Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: I'm so sorry about the exceedingly late update. Life has gone... well, sideways, let's just say. And to the Guest who reviewed on January 3rd, if you don't like it, then why the hell are you reading it? I agree, it's not her best work, but given that my sister-in-law wrote this in a night/two day period., especially since this is the first major story she wrote after having given up writing about seven years ago. So, I say this as politely as I can- find something else to read if you don't like it instead of being an anonymous ass.
There's a very specific reason we're meeting Mother Nature, we also find out the real reason the Trolls were created, and she plays a small part in the plan Elsa and the others are cooking up to take back Arendelle and defeat the trolls... Written: 2019 - Licia
Whenever Elsa had pictured an image of Mother Nature, this wasn't it. She always assumed Mother Nature to be an old crone of sorts, with long white hair and wrinkles, but this woman-
She was not a crone; in fact, she appeared to be around Iduna's age when she had died in the Dark Sea. Her skin was dark, milk chocolate in color, and her hair, long and wild, flowed down her back in tangles; she was dressed in what appeared to be foliage of the some kind. It wrapped around her in folds, similar to the way the Grecians or Egyptians once dressed, and flowers clung to her hair and clothes.
"Hello, Mother," Ena's breathy voice echoed in the ballroom, and the older woman tore her gaze from where it rested on Elsa to turn to the young wind spirit. She smiled softly, though something in Elsa told her that her smile, like her visit, wasn't as innocent as it appeared to be.
She reached for them, but none stepped forward to embrace her. Slowly she lowered her arms, her eyes darting back to Elsa, who felt herself step behind Magni out of fear. "No, no, don't hide from me. Come here, my child," She held out a hand. "I don't bite, if that's what you fear." Slowly, Elsa did as told, glancing at the others as she did so.
She stopped not far from the woman, but didn't take the hand she offered. Seeing that the young woman would move no further, the older woman began to circle her; Elsa shifted uncomfortably at what sounded like the earth shaking. In reality, it was the woman before her. Because she created the earth, the elements and humans, it was only right that she take some from the earth when she took human form- similar to Lærke and her siblings. Elsa's crystallized gaze quickly ran over the older woman, even as she tried her hardest to tap into her royal upbringing. The creator of all living things she may be, but Elsa was the famed Snow Queen of Arendelle, she had royal standing and could not let others perceive her as weak, even though she no longer sat upon the throne of Arendelle. "So you are the young woman who willingly gave my darling Lærke her soul."
Elsa's gaze darted to Lærke, who quickly turned her attention to the floor, swallowing thickly. "I wouldn't say willingly." Her mirror image winced and Elsa let her gaze go back to the woman circling her. "Why are you circling me, exactly? What were you?" She crossed her arms firmly over her chest, ignoring the slight pain in her breasts, for she needed to return to camp and nurse. She had already spent enough time away from her family and she needed to get back, if not to nurse, then because she was starting to get exceedingly uncomfortable being the object of study. "A vulture in another life?"
Mother Nature chuckled softly, stopping in front of Elsa. "Quite the wit this one has." She reached up, taking Elsa's chin in her hand; a hand that Elsa now realized was the root of a tree; in fact, her skin was not the color of milk chocolate, but of some form of wood, mahogany or walnut or even rosewood perhaps, rings and notches and all, like the wood Hans used to make his creations. Elsa hissed softly, as she was forced to meet the older woman's gaze. "Yes, this one is strong, very strong. I chose well for you, my daughter."
"You didn't chose her, Mother," Elsa tried hard not to let her emotions get to her as Lærke spoke. "I did. You promised me a body to make my work easier, but you didn't deliver, not a strong one. So I chose my own."
Mother Nature's sky blue gaze slid to meet her daughter's, and Elsa swallowed thickly. "Oh, Lærke my darling, do you really think you chose this one?" She watched the woman in question shift uncomfortably under her gaze, and smiled softly. "Who do you think made the deal with the Northuldra princess that day in the Enchanted Forest?"
Elsa's gaze widened as Lærke struggled to speak. "I... I-"
"You did not make the deal with the princess, child," The tone was condescending, and Elsa began to understand why the other Elements seemed to fear Mother Nature so. "I did. She may have called to Ena for help, but she made the deal with me."
"Deal?" Elsa choked out, trying to play dumb, figuring that was the best tactic to use while in Mother Nature's grip. "What deal?"
