Elisia cleared her eyes of the green smoke and coughed, waving her hand in front of her face to clear the soot clouds. Mad-Eye hauled her out of the fireplace and put his large trench coat around her, shielding her eyes from the bright green flash, which heralded the arrival of her parents, still arguing; they hadn't stopped since they had left the manor. Her mother frowned and cradled Anne closer to her as if it was a means of support. Elisia peeked a little out from her hiding place in Mad-Eye's coat at the large circular room, filled with many windows and moving portraits that were trying to sleep.
She looked beyond the silver instruments on tables placed throughout the room and many piles of books to a desk, above which hung a portrait of a wizard she well recognized: Albus Dumbledore. Elisia stepped out from the trench coat and basked in awe at the room, realizing she must be in Dumbledore's office. She walked forward, eyes set on Dumbledore's desk.
"Hold on there, little pup." Mad-Eye pulled her back and pointed at something next to the desk. She followed his finger to a strange crimson bird with golden tail feathers; she blinked as it craned its neck at her and gave a little squawk."That's Fawkes, a phoenix, and he doesn't take well to strangers. Best to stay next to me lass."
Elisia watched the phoenix straighten and extend its large wingspan flapping at her, before flying up to a high bookcase. It leaned in like a vulture and his eyes squinted as if it were glaring at her. Elisia shuddered at the phoenix's obvious dislike of her. She grabbed hold of Mad-Eye's free hand and huddled against him as some means of protection.
"So Alastor," her mother piped in. "Where is he?"
"He'll be here shortly."
"Really? Then where was he the night James-"
"Judith!" Mad-Eye chastised her. "Your brother's death was not Dumbledore's fault-"
"I-"
Elisia looked up at Mad-Eye who had given her mother a stern look. Her mother huffed and tapped her foot before walking over to one wall with a large bookcase and back to where she stood before, over and over. Elisia watched and could swear she heard her mother murmur "this is ridiculous" under her breath. She stopped and looked over at Mad-Eye with an angry glare.
"Alastor, if Dumbledore isn't here in the next two seconds I'll-" She walked close to the only door in the room, her wand at the ready.
"You'll do what?" With a flick of his wand, Mad-Eye moved one of the chairs next to Elisia and himself. "The entrance is password locked, just keep Anne warm and have some faith, Judith."
Her mother grumbled under her breath and pointed her drawn wand at the fireplace setting it ablaze. She laid Anne next to the warm fire and stroked her hair, humming softly to her. Elisia went forward to join them in keeping Anne warm but was met by her father's glare. He shook his head at her before he took a spot next to her mother at the fireplace. Elisia looked down, ashamed before Mad-Eye scooped her up and sat her in his lap.
"Don't be upset, little pup," he whispered softly. "Your father is just scared is all, your sister-"
"He's scared of me." She looked over at her father. "He's angry at me, like always."
"I wouldn't say-" he began.
"I've seen the way he looks at me, he doesn't give me the same look mummy does," she stated."He doesn't love me."
"Why would you think that?" Mad-Eye lifted her chin."I know your father doesn't have the best temper in the world-"
"Because he's said it before." Elisia turned away to look at her father. Sure he hadn't said it directly to her or in the exact words of 'I don't love you.' It had happened when her parents had been arguing, and he'd accused her of Elisia not being his daughter. He had demanded of her mother to know who the man was and was then followed by a word that he shouted at her mother which she could deduce it wasn't nice to call a woman. Elisia smiled at Mad-Eye's shocked face and laid her head on his shoulder.
A sound coming from the little corridor stirred her, the sound of stones dragging up against each other. Mad-Eye set her down and stood; her mother was already at her feet, her sister in her arms. The sound stopped, and the clicking of shoes against the stone replaced it before the door opened slowly, revealing a woman dressed in flowing velvet green robes, pushing up on her square spectacles. She didn't look very old at all, other than the fact that her hair had splashes of gray at the roots and her face showed the beginnings of wrinkles. The woman stared at them for a moment before turning her gaze to her mother's direction.
