'There.' Maren stated, pointing in a northeasterly direction. From their vantage point atop the earth giant's palm, they could see far and wide in every direction. 'See that tall trio of mountain peaks?'
'Yes.' Elsa answered, placing a hand over her eyes to block the bright glare of the sun.
'I recognize that landmark, it used to be inside the mist at the edge of Northuldra territory. That's the way we need to head.'
'To get to this, sieidi?' Kristoff reaffirmed. 'And once there we…?'
'Well, I don't know exactly…' Maren answered with a sigh.
'None of us know.' Anna interjected and let her arms flop to her sides. 'Mother's notes weren't exactly conclusive.' She added, creasing her brow which betrayed her lack of confidence in the plan—or perhaps her lack of confidence in their mother.
Elsa had to admit that the next steps were vague, but they had to try something. Their mother loved them and had always tried to do right by them, even if the results didn't turn out as she had hoped. Iduna had led her to Ahtohallan after all, even from beyond the grave. Without her, Elsa would've never found out who she really was or what she was meant to do—she would've never met Maren. No, despite everything, she still loved and trusted her mother, and she desperately needed to hold onto that right now.
'Mother wouldn't lead us astray.' Elsa added curtly, feeling unusually defensive of their mother in that moment.
'She better not this time.' Anna muttered under her breath then sighed. 'Last time she led you somewhere it nearly got you killed.'
'Anna please.' Elsa sighed, she was too tired and exasperated to argue with her sister right now. This plan was all they had, and they were running out of time.
'Alright I'm sorry, that wasn't fair.' Anna added, throwing her an apologetic look. 'I'm just worried.'
'Personally—I trust Iduna.' Maren cut in with a shrug. 'There was a lot of sound research and reasoning to back up her theories in that journal. She found the air crystal after all, she very well may have known the trolls had the earth crystal and…' Maren paused, seeming to reconsider her words. 'And she nearly found the water crystal. If she thinks the sieidi is located near the four stone pillars well then—I believe her.' Maren paused again, locking eyes with Elsa. 'Nature will show us the way. We have to trust it, it hasn't let us down yet.'
Anna let out another breath, but nodded at Maren's assessment.
Elsa felt the corner of her lip tug upward at Maren's words. Trust. Maren trusted Iduna, trusted nature and the spirits—trusted her—and something about that realization filled her with warmth. Trusting people had never come quickly or easily to her and yet, trusting Maren had come as naturally as breathing. It felt so safe. From day one her confident presence had been calming, her intelligence—breathtaking, and her endless love and absolute trust in nature and the spirits—even when faced directly with their dangers—was what made Elsa suddenly realize that no matter what came, life or death, she wanted to spend the rest of it with this woman.
With Maren.
'If we hurry, I say we can make it by sunset—and I'd rather not be out in the open at night.' Kristoff announced, his words dragging her from her thoughts.
They all nodded in agreement and with that, the giant lowered them to the ground.
Once down, Maren was beside her in an instant, worry still floating in those brown eyes. 'You ok? You seemed to zone out again just now.'
Despite how out of it Elsa had felt in the cave, it seemed the longer she went without using her magic, the stronger she felt. 'I'm doing fine.' She assured with a small smile. 'It's you I'm worried about.' Her eyes flicked down to Maren's bandaged arms then up to her neck, which had red splotchy burns blooming up it. Elsa swallowed hard. 'Does it hurt?'
Maren shrugged and smiled. 'It's not so bad. I'll live.'
Elsa sighed and closed her eyes. 'I'm so sorry.'
'Elsa you kept the water cool, this wasn't your fault.' Maren's breath was close to her face and she could feel warm fingers graze her cheek. 'Look, the important thing is we all made it out alive. We have the crystals. We have to focus on finishing this now.'
Elsa nodded then opened her eyes, returning her gaze to Maren's burns. 'May I?'
'Elsa, you shouldn't…'
'Maren let me help. Trust me.'
Maren let out a breath, then nodded in resignation and closed her eyes.
Elsa gently laid her hands on Maren's upper arms. She took a breath and slowly let it out, allowing the magic to flow from her with the exhale. She let the frost spread over the burns on Maren's neck, then trickled it down her arms, leaving a light coating of permafrost over the bandages. She ended with Maren's hands, holding them gently in her own as the frost wrapping finished. Maren sighed in relief, then opened her eyes.
'That feels amazing.' She sighed, pausing to search Elsa's eyes with a worried look. 'Whats going on in there?'
'Nothing. Just, just thinking.' Elsa amended with a small smile.
'About?'
'Just that, I love you. Just that. I want to make sure you know it.'
'I know it.' Maren said with a soft smile. 'Of course I know it.'
'Good. Well, I wanted to make sure.' Elsa paused, unsure how to say all the things she was feeling. 'In the past I may not have said it as often as I should have to those who deserved it, and I regret it. I don't want to make that mistake again.'
'Elsa, I know you love me without words. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing it, but your actions—and your eyes—speak volumes. It's how you show love, and I love it. I can only speak for myself, but I think it's safe to say that those who have been loved by you know it unequivocally—whether you say it or not.'
'I hope so.'
'I know so.'
