pushed her back on her rear.
"Seriously?" gasped Silvia, before she stood and attempted to leave again, and once again, the wind halted her, stopping her in her tracks as she tried pushing against it, before suddenly falling face-first to the ground as the wind let up, prompted some giggles from children, before Silvia lifted herself up on her feet with a groan and turned around to face Elsa and Anna. "Guess I'm waiting here then. Apparently I'm not allowed to go alone."
"I'm sure you'll find something to do here Silvia." commented Anna.
Silvia sighed and looked out to the camp, before she smiled.
"Or someONE, I spot a couple cuties here..."
"Try not to get kicked out Silvia." warned Elsa. "We're guests here."
"No lovelies, I promise; but the adults are fair game." replied Silvia with a smirk, before Honeymaren gestured ahead and spoke to the sister's.
"Rona's tent is a little further in."
Walking ahead, Elsa and Anna followed Honeymaren and as they walked into the camp, they pass a number of Northuldra, some greeting them, adults and children alike, while others appeared to purposely avoid them.
After a few minutes of walking, the sisters were led to a tent that seemed to be in the middle of the camp. Honeymaren walked to the flap covering the entrance and looked back to the sisters and asked...
"Ready?"
Elsa and Anna both take a slow, deep breath, before they both answer.
"Yeah."
"Then come in." replied Honeymaren, before passing through the door and holding the flap aside to allow them in.
Elsa and Anna saw, while quite spacious inside the tent, their attention was drawn to the back of the tent. An elderly woman sitting up a cot, covered in a fur blanket from the waist down as another woman; her back to them, a brunette with long hair in a single braid, kneels at the woman's side, helping her in drinking from a bowl.
"Mother..." spoke Honeymaren softly as she walked behind her and placed a hand to the woman's shoulder. "You have guests."
After carefully allowing the elderly woman to lay back, Magna stood and turned to face the sister's, who both gasped as tears quickly brimmed their eyes. The woman was the mirror image of their mother; so much so, the sisters completely forget she was not as Elsa quickly rushed to her and grabbed the woman's shoulders, who looked at her strangely.
"Mother!? You're alive!?" asked Elsa, a little louder than a whisper, despite her emotion, she tried to be respectful of the additional person present.
"We've missed so much!" added Anna, joining Elsa, though hugging the woman, who now looked VERY confused and stiffened at the sudden embrace. "Where's Father!?"
"Uh... I'm sorry... I don't know you two." replied Magna, before Honeymaren quickly walked up and gently, pulled Anna from the woman.
"Sorry about that." stated Honeymaren, before she looked to the emotional sister's, "This isn't your mother. I told you, remember? She has a sister."
The delight quickly drained from Elsa and Anna's eyes at realizing the reality. However, Magna frowns and takes the sisters by the arm and comments in a whisper...
"Outside, NOW!"
Elsa and Anna are quickly led outside by the arm, before Magna spoke to Honeymaren, clearly annoyed.
"Who are these two Maren!?"
"Elsa and Anna." answered Honeymaren. "They're your nieces."
"My nieces?" questioned Magna.
"Yeah... apparently your sister, Iduna, ended up in their kingdom; In Arendelle, married the prince and had two daughters."
The shock was clear on Magna's face, before she looked at Elsa and Anna, who gave a nervous smile and lifted their hands and greeting...
"Hi."
"Iduna's... alive?" asked Magna.
The sister's expressions sadden, before Elsa answered.
"No, unfortunately."
"Oh..." replied Magna sadly.
Honeymaren than added...
"They've come through the mist in search for their parents remains which they believe is at that shipwreck and discovered their mother is Northuldra and would like to meet their relatives."
After a moment, Magna's saddened expression sours into a frown as she looks at Elsa and Anna.
"You're from Arendelle!"
"Yeah, but-" started Honeymaren, before Magna continued, directing her statement at the sisters...
"Even if you're who Maren says you are, Mother doesn't need the stress of you being around; reminding her of what your people did. You can't just come out of nowhere and expect to be welcomed with open arms!"
"I'm sorry for what happened." replied Elsa. "As Queen, I'll take responsibility for Arendelle's actions if we're in the wrong."
"IF!?" questioned Magna angrily. "My uncle died because of your people!" she declared, which prompted the sisters to hear whispers again around them, more suspicious in tone now, before Elsa gasped from slap from Magna that rang through the air. The surprise of the strike caused Elsa to stagger to the side a step before dropping to one knee, lifting a hand to her stinging cheek.
"Hey!" gasped Anna with a frown.