"Judith," she stated, sounding a little cautious.
"Minerva." Her mother's tone turned dark.
Elisia looked back and forth between them. The slender woman, though with a stern look on her face, didn't return her mother's glare. Her father quickly leaned down and whispered something into her mother's ear. Almost in an instant, her mother's expression softened slightly.
Elisia remembered she'd heard her mother mention someone named Minerva McGonagall being the Head of her House from her days at Hogwarts. She never did discuss her with fondness and never did give her or Anne a reason why she loathed her. McGonagall glanced at Elisia, who hid behind Mad-Eye again under the woman's gaze. McGonagall turned her attention back to her mother with a stern, however sympathetic look on her face.
"I was informed that your situation was dire, we don't have to do this, Judith" she responded with the same amount of poison in her voice.
"Oh we don't do we?" her mother mocked her and smirked. "Growing soft in your old age, Minerva?"
Professor McGonagall sighed and took in a deep breath. "Headmaster Dumbledore is currently meeting with the Minister of Magic and has sent me in his stead."
"Of course he has a meeting with Fudge," her mother growled, bringing Anne closer to her. "And of course, he sent you instead. You always were his little pet, weren't you?"
Mad-Eye massaged the bridge of his nose with his knuckles and mumbled under his breath. Professor McGonagall looked as if she was going to say something else or perhaps leave for that matter.. She took a step forward. Her mother raised her wand slightly at her and growled out a curse word. Professor McGonagall stopped when her eyes met her unconscious sister, who stirred in her mother's arms. Her mother took a step back and kept glaring at her, turning to the side to protect Anne from her. Professor McGonagall turned sadly back to Mad-Eye.
"I don't want to know what happened or why you need to talk to them, Alastor." She sighed. "But as soon as you accomplish what you came here for, I must insist that you all leave as quickly as you came to avoid complications with the students."
"Well, it's not like I wanted to stay, not while you're on the grounds!" her mother spat. "You and your ugly little-
"Judith, calm yourself and keep quiet!" Mad-Eye chastised, her mother glared at him before turning back to the fire with Anne.
"Alright, Minerva, you have my word," he replied, and Professor McGonagall gave him a side eye as if doubting his words a little.
Professor McGonagall turned behind her and called out behind the door."Mr. Weasley! Miss Tonks! Miss Fawcett!"
Seconds after she called, in walked a girl much older than Elisia, with pink hair and eyes that were blue but then instantly changed to a brownish colour. Their eyes met, and hers slowly changed back to blue. Her cream silk dressing gown went past her feet and dragged against the floor as she moved to stand next to McGonagall. Close behind her walked in a ginger boy covered in freckles about the same age as the girl. He was stocky in build, wearing what looked like hand me down PJ's that were a little big for him with patches in some places. Beside him was another girl, black hair and skin almost as pale as Elisia's, her grey eyes scanned the office. Professor McGonagall ushered them forward quickly when they shuffled their feet along.
"Miss Tonks, Mr. Weasley, Miss Fawcett," she said in a grave tone, "This is Judith Arendal, her family, and Mr. Moody."
Their eyes widened and mouths opened in disbelief at Mad-Eye, before turning to Elisia's mother. Of course, they were in awe. Her mother and Mad-Eye had been something of an Auror team during the war, locking up and taking out many dark witches and wizards. Although from what her mother told them, Mad-Eye did most of the work. The pink haired girl's eyes moved to Elisia, her hair and skin colour slowly changing to match hers. Elisia gasped and hid behind Mad-Eye's trench coat.
"What the hell is that girl?" her father whispered to her mother, who only shushed him rather than give another explanation on how magic worked.
"It's an honor to meet-" the boy started before he was silenced by McGonagall.
