Where Magic Flows
M. Lauren
Part Three: In the Air
Debris swept up from the forest ground, and into Nokk's face. He brayed, chuffing back at it. Nokk shook his head, continuing on, and pushed back against the harsh winds.
From her station on his back, Elsa shielded her eyes behind an open hand. Blown from the trees, twigs and leaves braced against her. They sliced at her dress. Dust blinded her vision as well as the Nokk's. Over time, it had grown more impossible to see.
Yet, the two stumbled on.
High above their heads, a loud crack sounded. Elsa looked up as a large branch snapped from its trunk and came hurtling down to earth. With her heel dug into Nokk's ribs, they leapt aside. The branch fell with force. It shattered at their feet, and Nokk cried out in fear.
Elsa soothed a soft hand over his neck. "I know, and I am sorry, but we must keep going!"
She didn't know how much time either had left in them. They were out of breath, tired, and disoriented. Every attempt at fighting off Gale, only resulted in increasing her rage. Disgruntled, Elsa left her be. The wind continued its tirade, and Elsa drew mazes around her destruction.
It was still mid-day, however, Gale had pulled the sky thick with dark clouds. Light fought against dark, but in the end, the darkness maintained. And despite the lack of sun, the summer humidity held on. The thick air was difficult to breath in. Elsa found herself choking and straining her lungs. However, she couldn't stop now.
Honeymaren was out here on her own. She didn't have Nokk to help guide her way through the storm, and she didn't have Elsa's ice powers to fight back against the debris.
This notion consumed Elsa with guilt. If she hadn't pushed Honeymaren to talk when she didn't want to, Honeymaren would have been safe down in the ravine with the others. They both would have. Instead, Elsa was caught blinded and stumbling through the forest; once again, all because of her own foolishness.
The limited vision had Elsa relying on her instincts; both her's and Nokk's. She'd traveled across the fields, and down the Northern trails, until she could see no more. From there, Nokk had taken over. Elsa only hoped he would be able to locate Honeymaren amongst the storm, because she certainly could not. Her eyes had long since clouded with dust and dirt. She could see no more than a few feet in front of her.
With this, Elsa did notice when they wandered away from the trees. The pine and oak fell out of their mighty clusters. Debris settled from branches and leaves, into dirt and small pebbles. This had meant they were nearing the coast, and the sting of salty air was a welcomed change of pace.
Elsa rubbed deftly at her lids. Nokk slowed as he experienced the same discomfort. He growled in pain over the howling winds, and used his front legs to alleviate the strain. He crooned into himself. Elsa's hands joined against his face. She knew they could no longer continue like this. She had to get them both to safety.
The two happened upon a collection of boulders. There was a gap between two of them, just large enough for Elsa two hide.
She leapt from Nokk's back. She took his snout in her hands. "Go." She encouraged him. "Back to the sea."
But Nokk didn't move. He nuzzled her nose further into her palms.
"You will be safe there." she assured him. "And I will be safe here."
Nokk's eyes turned toward the north before coming back to Elsa's. He brayed, long and deep. His head sank into a bow, and then he took off at a sprint.
No sooner than he had disappeared did Elsa crawl herself between the boulders. She tucked herself into a tight ball, and buried her face between her knees. Even with her ears covered, the wind continued to howl. It moved around the rocks with such force. Elsa knew Gale's claws sought to leave marks against her skin.
There, between the rocks, she waited. Elsa reminded herself that Honeymaren would know to do the same. She was probably in the same position nearby. Honeymaren was smart. She knew the woods, and she would find a hollow tree or a ledge to tuck herself safely into.
Knowing this did not quiet her guilt, though. Elsa could not help but feel that by being forced to stop her search, she failed her friend. However, Elsa knew she had already done that. She failed Honeymaren the moment she questioned the legitimacy of her feelings. She understood that now.
It had her thinking- Yelena had been so confident Honeymaren would find her way back to the village. She had faith in her granddaughter's strength and savviness to weather the storm on her own. Elsa wondered how one person could put their fear aside for the benefit of a community? In her own experience, Elsa had never been skilled at that. She had a long running history of making fear-based decisions, all for the sake of her sister; not that she regretted it.
Except, now her reasoning was flawed. Had what Honeymaren confessed to her caused Elsa to stray from the village? If she hadn't learned of Honeymaren's feelings for her, would she still be out here risking both of their lives?
Elsa knew her answer, and it surprised her more than she'd thought possible.
She would have sacrificed anything for Honeymaren, just as she would have done the same for her sister. Further reasoning was irrelevant.
Honeymaren was her friend, and no longer a new friend, but a best friend. She was even the first friend Elsa had made outside of her own bloodline or creation. They talked like family. They shared in conversations about their day; their interests, likes, and dislikes. The two bickered with each other. They teased and joked like siblings, but they weren't siblings. They were friends, however, her friendship with Honeymaren proved much different than what Elsa had experience with Ryder or the other villagers.
What the two of them shared was simple. It was the ease of a good conversation, one that Elsa would find herself going out of her way to have. Their friendship was compatible; the excitement of sharing a walk or allowing Honeymaren to show her around to her favorite secrets of the forest.