Elsa smiled a small smile and let out a breath. Still, there were things that needed to be said, now, before she possibly lost the chance to say them at all. 'Maren, I don't think I will ever stop loving you… I don't think I will ever stop wanting to be around you…' Elsa paused, biting her lower lip. These simple words were not translating her feelings correctly, but still she had to try. 'Every time I see cloudberries, they make me think of you… I think, they always will now.' She tried, pausing again, aware that she was barely following her own confusing train of thought. Maren must be baffled. Except a smile had crept up her cheek and it continued to grow wider until her eyes were practically shining. Elsa took another breath. 'You're so good Maren, so good to me—I don't even know how to put it into words… You make me feel safe and loved and I trust you implicitly and—'
The smile never left Maren's face but she stayed silent, giving Elsa the space she needed to finish.
'These feelings I have for you, are never going to change… I know that now.' Elsa spoke in almost a whisper, the gravity and realization of her own words hitting hard. She had never pictured this moment in her mind, had never rehearsed it, questioning even the validity of it ever happening. But if she had imagined it, she would've imagined that she'd be nervous and scared—reluctant even—however, this was not the case. Elsa for once, wasn't nervous or scared. In fact she felt so safe and loved that she had never been more certain about anything else in her entire life.
Her eyes returned to Maren's whose warm brown eyes were still smiling back at her—holding her in a cocoon of security as they always had, and hopefully, always would.
'I want to spend the rest of my life with you Maren—however long that may be. I don't know if, if that's something you would want, and if not that's ok—I just needed to tell you now, before…'
'Elsa.' Maren breathed, her eyes still shone brightly, and Elsa realized it was because they were sparkling with tears. 'I do. I want that more than you could ever possibly know.'
A relieved, happy sigh escaped Elsa's smiling lips and she felt hot tears start to burn her eyes. How she had ever come to this moment in her life was still a mystery to her and yet, here she was. Standing before this amazing person she could have never imagined existed, in love in a way she never thought possible for herself, and happier than she ever dreamed she could be. Elsa suspected she could spend a thousand lifetimes with Maren and never comprehend how all things impossible suddenly became possible where Maren was involved. It was Maren's magic, and it was a beautiful thing to behold.
Maren smiled, perhaps the prettiest glowing smile Elsa had ever seen, then stepped forward and kissed her as if nothing else in the world mattered. Tears rolled down Elsa's cheeks from closed eyes—tears of happiness, tears of sadness and a longing for this moment never to end. 'I'm selfish you know, greedy even.' Maren breathed after a long moment, breaking the kiss and placing her forehead to Elsa's. 'So I'm going to see to it that we have a very long life together.'
'I'd like that very much.' Elsa whispered, never opening her eyes. Her lips met Maren's again, needing the warmth and safety of her for a moment longer.
A loud whimper caused Elsa to start, momentarily forgetting that they were not alone. She turned to find that the sound had come from Anna, who had tears streaming down her face and Kristoff's arm in a vice grip. 'I'm fine.' Anna choked out and waved her off. 'Don't stop.' She squeaked, before her voice abandoned her completely and gave in to more tears.
'Anna.' Elsa smiled and opened her arms for her sister, hating to see her cry for any reason. Anna hesitated, just long enough to suck in a breath and release Kristoff's arm, then ran forward and tackled Elsa in a hug.
'Oh Elsa!' Anna cried happy tears into her shoulder. 'I'm happy, so so happy for you!'
'Me too.' Elsa chuckled and squeezed Anna tight.
'Maren.' Anna sobbed as she peeled herself off Elsa, only to turn and throw herself at Maren who received her with a smiling hug. Anna said something that Elsa couldn't quite make out, but saw a smile grow over Maren's lips as Anna said it.
'Well done.' Elsa turned to the sound of Kristoff's voice. 'You did a much better job of that than I did.' He added with a chuckle.
'Kristoff stop, your proposal was perfect.' Anna said offhandedly as she wiped her eyes and tried to compose herself. 'Proposals just make me emotional—wait, Elsa!' Anna's eyes suddenly grew wide with excitement. 'We can have a double wedding now! Or maybe a double reception at the very least if you decide to have a Northuldran ceremony. Oh we'll have to act fast, our wedding is this June so that doesn't give us a lot of time, but it can be done. We can start in Arendelle, then move to Northuldra for the reception—or maybe vise versa I'm not sure. I should probably ask Yelena, then I'll need to talk to the florist, the caterers, the dressmaker—oh well you'll probably design your own dress anyway so I won't have to do that…'
'Anna.' Elsa cut in gently to her sisters tirade. 'Slow down, let's handle the current problem first ok?' She didn't have the heart to tell Anna that she had no desire for a formal wedding—a formal anything really—her days of formalities were blessedly over. Besides, all she wanted, she had just gotten.
That sentiment seemed to bring Anna back to the present moment. 'Right. You're right.' Anna said quietly, and Elsa felt a pang of sadness at having to end her excitement.
'It's a beautiful thought Anna.' Maren added with an encouraging smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. Elsa could agree with that—perhaps if she lived through this mess she would consider letting Anna plan something for her and Maren. Anna deserved it.
'The sun is shifting, we really should go.' Kristoff put in. Anna threw her one last smile and squeezed her hand before starting towards the horses with Kristoff.
Elsa couldn't help but smile when she locked eyes with Maren again—wondering if perhaps it was possible for a heart to burst from happiness.