"You can marvel at them and ask for their autographs at a later time, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall walked forward and turned around to face them. She gave the three of them a stern look, "You three have met the Huldufólk on many occasions, have you not?"
"O-Of course not, Professor, Professor Dumbledore instructed us to-," the ginger tried to defend.
"The what folk?" the black-haired girl laughed nervously. "Professor, we haven't entered the Forbidden Forest, it's against the rules."
"And I suppose hunting for the Cursed Vaults is against the rules also, Miss Fawcett?" McGonagall sassed her a little. "Don't act so shocked. The Headmaster knows the three of you have met with them on a regular basis."
"We have Professor," the pink haired girl finally admitted, "So we're not in trouble? Are were?"
"No, Miss Tonks." McGonagall shook her head, "As a matter of fact your befriending them and gaining their trust is quite opportune for this situation. Professor Dumbledore has a task for you."
"A task, Professor?" The ginger asked.
"Yes, would the three of you please escort Mr. Moody and the Arendals to their village?" The request seemed to shock the children.
"Escort them?"
"Yes, Miss Fawcett." She looked back at Anne. "Due to the seriousness of the situation, you are to escort them to the settlement and come back with them when the meeting is over as quickly as you can."
They looked past McGonagall at an unconscious Anne, who whined in her sleep, before looking back at McGonagall. The three of them looked uncertain but nodded anyway. Professor McGonagall began to walk away, but then turned and looked as if she was going to say something else to Elisia's mother, who arched an eyebrow at her. McGonagall sighed and turned before leaving them alone with the three Hogwarts students. Silence passed as the three students looked between them; the boy shuffled his feet.
"Well, why are you standing there?" Mad-Eye broke the silence, "We're wasting precious time, lead the way."
With that, they followed the three students down a tight spiraling staircase that led down to a gargoyle. Elisia stayed close to Mad-Eye when they came out into a large corridor, feeling small under its tall ceiling. They came out to a grand staircase that went down the length of the castle. Elisia peeked over the railing; other staircases branched off the main one onto other platforms, but some platforms didn't have a staircase leading to them. She could have sworn she saw one move in the darkness.
"Hey! You!" a voice called from her left. "Put that light out!"
Elisia glanced up to her left at a painting. She stared at its inhabitant, who had been peacefully sleeping seconds before and now glared at her. She blinked and looked around, her eyes finally adjusting to the darkness, seeing that the enormous stone walls were covered in hundreds of moving paintings. The painting's remark had woken other paintings around him, and their unhappy faces stared Elisia down, and they began to bark at her all at once. She backed away to find Mad-Eye's hand and dim light draped over her shoulder.
"You'll all get over it." Mad-Eye rolled his eyes at them, earning loud arguments from the portraits. The three older children began shushing them as they moved down the staircases, warning them that they didn't want to alert the ghosts and someone who went by the name of Peeves. They raced down staircase after staircase for what seemed like forever; Elisia's legs began to ache. However, she continued to follow, staying at Mad-Eye's side.
Eventually, they passed through an enormous hall that led them to a small courtyard with a small partially ruined fountain. Elisia heard the sound of a clock ticking in the distance. As they rounded the fountain, she looked back at the castle. Her mouth went agape. It was huge, bigger than the one at Walt Disney Land that she had visited last summer.
The pink haired girl, Tonks, looked back at her as they approached a wooden bridge that extended from the courtyard. "So what's your name?"
"Elisia," she replied sheepishly.
She smiled at her. "What a pretty name!"
"For a lovely girl," the Weasley boy smiled down at her.
"Tonks! Charlie!" chastised the Fawcett girl next to her. " We've been given an important task!"
Tonks stuck her tongue out at the girl to Elisia's amusement. "Doesn't mean we can't have some small talk, Anemone, anyway, why exactly do you need to see the Huldufólk ?"
Elisia hesitated to answer that question. "I accidentally hurt my sister. I hit her head."
"With magic?" the ginger boy piped in.