"I don't care if you're a queen!" stated Magna.
"Mother please..." stated Honeymaren, placing a hand to Magna's shoulder as Elsa returned to her feet. "I know you're stressed, but they had no part in what happened; they weren't even born then." she added, before Magna placed her hands to her hips, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clearly attempting to calm herself.
"Ok... ok..." sighed Magna, before she opened her eyes and glared at Elsa and spoke through clenched teeth. "I'm willing to listen."
"Good." replied Honeymaren. "The spirits allowed them through the mist and they've already calmed two spirits, the Wind and Fire."
At this remark, Magna calms considerable.
"Really?" asked Magna. "Gale and Bruni are friendly again, because of them?"
"Yeah." answered Honeymaren and right on cue, the Wind Spirit made its appearance, swirling around them, which brought a smile to Magna's face as she lifted her hands up as if to touch the wind and commented with delight...
"Gale..."
The wind then parted from them and Magna sighed.
"Iduna and Gale were friends... really close friends." stated Magna, before she smiled. "She loved to climb the trees with Gale..."
The comment, while bringing a smile to Elsa and Anna's faces from a small detail about their mothers childhood, also brought curiosity and Anna asked...
"Mother and the Wind Spirit- Gale, were friends?"
"Yeah." answered Magna. "I favored Bruni, the Fire Spirit; He was so cute and nights weren't so cold with him just being around." she added with a smile.
"Well Bruni's here." replied Anna, before she reached to and opened her satchel and pulled Iduna's scarf from it to see the Fire Spirit sleeping next to a naked grape-vine, which prompted a chuckle from Anna, before Magna walked towards her and reached her hands up to the scarf.
"This scarf..."
"It's our mothers." stated Elsa.
"We had matching scarves." stated Magna. "Mother made them for us." she added, before she looked up from the scarf to the sisters faces and smiled, "You really are her daughters."
The comment brought a delighted smile to Elsa and Anna's faces, before Magna sighed and lifted her right hand up to Elsa's reddened cheek.
"Sorry for striking you. I let my emotions get the better of me."
"It's ok." replied Elsa. "I am responsible for the actions of my people. I'll do what I can to make it right if Arendelle ultimately is in the wrong, I promise."
Movement in Anna's bag then caught Magna's attention and she looked down to see the Fire Spirit shifting around in his slumber and a big smile came to Magna's face and commented...
"Awww, he's sleeping, so cyuuute!"
However, Magna gasped and looked up to the sisters with a nervous smile and her cheeks reddening.
"Ahem, anyway..." stated Magna. "You wanted to meet your grandmother, right?"
"Yes." answered Elsa.
"Alright, just try to keep your voices down." replied Magna.
"Ok." stated Elsa and Anna, before Honeymaren commented...
"I'll wait out here, maybe see what your friend is up to."
The sisters then followed Magna into the tent, where they saw the older woman still lying on the cot, appearing to be sleeping, before Magna knelt beside her, joined by Anna to her right and Elsa's to hers, placed a hand to Rona's shoulder and spoke softly...
"Mother?"
"Hmm?" responded the woman before she opened her eyes to look at Magna, then Elsa and Anna curiously. "Who are they?" which prompted a little smile from Magna as she reached to Rona's hand and took it in her's.
"Mother, this is gonna sound crazy but, these are Iduna's daughters."
Rona's eyes widen from the news as a smile comes to her face.
"Iduna's children?"
"Yeah..." replied Anna, teary-eyed, joined by Elsa, before Anna revealed the scarf. "This scarf was our mothers." she added, which prompted a look of surprise on Rona's face.
"Magna, help me up." stated Rona, attempting to lift herself up. "I wanna better look at them."
Without another word, Magna reached under Rona's back and helped her in sitting up, before Magna shifted position, moving behind Rona to her left side and keeping her hand on her back to support her, before Rona lifted her right hand up towards the sisters and requested...
"Come closer."
Elsa and Anna eagerly did so, Anna taking Magna's previous position, before Rona lifted her hand up to Anna's cheek and caressed it, before gazing at Elsa and a big smile came to her face as tears trailed down her cheeks.
"I can see Iduna in your faces."
Elsa and Anna nearly broke down then and there, from the comment and while tears streamed down their faces, kept it together enough to reply...
"It's so wonderful to meet you!" stated Elsa.
"Yeah, we didn't expect this at all when we came here." added Anna.
"It's wonderful to meet you two as well." replied Rona. "What are your names?"
"Elsa."
"Anna."