'I can't believe you beat me to that.' Maren said with a smile. 'And here I was going to do the whole stupid thing with the reindeer that Ryder convinced me to do…'
Elsa chuckled. 'You could still do that, I would love to see it.'
'As soon as we're back I'll start practicing.' Maren chuckled. 'Ryder will be thrilled.'
They made their way around the back of the caldera this time, opposite from the valley and sea, which opened up into a dense, dark forest. The trees were extremely tall with the canopy blocking out nearly all of the sunlight. Yet, something wasn't quite right. By Elsa's estimations, it was far enough into the spring that many of the trees should be green already, some flowering even—but this was not the case. These trees looked dead or in the process of dying. Their leaves—if any—appeared to be shades of autumn and were falling like snow from the branches.
'This isn't right.' Elsa vocalized her thoughts. 'These trees shouldn't be dying at this time of year…'
'It's like the springtime has been sucked right out of them.' Anna noted as she ran her hand over a tree branch covered in brown dead flower buds. The buds easily fell from the branch into Anna's hand.
'Or the magic of nature has been sucked out of them.' Maren added solemnly then locked eyes with her. Elsa took a breath. The Vættir. Their magic—or anti-magic—seemed to be increasing exponentially. She didn't need dead trees to tell her that much.
They continued on for a time, going as fast as the horses would allow through the densely packed wilderness.
'Stop.' Maren hissed suddenly, bringing them all to a grinding halt. 'Shhh.' She motioned a finger to her lips indicating silence. Not a moment later a giant wolf leapt out of the brush just yards in front of them. The three horses reared nervously in surprise and backed away from the thing, but Nokk did not, remaining calm and unflinching.
The wolf was massive—nearly twice the size of an average wolf. Its fur was black as obsidian and smoke was puffing out of its nostrils—though for some absurd reason, Elsa was not afraid. In fact the poor thing looked distressed—frantic even. It was shaking its head furiously as if an insect had invaded its ear, and was was whimpering as a scared dog might—staggering here and there as if it didn't know what was happening. It raised its head in apparent frustration and breathed fire into the air with a haunting howl—which did startle Elsa. Then its deep yellow eyes locked onto hers for a brief moment, before collapsing in a heap on the ground.
Elsa blinked, trying to process what she had just seen but overwhelmingly, she had a desire to try and comfort this animal. So she slid down from Nokk and started to move slowly towards it.
'Elsa! Are you insane?' She felt Anna grab hold of her arm and yank her backwards. Maren was not far behind her.
'It's not going to hurt us.' Elsa said plainly. 'I just want to see if it's alright—I think it's magical and looks like it's suffering.'
Anna let out an incredulous sigh and continued looking at her as if she were insane. 'Look Nokk isn't worried either. Just wait here while I check on it—trust me.' Elsa added, then turned towards the fire breathing wolf. As predicted she could hear Anna and Maren follow close behind her anyway.
As she neared it she slowed her pace, cautious and non-threatening. It was lying on its side and its eye found her, but did not startle.
'Hi there.' Elsa said softly and knelt down so she was near its head. 'What happened here?' The wolf huffed another smoky breath and grumbled. The poor thing seemed weak and exhausted. Elsa slowly reached out her hand and placed it on the wolf's head—stroking back its soft fur. Its ears flattened and it purred in contentment at her touch, then turned its head so it could sniff her other hand. Elsa chuckled and created a small pile of snow in her hand. After some coaxing, the wolf snorted, then began feebly licking the snow out of her palm.
'Maren.' Elsa motioned with her head for Maren to join her. Maren knelt quietly beside her. 'Can you tell if anything is wrong? It seems fine on the outside?' Maren nodded, then put her hands over the body of the wolf and closed her eyes. After a long moment she opened them.
'It's very weak. It feels like, like it has no energy left—almost as if its magic is bound with chains or something. Inverted. It's what your energy felt like after the Vættir mangled it.'
'Poor thing.' Elsa sighed, remembering what that pain felt like. 'Can you help it?' She asked hopefully.
Maren let out a breath and turned to her with sad eyes. 'There isn't time.'
Elsa turned back to the wolf and continued to stroke its soft cheek. Its big yellow eye was still trained on her as it panted, pleading for help. 'I'm sorry.' She whispered, and with that it huffed a final breath and closed its eyes.
'It's gone.' Maren whispered sadly, her hand still gently resting on its body.
Elsa sighed and felt her throat close up. Tears stung her eyes for this poor animal who had done nothing wrong. Such a beautiful creature. Had it been trying to protect her? Trying to warn her? There had been an intelligence in its eyes, deep soulfulness that she could only describe as protective. Was that why it was attacked? Anger suddenly flared within Elsa—anger at the Vættir. They had gotten to this poor creature, destroyed its magic or simply drained it of all its magic—perhaps some combination of the two.
She stroked the wolf one final time then stood, her resolve rekindled anew to see to it that nothing like this happened to any more living beings. 'The Vættir did this.' She hissed, and all at once a searing pain shot through her head, causing her to stagger. Immediately, she knew what had caused it.
'Draugrs.' Anna hissed.
Nokk reared protectively and Elsa knew they had to make a run for it—she couldn't fight these things and they would kill her if she stayed.