"Yes, I didn't mean to, it was an accident," she said with a small sniffle, and, as if it had needed only that, it came out. A light frost began running behind her as she walked. The three older children didn't notice her magic, but her father sure did.
"Elisia!" her father's booming voice came from behind. "What did I say back at the house, girl!?"
She turned and watched her father storm forward, only to be halted by Mad-Eye. A soft whimper escaped her lips, and the frost that had trailed behind her seemed to disappear at once as she tried thinking of other things. Her father continued to scream at her more, prompting the three older children in front to keep their distance from her. Then her mother joined in on the argument, screaming at her husband to shut his mouth unless he wanted the creatures in the forest to be alerted to their presence and attack them. At that, her father finally shut up and kept walking, still glaring at her.
Elisia whimpered again and put her hands under her armpits, intending to keep them there for the rest of the journey. However, Tonks reached out and brought her in between her and the older boy. Elisia shook her head and nearly let out a sob, only to find some small comfort in the older girl.
"Hey hey, shush, you're okay." Tonks rubbed her back in gentle circles. "Nothing is going to happen to you while the three of us are with you."
"T-Thank you," she stuttered.
"Could we see you're magical ability?" Charlie asked.
Elisia hesitated when she brought her hand forward, not wanting to anger her father any more than she had. Tonks patted her back, giving her the reassurance to continue. With a sigh, she formed her fingers up to a point and simply opened her hand. Shades of blue followed by tiny white snowflakes danced from her hand. A sudden wind came through and blew her magic off towards a small hut near the edge of the forest.
She looked up at the older children, and their complete silence as they stared at her, Charlie's lips moved as if he was trying to say something. She began to panic under their shocked gaze, unsure if they would start yelling at her like her father had. However, nothing was said to her, they just glanced at one another looking unsure of what to say, and then they huddled next to each other, whispering. Elisia raised an eyebrow, she wasn't hard of hearing, and they weren't being exactly quiet about what they were discussing.
"Do you think-"
"Of course I think she is," hissed the Fawcett girl. "That's how Koenraad described them!"
"I thought he said they'd died out?" Charlie whispered.
"We'll obviously one had survived-"
"Wouldn't this make her the next-"
"The next what?" Elisia asked innocently.
They jumped in surprise at her question and then quickly moved along, ignoring her. Elisia frowned, watching them quietly argue and taking glances at her as they reached the hut at the edge of the forest. The smell of fresh stew and wood burning filled her nose as they passed by into the forest.
"Smells like Hagrid's cooking some good stew tonight." Charlie smiled at Tonks who nodded in agreement.
They continued onwards and finally made their way into the forest, Elisia stayed close to Tonks, clutching onto the sleeve of her dressing gown. She jumped slightly at the rustling of bushes and the sound of werewolves howling off in the distance. Tonks put her arm around her, making her feel secure as they continued through the dark forest. She heard her father voice his disapproval of this, only to be shushed by her mother.
A rumbling sound off in the distance filled her ears, Anemone and Charlie quickly moved off to the side. Tonks dragged Elisia along with her and brought her head down. Mad-Eye grabbed her mother and father at the last minute. Elisia looked past Tonks' shoulder. What looked like reddish horses charged past them. As quickly as they had appeared, they turned and stormed off to the right. Her mother was the first to step back out, Anne cradled tightly in her arms, still fast asleep.
Elisia stepped towards her mother, Anne looked terrible. Her olive skin was becoming a pasty pale with hints of blue at her fingertips. Elisia felt her chest tighten, the forest ground below her frosted over slightly with ice. Anne was dying. Dying because of her. Elisia felt her lungs burn as she began to panic. Her mother noticed her dire state; she took a step forward to comfort her, only to have herself hauled back from Elisia by her father.
"The Centaurs are having fun tonight," Charlie breathed and walked to her side.
Mad-Eye grunted as he stood. "Then we best get moving before they return!"