"Such pretty names... Elsa and Anna..." replied Rona with delight. "How's Iduna? Is she doing well?"
Both sisters were caught off-guard by the question and Elsa was hesitant to answer, however, before their silence revealed the truth, Anna answered with a smile.
"Mothers doing fine! She's happy and is the best mom we could have!"
However, looking to Elsa and seeing the sadness on her face, Rona gave a sigh and a somber smile.
"I see... I appreciate the kindness, but you don't need to lie. I'll soon be reunited with Iduna and see the woman she has grown to be."
The remark prompted a saddened smile from Elsa and Anna, before Elsa placed her hand to Anna's shoulder, which caused her to look at Elsa and Anna saw her sister make a quick eye motion towards Rona and a subtle gesture of her head; it took a second, before Anna gasped at what Elsa was silently trying to say.
"One second ma'am-or uh, Grandma." stated Anna, before she looked to Magna. "Can I speak with you outside for a moment?"
"Ok." replied Magna curiously, before Elsa commented...
"I'll stay with her."
As Anna stood, Elsa took her place and moved her hand to Rona's back like Magna was doing and felt that Rona was sitting up on her own strength. She wasn't as bedridden as Elsa thought, Magna simply assured that she didn't fall back suddenly.
'Honeymaren did say Rona could move around, she just needed help.' thought Elsa.
Once outside the tent, Anna stated...
"Ok, here's the thing; I have magic and the ability to heal. So I'd like your permission-"
"No." replied Magna.
"W-What?" gasped Anna. "I can heal her."
"And I said no." repeated Magna with a little frown.
"Why?" asked Anna, before Magna sighed.
"Look, I'm glad you and your sister exist, I have niece's I didn't know I had, but the fact is, your outsiders; we've all made piece with mothers limited time."
"But I can fix that!" quickly stated Anna. "Think about this, you don't have to say good-bye!"
"Will you heal all the sick and injured in the camp?" answered Magna. "What about when you leave? Or are you going to stay here as our personal healer, then everyone comes to you for every little scrap or bruise?"
"I..." started Anna, before she was at a lost for what to say, she and Elsa hadn't planned on staying and if she healed Rona, other people would likely come to her. She wanted to help, she had the power to and she'd find it very hard to turn down a request. "Maybe... started Anna. "Grandmother should make the choice, it's her life."
Anna then re-entered the tent, leaving Magna to sigh, before she followed.
"Grandmother!" stated Anna, hurrying to kneel beside Elsa with a smile, while Magna returned to her earlier position to Rona's left. "You don't have to leave your people, or us; I can heal you, make you better. I have magic!"
"Is that so?" replied Rona with a smile. "I'm very grateful, but I'll have to decline."
"W-What!? Why!?" gasped Anna. "You don't have to die!"
"It's my time dear, I'm ready."
"Your time? You're just sick!" declared Anna, teary-eyed. "I don't know with what, but-"
"Death is part of life, we can't change that." stated Rona.
"'I' can!" stated Anna, before she saw Rona smile at her.
"Knowing there's an end makes the time you get with people important. Our time may be brief, but I'm very happy to have the opportunity to meet you two."
"I-I don't understand." replied Anna, as tears trailed down her face. "I can save you! Why not accept that? I'm your grand-daughter. We have so much to talk about."
Rona smiled before she lifted her right hand up to Anna, who takes it with both of her hands.
"Then let's talk." suggested Rona, which prompted a saddened sigh from Anna, lowering her gaze, before Elsa placed a hand to Anna's shoulder, giving her a pained smile, before Anna smiled as well.
"O-Ok... let's talk."
"Good." replied Rona with a smile. "Your sister was just telling me your royalty; Iduna was quite fond of that young prince. I'm happy she was able to be with him."
"What was mother like when she was young?" asked Elsa. "Was she quiet, outgoing, talkative?"
"Hmm, energetic." answered Rona with a delighted smile and briefly averting her gaze at a fondle memory. "... and daring, Iduna loved climbing high into the trees. She never worried about falling because Gale would always catch her, the Wind Spirit. Heh, I will say, didn't make it any easier on my heart though when she'd be so high up, I could only hear her voice."
Elsa and Anna smiled at the little detail and Anna commented...
"Magna said Mother and the Wind Spirit were friends."
"They were." confirmed Rona. "Very close, Magna would even call Gale Iduna's third sister."
"Really?" asked Elsa and Anna with small giggle's as they look to Magna, who smiled and replied...
"Yeah, Iduna may have not had magic, but you wouldn't be able to tell if you randomly came across her playing with Gale. It was like they shared one mind."