'I've got you.' Maren said near her ear and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close. The ground was suddenly spinning and Elsa was grateful Maren had stabilized her. She pressed her forehead hard into Maren's shoulder, trying desperately to get a grip and stop the spinning. A feeble whimper escaped her, and she felt Maren's hands come up to hold her head, attempting to shield her from whatever the draugrs were doing. Unfortunately the splitting pain didn't subside, and ice started to splinter out from beneath her feet. Her whole body was trembling with the effort to suppress the ice—she was dangerously close to losing control—and that terrified her. She tried to pull away, she needed to get away, but Maren held her tightly.
'Deep breath.' Maren whispered next to her ear. Elsa complied and tried to focus her breathing.
'We have to get her out of here.' Elsa heard Anna's panicky voice, though it sounded very far away.
'Els, can you ride? Nokk can get you out of here the fastest—'
Elsa could hear Nokk snorting and pawing the ground restlessly—she was ready to go, and so was Elsa. She nodded into Maren's shoulder, though she wasn't entirely sure she could stand on her own, let alone ride—but she knew she had to try. Nokk was more surefooted than the other horses and could run her out of these dense woods and away from the draugrs faster if she was the only rider—and she needed to get away now, before she passed out or lost complete control.
Elsa slowly lifted her spinning head to find herself staring into Maren's worried, yet very determined eyes. 'We'll be right behind you.' Maren was holding her face between her palms, which stabilized her vision somewhat, and helped calm her down.
'Not too close I—ahh.' Elsa cringed in pain and took a breath to compose herself. 'I don't want you to follow too close to me…'
'Elsa, go.' Maren was still holding her face in her hands, forcing Elsa to stare directly into her eyes—eyes she had never seen look this serious before, or this terrified. 'Don't worry about us, just go. Now.'
'Go.' Anna added urgently, glancing around nervously.
Maren quickly kissed her, then turned to help boost her up onto Nokk. Elsa took one last glance at the three of them, then turned and sprinted off into the woods.
The spinning, pounding headache was threatening to disorient her to such a degree that she feared she might fall—so she kept her head down, eyes closed and trusted Nokk to take her where they needed to go. As usual Nokk did not let her down, gliding smoothly over and around the densely packed woodlands as effortlessly as a flowing river. Nokk's speed was unmatched, and it wasn't long before she could sense the headache lessening, enough so that she dared lift her eyes.
To Elsa's surprise, the foliage had thinned dramatically and the forest had opened up into a great rocky plain beneath a setting sun. Glancing up and ahead she saw the trio of mountains Maren had pointed out—and knew where she was. She was nearing Northuldra territory.
With the wind at her face she started to feel better, taking a deep breath to clear her head. By her estimations it would not be long before she reached the stone pillars—but what to do then? It still wasn't clear. She glanced behind her, there was no sign of Maren, Anna or Kristoff coming through the trees. Panic started to rise within her again—what if the draugrs had hurt them? Targeted them now that she was gone—should she go back?
Before she could formulate her next thought something slammed into the side of her, slicing through her with such shocking force that it seemed to knock all the air from her lungs. She flew from Nokk's back and the ground rose to meet her with startling abruptness. Unable to react, she slammed into the rock hard dirt, rolling over the rough terrain at dizzying speed until her body finally came to a painful halt.
Elsa opened her eyes to a sky that was spinning, and a headache that was pounding, though she suspected not from the draugrs this time. She sucked in a shallow breath, only to be assaulted by a sharp shooting pain in her ribcage and a cry that must've come from her own lips. She continued taking shallow careful breaths, trying to assess how badly she was hurt. Her arms and legs felt scraped and bruised, but didn't feel broken—it was her ribcage and back that were causing an intolerable amount of pain and making it extremely difficult to breathe. What had hit her that hard? And where was Nokk?
Elsa craned her head around to the sound of thudding hoofs and saw Nokk rearing in an irritated manner. Her head was shaking viciously and she was stomping in a panic as if something was attacking her… Then Elsa saw them. The four black wispy forms she had seen in Ahtohallan attacking the previous fifth sprit so many years ago—the same ephemeral forms she saw escape the invisible ravens in Arendelle—the Vættir in their natural form. So, she had escaped the draugrs, the ravens, the Kraken and now these things were simply coming for her directly—attacking Nokk—and her anger suddenly superseded all the pain she was in.
She started to prop herself up on an elbow, ready to fire ice at the attackers, but was suddenly and violently slammed back into the ground, knocking the wind out of her yet again. It felt like something was choking her, pinning her chest and throat to the ground—but nothing physical was on top of her. On instinct she released a burst of ice from her chest with a cry of frustration, and immediately the pressure subsided. She sucked in a painful breath and in the same moment, a shrill, high pitched screech echoed nearby. Absently she felt for the crystal on her wrist—it was still there.
So, it was her magic these things were able to affect—and Nokk's too. They couldn't harm her physically or they likely would've done so already, instead of trying to strangle her with her own magic. They would've taken the crystals too rather than use the draugrs, ravens and Kraken to do their bidding. Well, if it was a magical fight they wanted, she would give them one—they were on level playing field now. She could use her magic freely without fear of it being redirected or inverted by way of the draugr's abilities. The only problem was, they were so fast—barely visible save for the occasional black streak they produced. She had no way to predict where they were until after they did something to her—and she was growing weaker by the second.
You cannot do it alone.
Give them the chance to stand by you…
Don't do this alone, let me help you please!