Elisia shook her head, right, they needed to hurry. She didn't have time for this; if she wanted Anne to be alright, she had to pull herself together. They trotted a little longer until they came to an opening in the forest, within which were large boulders covered in moss and some small huts made out of large logs and leaves. The three older children waited as if someone was going to come out and greet them. A minute passed, and they gave each other concerned looks. Elisia came forth and looked around; no one was in sight. She heard arguing behind her; it was her father again.
"Where are these Huldufólk ?" he screamed at her mother and Mad-Eye. "Where are they?!"
Her mother was on his heels. "Albert please- now is not the time to-"
"Would you stop chastising me, woman?" he screamed at her, taking a step towards her now, fists clenched.
"Albert, please calm down, or-" her mother pleaded softly; however, this seemed only to enrage her father more.
"Or what? You'll hit me with another hex?"
"Keep talking to her like that and she won't have to, I'll do it for her," Mad-Eye growled under his breath.
This set her father off. "I've had just enough of you tonight! I welcome you to my home and give you food-"
Her mother gasped and looked beyond her father; a slight noise had come from the bushes while Elisia's father and Mad-Eye had been arguing. Mad-Eye's eye shot to the right, and he too turned to face the creature. Her father, on the other hand, thinking he had won the argument, resorted to name calling, going so far as to call Mad-Eye a pansy. Charlie and Tonks gasped at this, Elisia turned away, red in the face, towards the moving bushes.
Elisia watched as a greenish man walked out from the tree line and bushes, wearing what resembled a kilt made of deerskins and cloak made up of leaves. She looked down past his muscular thighs to bare feet; the grass seemed to become greener when his feet made contact with the ground. He came close to a ray of moonlight, and his skin seemed to glow a little when it made contact.
"Al-Albert." Her mother pointed past her father, before slapping his shoulder as more creatures who resembled the green man walked into the clearing. Her father growled and spun to the right, meeting the gaze of the green man. This brought him out of his anger. The green skinned man's eyes and her father's locked. Her father's angry face went bug-eyed. He stepped toward the man, against the warnings of Tonks and Charlie.
"Please help! My daughter was-" Her father stopped and pointed back to her. "Hit by HER magic!"
The green skinned man didn't respond to her father's pleas, he simply raised his hand, and her father collided with a magical barrier as he approached. The crowd behind him began to whisper angrily and point at her father with furrowed brows. He fell backward, on his backside in shock. The green skinned man glowered at him before he looked down to the other children, a small warm smile etched on his jade lips.
"My friends," he addressed them with a foreign sounding accent. "Thank you for escorting the Arendals to our little village."
Elisia looked up at the handsome creature as he came even closer; he was well built like one of those men from her father's fitness magazines. His eyes shimmered like emeralds under the moonlight. Elisia became enthralled by his seemingly flawless beauty. Behind him came more that resembled him, men and women seemingly perfect in beauty.
"You're welcome, Koenraad, we-" Charlie spoke up. "Wait, you already knew they were coming?"
"Yes, but now I must ask you to go back to the castle," Koenraad said calmly, "The forest is currently not safe for the three of you."
As if to validate his point, the weak sound of the centaur's hunt sounded through the tiny grove. Elisia, not knowing any better, grabbed hold of Mad-Eye's coat and tried to hide underneath the folds of his coat. Mad-Eye grunted in pain and moved away, Elisia blinked in confusion and her heart dropped. Her frost had spread from his jacket and now covered most of his left side. The Huldufólk stopped talking and stared at her in silence.
"Mr. Moody," Koenraad's eyes lingered on her before he faced Mad-Eye, "if you would please escort them back to the castle, I'm afraid the Centaurs are currently hunting and might mistake them in the darkness for a group of animals."
Mad-Eye looked as if this was out of the question, but before he could voice his opposition, the man raised his right hand, silencing him. Literally. Mad-Eye's mouth snapped shut, and he grunted as he tried to open it.