"Wow..." commented Anna, while she and Elsa's eyes went wide at the detail, before Rona commented...
"Iduna was special, Magna too-"
"But Iduna was 'The One'." stated Magna with a smile, before Rona continued...
"We Northuldra have a connection with the spirits, we lived in harmony with them, but Iduna's connection was stronger, deeper..."
Rona then added...
"Like she was a spirit herself; a human spirit... the Fifth Spirit."
"There's a fifth spirit?" asked Elsa.
"Yes." answered Rona, "Let me see your scarf."
Anna then reached into her satchel, removing her mothers scarf, and smiled when she saw Bruni still sleeping peacefully, before she placed the scarf on Rona's lap, who placed her hands to the pattern near the edge.
"This design near the bottom, the four corners represent the spirits; Wind, Fire, Earth and Water, but here in the middle, this diamond shape; it isn't just for design, it represents the Fifth Spirit." explained Rona. "Said to be the bridge between us and the magic of nature."
"Wow..." commented Elsa and Anna, before Magna commented...
"We believed that Iduna was the Fifth Spirit. But I asked her one day if she was and she said no. I didn't really believe her, but-"
"Only Iduna and Ahtohallan knows for sure." replied Rona with a smile.
"... Ahtohallan..." commented Elsa.
"It's river of memories." stated Rona. "No one knows where it is though. Heh, or even if it exists. Just a lullaby about it that's been passed down in our family for generations."
"Our mother sang it for us once." replied Anna, "She said she learned it from you."
"And I, from my mother." stated Rona. "It was one of Iduna's favorites."
"Would you mind singing it for us?" asked Anna, "If your able, of course." she added, which prompted a smile to Rona's face.
"Of course not, ahem... ~Where the north wind meets the sea...~"
Rona started the lullaby, but Magna soon joined in with a delighted smile...
"~there's a river full of memory...~"
The act brought a smile to Rona's face as she looked at her daughter, who lowered her head towards Rona's, closed her eyes and touched her forehead against Rona's as they continued...
"~sleep, my darling, safe and sound, for in this river all is found.~"
Elsa and Anna could see tears willing up in Magna's eyes and trailing down her face, the lyric possibly meaning more than intended for Magna, given the situation, which also hit Elsa and Anna, who decided to join the song as well...
"~In her waters, deep and true, lay the answers and a path for you, dive down deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned~"
Magna and Rona looked to them with delight, unfortunately for Elsa and Anna, that was all of the lullaby they recalled, but Rona and Magna continued on.
"~Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear, and in her song, all magic flows, but can you brave what you most fear? Can you face what the river knows?~"
As wonderful as the lullaby was to hear, that particular lyric grabbed Elsa's attention...
'She will sing to those who hear?' thought Elsa. 'The voice?'
"~Where the north wind meets the sea, there's a mother full of memory. Come, my darling, homeward bound, when all is lost, then all is found.~"
The song ended with Magna hugging her mother, before she pulled back and wiped her face.
"That was beautiful!" declared Anna.
"It really was." added Elsa.
Magna chuckled, before commenting...
"When I was younger, I was usually asleep by the time the song finished."
"But if neither of them were..." stated Rona, with a smile before she lifted her right hand towards Magna as gave a single stroke of her nose, which prompted a chuckle from Magna. "I'd just rub their noses and they'd be out like a light."
"Mother did that to us too." replied Anna. "Well, me mostly. It was really effective!" she added, which prompted a chuckle from Magna and Rona.
"I've been hearing a voice, calling me." stated Elsa suddenly. "Leading me here." she added, choosing not to include the detail of coming to retrieve their parents, Iduna's, remains, in front of her own mother.
"Really?" asked Magna, wide-eyed, while Rona looked surprise too.
"Yes, sometimes, when I hear the voice, I see things, in my head."
"What do you see?" asked Magna.
"W-Well... me singing." answered Elsa embarrassingly.
"How nice." replied Rona, before Anna smiled and added...
"As you heard, Elsa can really sing. She even came up with a song of her-Ow!"
Anna was stopped with a jab to the side by Elsa, which prompted a chuckle from Rona and Magna, before Rona, briefly began coughing, though Magna quickly retrieved a pitcher of water and a poured some into a bowl and gave it to Rona to drink.
"Thank you Magna, it's been awhile since I've spoken this much."
"I'm sorry." stated Elsa. "You were resting when we came."
"That's ok." replied Rona. "It's been a delight to speak with you and to sing for you."
Anna then delightfully suggested...