Not too far or you'll be drowned…
Elsa blinked, and immediately knew the voices in her head were right. It was best to stick to the plan, get to the stone pillars, then figure out what to do. Fighting the Vættir alone was likely a useless distraction and a waste of strength aimed to get her killed—the past had shown her that much, and she was not ready to die.
Nokk, as if reading her mind, was beside her in an instant and she struggled, but eventually hauled herself up and onto Nokk's back. A shrill, inhuman screech pierced the air again, and Nokk took off at a blitz. Another quick glance behind showed still no sign of Anna, Maren or Kristoff—where were they?
The familiar stone pillars finally rose up over the horizon, and Elsa pushed Nokk faster still—desperate to get there and hopefully find some respite from the Vættir. She could feel them close by, a nagging sense of their proximity sending a shiver down her spine.
Tired, Elsa was so very tired. Her limbs were as heavy as iron, and it felt like her whole body had been drained of energy. So close. She was so close to the pillars—she couldn't black out now. On the verge of desperation, her first instinct was to call for her mother—as it had always been in her years of solitude. Her mother had been the one person who was closest to her during those years, the person who could talk her down from panicking—the one person who never cared how hard Elsa pushed her away, but would still hug her anyway. She hadn't called for her mother's help in years and yet, right then, that is what she needed most.
Mom please, I really need you right now. I can't do this alone. Please help me.
Something black flashed in her peripheral, but when she turned to look, nothing was there. Immediately one of the Vættir swished by her face, again nearly throwing her off Nokk. She tried to follow it with an icy blast, but had no idea if she had hit it or not. Nokk was riding so fast, and the Vættir were moving even faster, the world seemed to be rushing by in a whirlwind of chaos. Another, then another darted past her—one of them slicing through her chest so violently that she nearly fell again.
Another was closing in on her, but this time she saw it. An icy shockwave exploded out of her sweeping hand and this time, it hit, dispersing the thing with a shrill screech. Another tried from the other side and she saw this one too and dismantled it in the same manner.
After several more thwarted attempts, the attacks seemed to subside. The lull in activity made Elsa uneasy, but she was nearly upon the pillars. Perhaps the sieidi had scared them off?
Nokk slowed, and eventually came to a halt right in the center of the four stone monoliths. Elsa glanced up at the familiar pillars, then down at the crystal on her wrist. It looked as it always did, and she still had no idea what to do with it.
All at once Nokk reared and Elsa quickly grabbed her neck to keep from sliding off. Then one of the Vættir cut through her abdomen again and this time, she wasn't able to hold on. Her energy was no more, the strength she needed to hold on vanished, and she slid helplessly off of Nokk and went tumbling to the ground.
Elsa's ears were ringing and her vision had black spots forming—she wasn't sure she was going to be able to get up this time. She could feel the thudding vibrations of pounding hoofs near, and turned her head to see Nokk dancing protectively between her and the Vættir. Nokk looked crazed, frenzied as the Vættir swarmed her, and yet she wouldn't run to escape them—she wouldn't abandon Elsa.
'Thank you.' Elsa whispered, and with a weak wave of her arm, returned Nokk to her watery state. Nokk collapsed instantly and melted into the earth, escaping the Vættir's torment.
Elsa had never felt so alone.
But she would not give up.
She rolled on her side and slowly, painfully boosted herself up onto her knees. She could barely suck in a breath, but she just needed to hold them off until Anna, Maren and Kristoff arrived. Maybe they could finish this even if she could not.
The Vættir came at her quickly once Nokk was removed, but Elsa was ready. She waited until she could sense them a hairs breath away, then released a burst of ice in a sphere around herself. It stalled them, but not for long, and Elsa realized that was probably a mistake. Too much magic. She fell forward on her hands desperately trying to keep her vision from blacking out. The Vættir were back in an instant, moving faster than ever, swarming around and cutting through her like a black tornado.
Elsa started to panic—hit after hit they were relentless and she couldn't breathe.
Just then, Gale swooped down and surrounded her in a wind tornado, shielding her from the Vættir's onslaught.
Elsa gasped as sucked in a much needed breath.
Gale.
A tornado—the vortex.
Immediately the prescient scene of the previous fifth spirit battling the Vættir flashed in Elsa's mind, and she knew what she had to do. She splayed her arms out and tried to encapsulate the Vættir's tornado in an icy vortex of her own—joining her magic with Gale's. The Vættir shrieked and protested against her magic, but she and Gale remained in control. Gale propelled her arctic vortex, adding much needed strength to her magic. But even with Gale's help Elsa could feel her magic draining quickly, and knew she didn't have long left.
'Elsa!' The sound of Anna's voice echoed around the vortex, and Elsa realized her ice must be producing sound from her own water memories. It often did that.
Elsa looked upward at the massive arctic tornado that swirled around her and felt oddly at peace. She was doing what she was born to do—protect, restore balance. And if she died in pursuit of this goal, then so be it.
But not yet.
'I did everything you wanted… I tried so hard…' Elsa realized her desperate plea to Iduna was likely useless, and yet she was unable to stop herself. 'Help me!' She cried, anger and desperation mixed together as one. The vortex was starting to slip from her grasp.
Anna's giggles rang out suddenly, this time accompanied by an icy memory. She and Anna were kids again, happily ice skating together in circles around the vortex.
Frozen tears pooled in Elsa's eyes—what she wouldn't give to go back to that time and do things differently. So many things. She wished Anna were here with her right now, and Maren and Kristoff. She loved them all so very much.