Mother Nature turned back to her, and Elsa caught the whiff of the flowers that seemed to grow within the moss that made up her hair. "The deal to give up her firstborn to me, of course." Elsa's brow furrowed as Mother Nature continued to study her, drinking in the ice dress she wore, the way the skirt swirled around her legs to her knees from her hips, similar to how the Egyptians or Greeks once dressed; Elsa froze, that didn't make any sense. From what Gry had said-
"That's not right."
The others seemed to hold their breath as Mother Nature turned her attention back to Elsa's crystallized gaze. "What's 'not right,' my child?"
A moment passed, before Elsa swallowed, mustering her courage. "That you made the deal with my mother; my mother made the deal with the Fifth Spirit. She didn't make it with-" But she didn't get to finish as the woman squeezed her chin gently, the roots gently digging into Elsa's skin.
"Whatever you were told, child, was wrong." She held the Snow Queen's gaze intently, as though searching for something. "So it's true, I can see it in your eyes; your soul is threaded with your mate's." She was quiet for a moment, before, "And who performed this Soul Threading?" She turned back to her children, all who kept silent. "The most ancient of rituals; I forbid it for a reason-"
"Forbid it?" Elsa demanded, pulling out of the older woman's grip. She stepped back, wrapping her arms around herself, trying hard to hide the pain she was feeling. She really needed to get back to the camp, but it didn't seem like she was allowed to leave-
"You forbid Soul Threading the same as you forbid my marriage," Lærke's voice was soft, but powerful as she spoke. It was quickly becoming evident to Elsa that one did not stand up to Mother Nature- especially if one of her children, which they all, even her, were. "Because you knew both would take me away from you. You fear losing us, the children you created, yet you pay us no attention whatsoever unless it's by your choice." They all listened in silence as her voice got steadier, stronger; finally, after so many millennia being at her mother's beck and call without an ounce of trust given on her mother's part, she was finding her courage. "Ena, Magni, Aage, Brandr... they're all allowed some form of freedom, but when it comes to me?"
She shrugged. "I wished for one thing, Mother, to marry Jarl, but you could not even grant me that simple request. I have never wanted anything else, I have been content in my meager existence in this," She looked around the ballroom before lifting her arms in a shrug. "This dungeon without bars or windows. You have me trapped here, you wish me to protect the world that you created, yet you will not allow me out into the world. Not as myself. And that's why I merged my soul with Elsa's, why I performed the Threading on her and her mate! Because through her," She stopped, taking a deep breath. "Through her I can touch land; I can help the people you want me to protect, I can live... some semblance of a life that I can't live while you've chained me to this place. I'm doing what you've asked, I've always done as you asked, and yet you've never granted me the one thing I wanted most." Tears slid down her cheeks, and Elsa reached up, dabbing at her own; for, like her connection with Hans, whatever emotion Lærke felt, Elsa felt as well.
Mother Nature cocked her head, studying her daughter. A moment passed, before she moved towards her youngest, drinking in her features. Of all her children, only Lærke had ever dared to defy her; first with her misguided romance, and then with her secret plans to marry, the crafting of her diadem... it was why she had made the trolls to begin with; they were to be Lærke's keepers, her handlers. She had told them to inform her of any plans made, and while they had done as asked, they had also lusted after her beloved daughter. So when they vanished with her diadem-
"Oh my child," She reached out, the roots that were her fingers caressing her daughter's cheeks lovingly. She studied Lærke for several minutes; yes, the deal she'd made with the Northuldra princess that long ago day had been the right one. She could feel Elsa's soul pulsing beneath the skin; she was strong, this Snow Queen, she could handle the river and all its challenges- and perhaps tame her wild daughter, too. She slid her hand down to caress her chin, the delicateness of her throat. "How many times must I tell you this was for your own good?"
Lærke shook her head. "No, Mother, it wasn't. How could keeping me trapped as a prisoner be for my own good at all? And the spirits wonder why I'm so bitter. You took everything from me..." She glanced at her siblings, but they all knew better than to interrupt. You didn't interrupt a conversation with Mother Nature unless you wished for her to turn on you. Aage and Brandr shared a glance as Elsa watched from where she stood, arms still crossed tightly over her chest, and Ena cast a glance at Magni, tucking a strand behind her ear nervously. "You give my siblings freedom, but keep me hidden away like some... some mythical princess in a tower. How is that fair?"
"You don't understand the importance you pose, Lærke, my child." She reached up, tangled her fingers in the short strands of Lærke's hair and yanked back until the younger Elemental was on her knees, until her head was tilted back and she was forced to look up at her; the younger Element let out a whimper, and Elsa forced herself to keep from crying out as she felt the pain Mother Nature was inflicting on her daughter.