"Hey, how about we tell you about us?"
"I'd love to hear it." replied Rona, before she gave a delighted gasp. "Any special someone's in your life?"
The questioned prompted the sister's faces to turn very red, although Magna chuckled and shook her head.
"Mother come on."
"With all due respect ma'am..." stated Elsa, blushing with a smile. "I'd rather not discuss this particular topic right now."
"I have one!" declared Anna, which prompted a surprised look on Elsa's face. "My special someone is someone I love very, VERY much! They're really nice and caring. They even cooked me breakfast in bed a few days ago for the first time, and they're not too bad on the eyes either." she added with a smirk, while Elsa's face reddened more.
"How wonderful!" replied Rona. "I only ask because I see rings on fingers."
The pointed detail prompted a gasp from Elsa and Anna and Elsa shyly covered her hand.
"Oh, you're right Mother." commented Magna. "I didn't even notice!"
Anna chuckled as her face reddened...
"Y-Yeah, we plan to get married. This is more of an, engagement ring, rather than a wedding ring."
"S-Same." added Elsa.
"Can we get a closer look?" asked Magna.
"Sure..." replied Anna, before she presented her right hand and the band around her finger and Magna reached out to Anna's hand.
"It's really pretty." stated Magna, before she caressed the ring with her thumb. "I has a chill to it."
"It's a special ice-like metal." stated Anna. "They really gave me something exotic."
Elsa then nervously presented her left hand, which Rona took.
"Ohh, is this some kind of glass."
"Yeah, pretty unique, huh?" asked Elsa.
"It sure is." replied Rona. "Only the best for the Queen and Princess."
However, Elsa and Anna notice Magna give them an odd look, briefly looking at the rings, then her gaze lingering on their clothing, before tilting her head in curiosity and a raised brow.
- Thirty Minutes later -
"I just wanna talk to her for hours!" commented Anna as she and Elsa left the tent.
"Same here." replied Elsa, with a smile, "But she needs her rest."
The comment brought a saddened expression to Anna's face.
"Yeah..."
Elsa then placed a hand to Anna's shoulders.
"I don't like it either, but you have to respect her choice."
"... I know. It just hurts, I have the ability to help, but I never considered someone would deny that help. It would also be wrong to heal against someone will and waiting until she's gone would probably not paint me in the best light... It almost makes me wonder why even have the power at all."
"Not everyone wants help." stated Elsa, before Anna let out a long sigh.
"Yeah... well, that Ahtohallan and Fifth Spirit thing... that was unexpected." replied Anna with a little smile. "Mother may have been the Fifth Spirit."
"Maybe, but what if, Ahtohallan is the Fifth Spirit?"
"Hmm, that is interesting." commented Anna. "It's an Ancient Spirit according to Silvia."
~AH~AHHH~AH~AHHHHH~
"There it is again." stated Elsa, as her gaze was drawn towards the forest, like a beacon in the distance, "Can you hear it?" she added, looking to Anna, who was also looking in the same direction, before she turned to Elsa.
"Yeah, I hear it."
However, both sister's groaned again as they dropped to one knee and lifted a hand to their head.
Once again, Elsa saw herself; thankfully, not singing, but walking through a barren, grayish landscape with Anna and Olaf, with herself calling out to the voice with the same 'song' and Olaf's... attempt to mimic her, before she saw Gale direct them towards a hill with a strange flag behind it. However, Elsa's reaction was the same as the Elsa and Anna in her vision when she saw their parents wrecked ship and a large hole in the side of it.
"Their ship!" gasped Elsa.
Anna meanwhile, saw herself and Elsa, in the same place they were now, the Northuldra camp; however, it was night-time and curiously, Arendelle soldiers were present in the camp. The earth soon rumbled beneath their feet and there were warnings to hide, the Earth Giants were here.
Anna saw herself hide behind a rock, but was in sight of Elsa, hiding behind a tree. Anna then audibly gasped when she saw a giant, towering over the trees in the darkness come into view. The darkness provided a silhouette, but it looked strikingly similar to Marshmallow.
Anna then saw the curious sight of Elsa peeking out from behind her tree, then quickly behind it as the giant turned towards her, before walking off after a moment. However, curiously, Anna saw Elsa emerge from behind the tree and began to walk towards the departing giant, before Vision Anna hurried to her Elsa and grabbed her by the hand, gaining Elsa's attention.
"Please tell me you were not about to FOLLOW them?" asked Vision Anna in a whisper.
Anna saw Vision Elsa look back delightfully at the departing giant and comment...