You sacrificed yourself for me?
Elsa, I love you…
'I love you too Anna.' Elsa whispered through tears as the memory of Anna hugging her flashed before her on the icy wind. The white vortex suddenly seemed so much brighter, so much calmer.
Stay with me, you're gonna be ok. It was Maren's voice that echoed from the vortex now, or from her own memory—she couldn't decipher between the two anymore.
It was so bright.
So bright.
So calm.
Such peace.
'I love you Maren…'
'Elsa!' Anna's voice rang out again. Elsa closed her eyes with a smile and tried to focus her last moments on her sister's voice. Suddenly a warm hand grabbed her left wrist, then another—a bandaged hand—took hold of her right wrist. The hands were pulling at her, shaking her—trying to get her to move. Elsa opened her eyes to see her sister and Maren kneeling on either side of her, and relief flooded through her.
Maren was saying something to Anna that Elsa couldn't make out, and pointing at Anna's chest. Elsa turned, and to her surprise, Anna's crystal was glowing a bright blue color and floating a few inches off of her chest. Ice was still pouring out of Elsa's hands and she suddenly came to her senses—Anna and Maren shouldn't be holding onto her like this. Kristoff suddenly materialized and knelt down across from her with a concerned look on his face. Elsa stared at him, trying to communicate what she wanted over the roar of the maelstrom.
Get them away from me.
Kristoff's sad eyes immediately understood her and he reached out, clasping his hands around both Anna and Maren's arms, ready to pull them away.
In the same instant, her magic dissipated.
Gale stopped.
The Vættir stopped.
Silence.
Everything seemed frozen in time, except the four of them.
Before anyone could speak, the four crystals they had brought to this place started glowing brightly. Anna and Kristoff's crystals were floating—the necklaces slipping right over their heads. Maren's crystal slid out of her pocket and joined Anna and Kristoff's in the center of their circle. Elsa glanced at her wrist—her crystal was glowing too and tugging at her to be released. She melted the ice around it, and it too floated up to join the other three, completing the four pointed design—the fifth spirit emblem.
The crystals were falling into place—falling together at last. They were aglow, each with their own colored hue and suddenly a bright white flash ripped across the heavens above. They all looked upward to see the same design emblazoned in the sky far above their heads, dancing with the evening auroras.
The Vættir started up again, swarming all around the four of them in a mad frenzy—screeching hysterically—yet the crystals remained impervious. Elsa could feel Anna and Maren's hands tighten around hers, and she squeezed them back. Elsa was face to face with Kristoff who was holding onto Anna and Maren's hands as he stared up at the sky.
Hold on to each other, and never let go.
Elsa heard her mother's voice, just as she had in Ahtohallan. She glanced at Anna, then to Maren who both appeared to have heard it too. Then, in one grand motion, the crystals floating before them shot into the stone pillars—each landing securely in its respective nook within each elemental pillar—like keys in a lock.
The pillars started to glow too—they undulated each with the specific color of their element. Blue, pink, turquoise and purple. Then a beam of light in each color shot forth from each pillar through each one of them—and they all began to radiate color too. Anna had a bluish halo around her aura, Maren's was pink, Kristoff's purple and Elsa assumed her own to be turquoise.
The radiance from each of them was only getting brighter, and had started to crawl upward in a spiraling pillar of light. The light from the heavens reached down to meet theirs, and as soon as the two connected a rainbow of iridescence exploded around them. It danced around them as if they were swimming in the auroras. The swirling beam connected them up to the heavens, and Elsa could feel—they had connected to the spirit realm.
They had opened the crystal bridge.
The Vættir screamed hideously and continued harassing them, doing everything in their power to break them apart—but it wasn't working. She held on tightly to Maren and Anna, the grid created by the four of them seemed impenetrable, as though the Vættir could not escape the constraints of the swirling column of light.
Then they turned on her. One by one, the four Vættir took turns slicing through her, mauling her magic with one final assault. It was too much this time, too much damage had already been done magically and physically. Elsa couldn't breathe and she collapsed into Maren, who held tightly to her, trying to shield her from the attack. Anna had fallen in on the other side of her, shielding her as well, and Kristoff had his arms around all of them.
Elsa felt like she was floating, or falling—falling upward as if she were being drawn into the sky. But she could still feel the arms of those she loved wrapped around her almost as if they were falling together. But hard as she fought to hold on it was no use, the pull was too strong and slowly, peacefully, she slipped into the unknown.
When Elsa opened her eyes, she was alone an in an oneiric state. She appeared to be in the same location, only it looked different somehow. The colors of the forest were palpable, as if she could feel, touch, smell and taste them—so much more vibrant than she had ever seen them before. Nothing was dull—everything had a luminous, richly colored glow about it, as if the colors of the auroras had infiltrated every single object. The glowing stone pillars still loomed overhead but they wavered in a strange way, and for an instant she thought she could see through them.
She stood up effortlessly, all the pain she was previously in seemingly vanished—and she was alone. Panic flooded through her—where were the others?
A dark shadow briefly caught her eye near the edge of the forest, so starkly contrasted from its vibrant surroundings that it startled her momentarily. Upon closer inspection Elsa realized it looked like Nokk, only she was entirely black. The shadow horse stared at her, then bowed its head respectfully and disappeared into the forest.