"You are special, how could I possibly allow you out in the world as you are? When I created you... I had spent days creating the world and Humans and your siblings; I could barely concentrate, I had so little focus left and barely any strength. I had used the majority to create the world and your siblings. You were the last of my Elements, the one which every living thing possesses a piece of. Do you know what would happen if I allowed you the freedom to roam as you wish? What Humans would do to you, how they would destroy you?" She held tighter, seeing the flash of pain in her daughter's gaze. "I could not let that happen."
Elsa dropped to her knees, struggling to keep the pain from her head at bay, but it was quickly becoming evident that the throbbing behind her eyes wasn't going to leave her alone, so long as Mother Nature kept her grip on- "Elsa? Elsa, can you look at me? Elsa, look at me." She reached out, taking Ena's hand and squeezing, feeling Magni's hands resting gently on her waist to steady her as she tried to stand, only to succeed in returning to the floor.
"Mother, that's enough! You're hurting her! Hurting both of them!" Mother Nature turned, her attention pulled away from her daughter to Elsa not far away; she released her hold and Aage and Brandr hurried to Lærke.
"What are you doing here, Mother?" Aage asked, stroking his fingers through his sister's short hair as Brandr checked her over. "You never visit unless it's to benefit you, and I can't think of anything that would benefit you right now; lest of all torturing our sister as you tend to do whenever you're around her-"
"Torture? Oh, Aage, my son, you misunderstand... I simply need your sister to understand-"
"I understand that you've ever tried to do is control me, Mother," Lærke replied, her hand going to her throat. "that the freedom you give my siblings, does not apply to me and never will. Why keep me under lock and key but not my siblings? What's so special about me that you choose to keep me from the rest of the world? You say that I'm special, but..." She glanced at her brothers, before allowing Aage and Brandr to help her to her feet. "You have never told me exactly why, nor why I'm so important to the world." She shrugged, tears in her eyes. "So everything on earth possesses a soul, big deal. Tell me the real reason, Mother."
A moment passed, before Mother Nature turned to her beloved daughter. "If I allow you out into the world, my darling Lærke, then humanity will become lost without you."
"That makes no sense." Every head turned to Elsa, who swallowed thickly. "If you allow Lærke into the world, you truly believe then that humanity will lose its soul? It makes no sense whatsoever."
The rumble of the earth echoed in the ballroom as Mother Nature made her way towards the Snow Queen, kneeling down before her. "Oh my dear, you are so, so young. You clearly do not understand the advantages one will take to gain what does not belong to them, how they will lose the very humanity that resides in their souls-"
"That does not give you the right to keep Lærke imprisoned at Ahtohallan!" Elsa snapped; she could see Lærke being helped to her feet by Aage and Brandr, and soon returned her attention to Mother Nature. "Humanity is kindness and benevolence and compassion; it is pity and tenderness and understanding and everything all rolled into one. Just because she embodies those qualities you gave humankind does not mean they will be lost if you allow her to leave Ahtohallan! Her compassion will still be here- and... and Lærke has more compassion for the spirits trapped within Ahtohallan than you have within a single sprig of moss upon your head!"
Before she could say another word, Mother Nature's long, rooted fingers were grasping her throat; she tugged Elsa closer as Lærke grasped at her own throat, as her brothers caught her, lowering her gently to the floor. "Elsa!" Magni stopped Ena, knowing there was nothing they could do until Mother Nature chose to release her.
The ancient spirit studied the Snow Queen, gaze narrowed. "Be careful what you say, child. Mother Nature is a deadly force when she wishes to be." Elsa reached up, struggling to release the woman's grip, but it tightened. Silence fell for several minutes, before she once more spoke. "I know why you summoned me. Diving into the sea as you did, do not pretend that was not your wish- to speak to me, to discover a way to defeat the Troll Queen that sits upon your throne." She glanced at Ena and Magni, before turning back to Elsa. "I created the trolls to watch over and protect my precious daughter, but they grew restless and greedy. Lustful, towards my Lærke. They fled in the night, burrowing deep within the ground, coming up only to feed or steal children from their parents." A moment passed, as she moved to stroke a hand down Elsa's cheek. "I have a way, my child, to help you defeat the troll upon your throne, but you must listen carefully. Can you do that?"
Elsa nodded as much as she could as she continued to struggle against Mother Nature's grip. She was unable to focus on Lærke or the others, for her gaze was locked on the woman before her. After a moment, the ancient spirit leaned close, her lips gently brushing against the young mother's ear as she breathed,
"In order to defeat a frozen heart, you must split the ice apart."