"What if I can settle them like I did the wind and fire?"
"Or what if they can crush you before you even get the chance?" countered Vision Anna. "Remember, the goal-"
The vision ended mid-sentance, but it was all Anna needed, before she looked to Elsa, who looked to her and they both declared...
"We have to go!"
The shared thought, brought curiosity from them and Elsa asked...
"What did you see?"
"We were here, in the Northuldra camp, at night; the Arendelle soldiers were here too, when an Earth Giant walked by. We all hid until it left, but you started walking off towards it and I pulled you back. You wanted to try and calm it like the Wind and Fire Spirits, but that giant was huge! It would've crushed you before you got the chance!" explained Anna. "What if that's gonna happen here? The Wind and Fire spirit attacked us; there are children here, we have to leave before that vision comes true."
"I agree." replied Elsa. "My vision showed me us finding our parents ship."
"Really!?" gasped Anna.
"Yes!" replied Elsa with a smile. "Honeymaren said the ship is here and Silvia said the spirits said our parents are here, we have to get going!"
"Ok. But it is weird that we were shown different things, but have the same response from it."
"Let's go find Silvia." stated Elsa.
The two stood and found the closet Northuldra to them, an older man.
"Hi." greeted Elsa. "Do you happen to know where... uh..." added Elsa, as her face reddened. "A very 'gifted' woman happens to be? Dressed very different from anyone else here."
"Ah, yeah..." replied the man, looking a little nervous and pointed behind him towards the trees. "I saw her going into the trees, Honeymaren was with her."
"Thanks." replied Elsa, before she and Anna headed in the direction the man pointed, before Anna gave a chuckle.
"Silvia did call her cute."
"Knowing she's our cousin will make it really weird if Silvia and her are, occupied." replied Elsa, as her face reddened.
"What are you gonna do if they are?" asked Anna.
"We'll deal with it if and when it comes up."
Just a couple of minutes from camp, Elsa and Anna abruptly stopped when they heard gasping moans ahead of them.
"Annnnd we have our answer." whispered Anna. "So what are we gonna do Elsa?"
"Uh..." replied Elsa, before her face turned red when she spotted the activity ahead of them. They were behind a tree, mostly hidden from her view-point, but just enough was visible to see and make out that Honeymaren's pants were down and Silvia on her knees in front of her, which prompted Elsa to quickly turn around. "Y-Yanno, we can wait; it's not night-time after all."
"Oh!" gasped Anna lowly, as she spotted the activity, before a particularly lengthy groan-turned-moan left Honeymaren and Anna turned around. "Y-Yeah, let's wait."
As the two departed, they quickened their pace when they heard Honeymaren moan out...
"Ohhh, S-Silvia! Your tongue f-feels incredible!"
- Twenty Minutes later -
Elsa and Anna departed from the private moment and returned to the camp to talk with some of the Northuldra to pass the time, whom didn't take long to warm up to them; the children in particular, curious about the new faces, particularly after Anna let it slip that Elsa had magic upon answering a child's question about Elsa's clothing.
The reveal prompted excited requests from children to see her magic, which Elsa answered with a little display, to the amazement of the children and adults. The excitement around Elsa's magic soon took a backseat when Bruni woke up and crawled out of Anna's satchel. Bruni's friendliness seemed to extend to the children, even Gale was friendly; Elsa and Anna found it hard to believe that the spirits abandoned the Northuldra when they were interacting so pleasantly with them.
The kids and even a few adults got a chuckle out of Elsa's mild ice-producing fright when a young boy presented an owl right beside her, turning her head to the surprise of coming face to face with the big-eyed brown bird with large, distinctive eyebrows as the boy held it with its wings against its body, preventing it from flying, but it seemed content with being held.
"And whose this guy?" asked Anna with a smile as Elsa clutched her chest briefly as she breathed heavily, an owl was NOT something she was expecting to meet eye-to-eye.
"Owl." answered the boy.
"Owl?" questioned Anna. "That's the Owl's name?"
"Yep, it only comes when we call it that." answered the boy. "There's plenty of owls here, but only this one is calm and friendly and comes when we call it." he added, before he mimicked an owls call, prompting the owl to turn its head around to the boy and 'hoo' back at him, which clearly delighted him and the other children as they all mimicked the owl, which brought smiles to Elsa and Anna's faces.
"A wild owl being so comfortable around humans?" asked Elsa. "That's a little odd."