"I'm afraid this discussion is between our tribe and the Arendal family," he stated, "But your concerns have already been noted, we will make sure no harm shall come to them."
Elisia could tell this didn't sit well with him. They stared at one another for a second before he released Mad-Eye from his grip. Mad-Eye turned and whispered something urgently in her mother's ear. He took one last look at Elisia before he left, calling the older children after him. Tonks lingered and looked upset that she was leaving Elisia; she gave a small wave and smile before catching up with the others. Elisia waved back as they disappeared into the misty forest.
Elisia turned back to Koenraad; his calm expression was replaced with slight excitement. He trembled a little and kneeled before her. She got a better look at his face. He was undeniably handsome with high cheekbones, his black hair flopping over his long pointy ears. Elisia backed away slightly when he reached out for her, afraid of what he was planning to do. Her mother pushed her forward gently.
"It's okay, sweetheart, don't be afraid," she whispered. "Mummy's right here."
Elisia shuffled forward, getting within inches of his face. He smiled gently and took her hand in his, rubbing it slightly with his calloused fingers. He shivered, but then chuckled and gripped her hand a little more, smiling at her with perfect pearly whites. Elisia blushed, taken aback by this behavior. The others behind him started their whispering again; some began to point at her.
"Ah-hem." Her mother cleared her throat, clearly voicing her displeasure with the way he was looking at Elisia.
"My apologies. Born with this magic or cursed?" he spoke finally, his voice was back to smooth and calm.
She looked back at her mother, who had a frown on her face and arms crossed. "She was born with them as all witches are."
Several of the Huldufólk quickly gasped aloud, and others' mouths fell. Koenraad looked surprised by her mother's answer before turning back to Elisia. "You're a witch also?"
"Of course she's a witch, she wouldn't be able to do-" Koenraad reached up and snatched her mother's wand. He quickly placed it into Elisia's hands against her mother's shouting.
"I want you to prove it," he said with impatience and pointed at a small gnarled tree and licked his lips. "Wave the wand at the tree."
Elisia, still under this being's spell, did what she was told and ignored her mother's shouting. With one sharp wave, a powerful force left the tip of the eleven-inch blackthorn wand. It made contact with the gnarled tree, decimating it into little wood chips instantly. Koenraad and his tribe looked amazed at what she had just done, her mother, on the other hand…
"Elisia Cassandra!" She snatched her wand back. "How dare you ignore-"
Koenraad raised his hand and silenced her before he brought Elisia's hand upwards, and with a fluid movement, he caused her ice to come forth against her will. She watched as blasts of cold danced across the treetops before shooting out, freezing them solid. He closed her hand into a tight fist, and the leaves shattered into ice shards and rained down upon them. Koenraad and the other Huldufólk were again amazed, in contrast with her parent's panic as they shielded Anne.
"Amazing!" one of the women whispered.
"How is this possible?" a man asked. "They can't-
"Shh!" a man butted in. "Listen to Koenraad!"
"You're very powerful at this age," he tapped his chin as if taking notes, then he turned to her parents. "Bring your other daughter to me"Please," her mother sighed and turned back to the creatures. "J-Just do what you must, please."
Her parents looked at him like he was crazy, he gave the same look to them. He stretched out his hands; her mother hesitated before she handed Anne over. Elisia came closer, only to have herself hauled back harshly by her father. Elisia seized up and looked around for aid before she realized Mad-Eye was gone. He had left her with him. The man put his hand over the white streak on Anne's head and closed his eyes.
"You were lucky it wasn't her heart." He looked up at her. "For the heart is not so easily changed, however, the head can be persuaded a little."
"How?" Her mother kneeled and stroked Anne's hair.
The man sighed. "Judging by the amount of time the ice in your daughter's head has been left to fester, there are some memories that were permanently damaged, and she may suffer from chronic headaches from time to time-."