Then it dawned on her, that was one of the Vættir—only it seemed at peace. They must have crossed the crystal bridge and been returned to the spirit realm, which meant… she was also in the spirit realm.
'Hello my darling.'
Elsa spun at the sound of the voice, a voice she knew incredibly well.
'Mother?' Elsa whispered in disbelief, her hands coming up to cover her shocked face.
And she was really there. Iduna stood before Elsa as she had never seen her before. Her dark hair was down and not up, slung forward over her shoulder in a braid as Elsa wore hers. She was not in the usual blue dress Elsa was so accustomed to seeing her in, but instead wore a long Northuldran tunic, nearly the same as Maren's—except her scarf was draped around her shoulders.
Iduna smiled and gave a slight nod in answer, then opened her arms welcoming Elsa in. Elsa sucked in a breath, still in shock and disbelief, but did not hesitate before running into her mother's waiting arms. Then the tears came. She had wished for this moment so many times, to be held by her mother again, that finally having it was overwhelming.
'Shhh, it's alright.' Iduna whispered and stroked Elsa's hair. 'I'm right here.'
Elsa cried harder with each word Iduna spoke, burying her face in her mother's neck and holding her tightly. She still smelled of saxifrage, exactly how Elsa remembered. It had been so long, so very long, and she didn't want to let go again.
'You did it sweetheart,' Iduna said as she held her. 'I'm so proud of you.' At that, Elsa felt as if her heart might burst.
'You're really here?' Elsa pulled away to look at her mother, still unconvinced this was happening.
'I never left really. This forest will always be my home, I watch over it—and I couldn't leave you and Anna.' More tears. Elsa brought a hand up over her mouth to try and stop her emotions.
'Am I… did I die then?'
Iduna brushed the tears from Elsa's cheeks then took hold of her hands. 'You accomplished what you came to earth to do—you restored balance. You can stay here with me if you want, or you can go back to your sister and Honeymaren. At this point it's your choice.'
Elsa felt her cheeks flush. 'You know about her then.'
Iduna smiled. 'I'm your mother, I know all things.' Elsa chuckled at the familiar phrase her mother used to say to her and Anna when they'd question her.
'Then you know I can't stay.'
Iduna smiled, a smile Elsa had missed so dearly, then tucked Elsa's hair behind her ear. 'You've endured so much my darling, you did everything asked of you with grace and poise and now, it's time for you to live for you.'
Elsa smiled. 'I've missed you Mom.' She said through a shaky voice, the tears clouding her vision again. And how she had, oh how she had missed these talks with her Mother. 'I wish Anna could see you like this.'
'I am always right beside to both of you, whether you realize it or not. As a spirit, it's easier for you to connect to me and reach this place, but Anna can do it too with a little help. You'll help her, you already have. Honeymaren knows how, she can help you both connect with me again too.'
'I love her Mama, so much. All those years I never thought anyone could love me like she does…'
'And I always told you how wrong you were.' Iduna added with a smile.
Elsa chuckled. 'You were right.'
Iduna's brow creased. 'Not always. Sweetheart I'm so sorry for the way we left things, for all the dangerous secrets I left you and your sister with. It wasn't fair to either of you.'
Elsa let out a breath. 'No it wasn't. But then I've kept my share of dangerous secrets too, we're not so different are we. I understand why you and Papa did what you did, and I forgive you.'
Iduna smiled then pulled Elsa into one last hug. 'They're waiting for you. Go back to them. Give Anna a kiss for me and tell her, when she's ready, to come find me. I'll always be here for you both.'
'I love you Mama.' Elsa said, feeling her throat constrict at having to say goodbye again.
'I love you too my girl. Always and forever.'
Elsa opened her eyes just as the last twine of light spiraled up and was sucked into the sky. The four pointed symbol flashed in the sky above her and then was gone. The crystal bridge had closed.
It took a moment to reorient herself in her body after feeling so expansive in the spirit realm. But slowly she became aware of her limbs again, the pain specifically, and of the head that was resting on her chest. It was Maren, and she was crying.
On her other side Kristoff was holding Anna. His eyes were closed tightly and his cheek was pressed to the top of her head—she was crying too.
Elsa's arm still felt as heavy as iron but she lifted it and placed her hand on Maren's head. Maren's eyes shot up promptly and she looked at Elsa with two of the most beautiful tear streaked brown eyes Elsa had ever seen in her life.
'Elsa?' Maren breathed. She looked stunned, then broke down into more tears. 'You're alive?'
Elsa managed a smile and a nod, then reached up to wipe the tears from Maren's cheek. Maren held her hand there as more tears fell, then she bent down and kissed her gently. 'I thought we lost you.' Maren whispered, breaking the kiss and placing her forehead to Elsa's. Tears fell from her onto Elsa's cheeks. 'You stopped breathing, your heart stopped…'
'I'm here.' Elsa whispered. 'I'm not going anywhere.' Maren smiled and kissed her again, then sat back to reveal Anna who was kneeling next to her, her hands covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face and shaking her head in disbelief.
'Oh Elsa…' Was all Anna managed before throwing herself onto Elsa. Anna's head rested on her chest as she cried uncontrollably.
'Anna it's ok, I'm here.' Elsa whispered as she held Anna, then kissed the top of her head. 'I saw Mama.' She whispered, which only caused Anna to cry harder, so Elsa remained silent and simply held her sister.