"Maybe he's a lost pet." commented Anna, before she slowly reached her right hand out towards the owl, who turned its head to look at her and Anna briefly paused, before continuing and patting the owls head, which closed its eyes and seemed to enjoy the touch, prompting a giggle from Anna as she rubbed the owls head. "Like that? I've never petted an owl, he's soft."
"Nothing gets through the mist though." stated Elsa. "Unless animals aren't bound by the mist, only humans?"
"Or maybe it just wants to be our friend." stated the boy. "Wanna hold it?"
"Sure!" answered Anna delightfully, before she offered her right arm. "I think you hold out your arm for it to land on."
"Uh, Anna..." replied Elsa, before the boy placed the owl on Anna's offered forearm, which flaps it's wings briefly before securing itself and Anna quickly winces and sucks in a breath.
"Ohhh, those claws sure are sharp!" commented Anna as she felt the talons of the owl digging into her skin. "Mmm, y-yanno what little guy, perhaps my bare arm isn't the best place to perch." she added, before she shifted her glass dress down her other arm into a thick rod, to the 'ooh's' of the children, before Anna offered the rod to the owl, and Anna winced again when she felt the claws release her arm and use the glass rod, leaving bleeding puncture holes in Anna's right arm. "That's better." sighed Anna, before she lifted her right hand up to stroke the owl.
Elsa soon, also reached out her left hand to the owl and rubbed its chest and it was clear the owl was enjoying the touch and petting, which brought a smile to Elsa's face.
"It has to be someone's lost pet." commented Elsa. "To be this comfortable with us touching it."
"Well he's doing just fine." stated Anna, before she looked to the boy that presented the owl. "How long has he been your pet?"
"Me and some other kids noticed it near the end of winter." answered the boy, before a girl added...
"It didn't just fly off when we got close to it, it would just 'hoo' at us then fly away. Then we'd see it watching us, so we gave it food. Over time, it eventually let us touch it."
"Ah." replied Elsa. "So he wasn't immediately this friendly with you; he just grew to be comfortable with you. That makes more sense."
"Oh, hey!" stated Anna with a smile as she looked at the kids. "Do you all know what fairies are?"
The two had completely forgotten about Silvia and Honeymaren from the delight of the conversations with the children and adults, until they noticed the two arriving back to the camp; the only sign of their activity was a big grin on Honeymaren's face and a noticeable pep to her step, who chuckled at something Silvia whispered to her, before she and Silvia spotted them and walked to them.
"Hey you two, everything going ok?" asked Honeymaren.
"Yep, just fine." replied Elsa, avoiding eye contact with her and Silvia, while Anna smiled and replied.
"Everything's good. You and Silvia friends now?"
The question prompted a wide-eyed glare from Elsa to Anna.
"Oh yeah." replied Honeymaren with a big smile. "Silvia's great! She's..." added Honeymaren, before she looked to Silvia, who grinned and licked her lips, which prompted Honeymaren's face to redden before she cleared her throat. "Ahem, well, yeah. So what are you two up to?"
"We were just getting to know some of the people here." answered Anna. "Entertaining children with magic, meeting friendly owls and stories of fairies."
"Fairies?" questioned Silvia with a raised brow.
"We were also waiting for Silvia." answered Elsa. "We're gonna be heading out to the ship."
"Oh, ok." replied Honeymaren. "Well, just go back the way we came from, it's basically a straight shot with an occasional stream, but I'm sure you'll have no problem crossing. You'll know when you're near the shore when you get to an area were there's a bunch of dead or dying trees, it actually looks pretty gloomy." explained Honeymaren.
"Thanks." replied Elsa.
"I hope you find your parents." replied Honeymaren, before she stepped closer to Elsa and hugged her, before repeating the embrace with Anna, who answered back...
"Thanks."
"Let's go Silvia." stated Elsa, before she and Anna said their good-byes to the Northuldra near them and walked by Silvia, who followed.
However, just out of earshot of the Northuldra, walking to Elsa's right, Silvia commented...
"You two could've joined yanno."
"You knew we were there!?" gasped Anna.
"Oh yeah, though Honeymaren was a little too preoccupied to notice." replied Silvia with a grin. "She was quite the snack- a juicy one too. Can you believe she-"
"Silvia..." sighed Elsa, stopping and turning around, her face clearly red and smiling with embarrassment. "I won't criticize who you decide to feed on, but we just recently found out that Honeymaren is our cousin, I don't want to hear about what she's like in that way, if you don't mind."
"Oh, ok then, no problem." replied Silvia. "I just figured with the whole sister/sister thing-"
"You figured wrong." stated Elsa.