That set her father off; his grip tightened on her arm. "YOU! This is all your fault!"
He spun her around, screaming in her face. Elisia cried out as he gripped her shoulders, squeezing them together so tightly that it began to hurt. She tried her best to break free; she even kicked at him. Which only made it worse. The Huldufólk people acted as if they were ready to move, to pounce on her father and drag him away, but they didn't. They looked on as if something was holding them back. Elisia looked past him to her mother for aid, but she seemed frozen as her father punished her. It wasn't until she screamed for her mummy that she acted.
"Albert, let her go!" her mother snapped at him. "Now!"
"Why, are you protecting this monster?" He turned and found her mother's blackthorn wand pressed hard against his cheek. No words were exchanged, but the threat was made clear. Her father calmed and simply pushed her to the side, she tripped on a root and fell straight on her back.
Koenraad nodded as if nothing had happened. "Some memories are permanently damaged and must be removed; others can be altered so that she heals properly."
He drew a blue light from Anne's head and split it into two lights. One lingered and floated next to his head, while the other raced into the sky before exploding into snowflakes. With a wave of his hand, the blue light that had stayed formed into Anne's memories. It was like Elisia was there, seeing what Anne had seen. Snowboarding in the ballroom, herself launching Anne through the air with her magic, and the images kept coming. Every time that they had played around with her magic. The Huldufólk oohed and ahhed at the memories.
"I recommend we remove the memory of your daughter's special magic, just to be safe." With a wave of his hand, the memories switched into normal magic or snow activities that were enjoyed by Muggles. "But don't worry… I'll leave the fun."
He then grabbed the memories by one end between his index finger and thumb, directing them back down and into Anne's head, who gave a slight smile and sighed when he did so. Koenraad handed her back over.
"She's going to be fine." He smiled, getting a sigh of relief from everyone.
"But," Elisia frowned and approached her sister's side. "She won't remember my powers?"
"It's for the best, darling." Her mother gave a reassuring smile, trying to calm her, but Elisia wasn't convinced.
"Listen to me, Elisia. Over time, your power will only grow," Koenraad explained. With a wave of his hand, the dust from the ground danced around and formed into the silhouette of a woman. The woman formed beautiful snowflakes in her hands as the dust formed into onlookers, watching in awe. It was her; she was watching her teen self. The teen Elisia then released a large snowflake in the air at the applause of the people around her.
"There is astonishing beauty in it," he began, "But also terrible danger…" The snowflake turned a dark crimson colour and spikes jutted out from it. "You must learn to control it… or fear will be your enemy and death its consequence."
The people gathered around the snowflake began to panic and turned on the older Elisia. She tried running but was met with wands and pitchforks. Then they were upon her. Elisia cried out as the screams filled her ears and faded away. Her mother brought her to her bosom and shushed her, stroking her hair. The whispering of the Huldufólk filled the grove again.
"That won't happen, we'll protect her." She looked at her husband, he stood unresponsive. As if what he had just seen didn't matter. Her mother shot him a look. He jumped a little before nodding slowly.
"I'm sure she can control it in time." Her mother turned back to Koenraad and the Huldufólk .
"But until that day We'll lock the manor, We'll reduce the number of visitors, We will limit her contact with people, and keep this abnormality hidden from everyone, Including her sister."
Koenraad didn't respond to her mother's plan-; he seemed to snarl at her in silence. Elisia looked up at her father; he simply nodded and grunted in response. Koenraad looked back, and with a wave of his hand, the Huldufólk began to retreat into the woods. Other's lingered, staring at them with a sad look on their faces before leaving.
"Do what you must." Koenraad stood and started taking steps back to where he had come from, still facing them.
He disappeared past the bushes, and all they could see was his glowing, emerald eyes. What he said next would make Elisia shudder and would forever stay with her.
"Do what you think is best for her, I have no place in how you raise your child," he answered as he faded behind the treeline. "But a warning… Beware the Frozen Heart."