The haunting sound of the bukkehorn and drums suddenly echoed from the forest, and this caused Anna to stir. Maren was smiling as she gazed at the forest, and Anna smiled too when she looked.
Slowly, Anna and Maren helped her to sit up and what she saw was the entire Northuldra tribe watching them from the tree-line. Anna and Maren helped her stand and then the cheering broke out. Elsa's arm was slung over Maren's shoulder, who smiled and held her around the waist to support her.
Elsa turned to look at Anna who was still staring at her with those teary awestruck eyes as if she couldn't believe Elsa was standing there. And suddenly Anna was five years old again, watching Elsa do magic with wide, childlike eyes full of innocence. Elsa smiled at the memory and reached for her hand. Anna took it and Elsa pulled her close, wrapping her arm around Anna's shoulders. Neither of them said a word, no words needed to be said. They both knew what they had endured together—what they had survived. Anna simply rested her head on Elsa's shoulder, and closed her eyes. For they shared a bond of love deeper and more profound than any words could ever describe.
The cheering crowd suddenly started chanting, which evolved into a hauntingly beautiful Northuldran song. Throngs of people descended from the woods, and started forming a spiral around the four of them as they chanted and sang. Elsa was overwhelmed by how powerful the song was, and by the gratitude she felt pouring from the people. She caught Gunnar staring at her, and when he saw her looking at him he removed his hat and tipped his head respectfully. Elsa smiled and nodded in mutual respect. He then resumed chanting with a stoic smile on his face.
Finally Elsa saw Yelena making her way through the spiral of people, and couldn't help but smile as the old woman approached them.
'Welcome home.' Yelena said when the crowd quieted, glancing at all four of them. 'Elsa when you first arrived here, I didn't want to believe that you were the fifth spirit—that a queen of our enemy could indeed possess spirit magic—but I was very wrong, and for that I am sorry. You saved us all, you and Anna healed the wounds between our peoples and for that I forever owe you a debt of gratitude. I am proud to call you both children of the Northuldra.'
Elsa smiled. 'Thank you Yelena. Your acceptance means more than you'll ever know.'
Yelena nodded, then her eyes suddenly became suspicious as they flicked between Elsa and Maren. She rolled her eyes with a sigh. 'You may kiss now…eh.' She said reluctantly, then smirked and walked away to join the spiral. 'Young people will be the death of me.' Elsa heard her mumble to Kalle, and Elsa chuckled.
The Northuldra had started singing and chanting again—this time the ancient chant of the vuelie. It was the most beautiful song she had ever heard, and her favorite Northuldran chant. She released Anna into Kristoff's arms, then turned to face Maren, who was already looking at her with a proud smile.
'You did it.' Maren breathed.
'We did it.' Elsa corrected, then kissed Maren as the vuelie chant echoed into the night.
A/N: ~~~In honor of our beloved fifth spirit~~~
This is the chapter I envisioned and had been waiting to write since the idea for this fic first came to me over a year ago, so I wanted to get it just right and I hope it delivers! Also I realized this is the third (and final?) time I've abused and nearly killed poor Elsa. What can I say, I'm a sucker for drama and angst. Sorry Els!
There are still two chapters to go, but since this was the culmination of the major plot, I decided to give a bit of author insight into some things that people may have missed:
First, Yelena x Kalle. Yelena has some strong gay energy so for those who didn't pick up on that, those two are together in my mind. :P
All the magical creatures I included are from Scandinavian lore, though I customized them a bit to fit the needs of my story.
The draugrs (along with the trolls) are the guardians of the forest and earth crystal. Instead of undead zombies, I made them more earthy to represent the earth element.
The Kraken: guardian of the sea and water crystal. Pretty straightforward.
The two invisible ravens are based on Huginn and Muninn, Odin's ravens. They represent air and are guardians of the air crystal.
And finally, Fenrir the black fire breathing wolf. He only makes a brief appearance trying to warn Elsa of the draugrs, but yes, he is the guardian of the volcano and fire crystal.
Someone asked about the spirit's genders, and in canon I don't believe they have genders. I wanted to assign genders because saying 'it' over and over gets boring and felt impersonal. Water is traditionally represented by the feminine, so that is why Nokk is a 'she.' Earth—mother earth—is the other feminine element, but having the earth giants be feminine just didn't really fit, so earth became masculine, and fire (Bruni) stayed masculine. To keep the male/female balance, air would switch from masculine to feminine, and so Gale became a 'she' which I felt fit well with her personality and her connection to Anna & Iduna.
I also did a lot of research into Sami culture, specifically sieidis, and made a post about it on my tumblr for those interested.
I have to give a shout out to Jimmi-Arts. She has become a great friend and has done such amazing fan art for this fic, I don't even know what to say except, thank you and check out her art! It's awesome!
Oh I also read Dangerous Secrets which I thought was a really great take on the whole Agduna mystery, and it also helped me a bit with Iduna's character for this chapter. I recommend it if you haven't read it yet!
For those that don't know, I also post this story on Archive of Our Own, and there they let me post links in the chapter notes. So if you're interested, hop on over there to see all the links I post in the notes. Most are links to music and fan art.
If anyone has any other questions, as always feel free to message me on tumblr or drop a comment.
Take care and Happy 2021! Let's hope it's better than last year!