"Ok, gotcha; no lick and tell." replied Silvia with a smile, which prompted a smiling sigh from Elsa.
"Thank you."
"So, are we gonna be walking the whole way?" asked Silvia.
"Oh, right." replied Elsa, before she turned around and conjured two ice horses. "Anna and I will ride together." added Elsa, before she lifted herself up on her horse.
"Oh, nice!" replied Silvia, before she got on the other horse while Anna joined Elsa. "We'll get to the shore in no time!" she added, before a few minutes pass as the trio continued in the same direction before Silvia asked, "So, any particular reason we're heading out now? You were only at the camp about an hour I'd guess."
"We had another vision that prompted us to leave." answered Anna.
"'Another' vision?" asked Silvia curiously. "You two have been having visions?"
"Yeah." replied Elsa. "After we passed the mist."
"The weird thing is though..." added Anna. "The vision's are having different effects on us. Elsa's being called while mines giving me a feeling opposite to that, wanting to go away."
"Hmm, that is curious." replied Silvia. "So you've been hearing the voice too now?" asked Silvia to Anna.
"Yeah, after going through the mist." answered Anna.
"Do you mind telling me the vision?" asked Silvia. "If you remember them."
"I don't mind..." replied Elsa, before the group heard and felt the Wind Spirits presence and blowing past them and far ahead of them, which prompted Silvia to comment...
"Looks like the Wind Spirit may be guiding us."
"Yeah..." replied Elsa, recalling Gale in her vision guiding her to their parents ship. "Anyway, the first vision seemed to be a continuation of the one I saw a couple of days ago when you first opened the portal. I was singing, to Ahtohallan I assume; and it seemed to take control of my magic and show the me in the vision images; which now, I realize, were clues of the future; passing through the mist, the forest and mother as a child playing with Gale, and the other spirits. The me in the vision was so happy, that strangely, it seemed to be effecting me, I shared her delight and almost felt like I was there with her, feeling her desire to follow her magic and voice... 'Into the Unknown'."
"Hmm... well it's not unheard of for visions to have an effect on the person having them." replied Silvia. "And you, Your Highness?"
"My vision showed me Elsa betraying me and sending me away." answered Anna.
"Wow... that's, certainly a stark difference."
"Sure is." agreed Anna. "But Elsa promised she wouldn't do that. Then, the second vision show me and Elsa in the Northuldra camp at night and an Earth Giant came roaming close by. Elsa was about to follow it, saying she could maybe calm it like the Wind and Fire Spirits, but the me in my vision talked her out of it, thankfully. So I wanted to leave the camp before the vision came true, given the Wind and Fire attacked us." explained Anna, before Elsa added...
"And my second vision showed the Wind Spirit guiding us to our parents ship, so I decided we needed to leave."
"You both came to the same decision?" asked Silvia.
"Yeah..." replied Anna. "Same decision, different reasons." she added, before Elsa asked...
"Silvia... Is there anything else you know about Ahtohallan? Our Grandmother and Aunt knew of it, but they didn't really think it's real, but Grandmother says it's a river of memory supposedly."
"A river of memory huh?" replied Silvia. "Well, as far as I know, it's an Ancient, so it's alive in some way; but most importantly, Ahtohallan is a place of knowledge; a great reservoir of information."
"Like a library?" asked Anna, smiling. "Ahtohallan's a library?"
"Hmm, that could be rather accurate." replied Silvia. "The greatest and grandest living library in the world. Knowledge is powerful, it can rival even the greatest magic with proper use."
"Have you heard of something called a Fifth Spirit?" asked Elsa.
"A Fifth Spirit? Hmm... Nope, can't say I've heard of something like that before taking this journey with you." answered Silvia. "Did your relatives mention something about it?"
"Yeah." answered Elsa. "The Fifth Spirit is apparently a bridge between humans and the magic of nature. Our Aunt suspected our Mother was the Fifth Spirit, because she had a deeper connection with the spirits, but Mother said she wasn't, so that leaves Ahtohallan possibly being the Fifth Spirit."
"Hmm... well that is intriguing." replied Silvia, before Elsa sighed.
"The more we learn about Mother, it just brings up more questions about her inaction in the past."
"What sort of inaction?" asked Silvia, before Elsa smiled nervously and looked to Silvia.
"Oh, sorry; was thinking out loud. It's personal, but Mother never mentioned anything about her living with magic; if she did, things likely would've turned out differently."
"Ah, personal parental issues, gotcha." replied Silvia with a smile. "We all have those. I won't pry."
"Thanks." stated Elsa.
To be continued