When Honeymaren would check to see that Elsa had eaten before eating herself, and when Elsa would check in on Honeymaren before she would go to bed; this was a different kind of friendship. It was a partnership; a silent agreement, even.
Elsa didn't know why it had taken her so long to figure this out for herself. Perhaps it was because the only friendship she had to compare it to, was the one she had with Anna. And if Elsa were being honest, she certainly wouldn't have drawn the similarities and differences on her own. Had she not learned of Honeymaren's feeling for her, Elsa might have continued on blind for the rest of her days.
That, or until Honeymaren made a new friend. Perhaps she'd meet a man or a woman, one whom she would want to marry. Elsa thought she might notice the differences then, when her friendship with Honeymaren was forced to change to order to accommodate her new relations.
The idea of that caused Elsa to feel uncomfortable. If Honeymaren moved on, and their friendship weakened; Elsa decided then that she would rather stay stuck between the rocks.
A life without Honeymaren's constant teasing and bright-eyed intuition, wasn't a life worth living at all. For nearly a year, Elsa had Honeymaren involved in each of her days. Not having her, or having her in some other capacity; that idea was terrifying. No sooner than she'd accept that, would Elsa allow the storm to swallow her whole.
The storm… The storm!
Elsa's head snapped to attention. Her eyes drove wide.
The winds had calmed while she'd lost herself to her thoughts. Gale no longer terrorized the forest with her hurricane like force. Instead, Northuldra sat stagnant. Gale appeared to be heading west. The tops of the trees drew still as Gale traveled away from the forest.
"Another friend lost." Elsa sighed, and pulled herself to stand.
She wiped her hands along the top of her gown. The fabric was littered with cuts and scratches, while dirt coated the white silky ice. Elsa slid from between the boulders, knowing she probably looked as healthy as her dress, and her eyes quickly drove wide.
Air caught in her throat. So much around her had changed in such a seemingly short amount of time. The Northern lands had crumbled. Tops of trees lopped off before their points. Branches and leaves carried long distances away from their homes. And despite the wind, which continued to travel away, the air was thick with dust.
Elsa forced herself to put worries about damage aside. There was little time to worry about what had been done, when instead she should be concerning herself with what could be done now.
Honeymaren was still out there somewhere, and Elsa needed to know that she was alright.
Allowing Nokk time to recover, Elsa took the next leg of her search by foot.
It was slower. That went without saying, however, it would allow Elsa to be more thorough. On foot, she would leave no rock nor fallen tree branch unturned. She would not stop; not until Honeymaren was back safe in the village.
"Honeymaren!" she called out.
Elsa's blue eyes scanned the boulder-laiden cliffside.
There was only so much further Honeymaren could have gone before accidently reaching the sea. Decidedly, Elsa circled back toward the south, and hugged the estuary as a boundary line. From there, Elsa stood at the highest peak in all of Northuldra. She could see down across the valley, and through to the forest. If anything moved, Elsa would see it.
"Honeymaren!" she called again. Her feet had started slow, but her pleas were desperate.
Nothing but the waves below responded to her calls. Water lapped at the shore, and crawled over the rocks.
"Where did you go?" she worried.
Elsa's brow pulled low. The skin against her forehead tightened, and her fists tensed at her side.
With the wind howling in her ears, Elsa hadn't the headspace for anxious thoughts. She had been on autopilot as she stumbled through the enchanted northern lands. Yet now, the silence fueled her fears. Elsa's mind conjured up dark thoughts about all the ways in which Honeymaren could have been hurt; all the directions in which Honeymaren would have run to get away from her.
In her panic, Elsa's eyes scanned her surroundings erratically. She checked the depths of the ledge below, and double checked the shore. Elsa was approaching the falls when she coached herself into relaxing. A fully fledged anxiety attack would not help her now, and it would not help her find Honeymaren.
And so, Elsa continued on.
She tripped over branches and dislodged rocks. She stumbled through the outskirts of the forest, and alongside the river, driving south. There had been no sign of life, whatsoever. Not a deer, nor rabbit lay in sight. Not even the birds had yet to return to the sky. It was a haunting sight, but Elsa held her concerns at bay.
Still, she knew her solo rescue efforts were looking slim.
Feeling defeated and isolated, Elsa decided it was time to return to the village. There, she would be able to recruit the people into helping with her search. They could fan out better, come up with a plan, and locate Honeymaren faster as a group.
Or better yet, perhaps Elsa would get lucky and discover Honeymaren had already returned home.
I hope that's the case. She thought.
With a plan in motion, Elsa took a confident step forward. She turned toward the village, hands braced against her stomach, just as a voice sounded in the distance.
Elsa froze on queue. She waited, listening again for whatever had startled her.
When nothing came, Elsa shrugged it off.
She took another step, and the voice surfaced once more.
At that, Elsa hurried blindly forward. Her feet caught against rocks and tattered debris. The far off whispers were leading her closer to the rock ledge, and had Elsa's eyes scanning the fast moving river below.
"Help!"
Elsa heard the voice clearer this time. It channeled throughout the cliffs, and carried back out to sea. The voice traveled from beyond the falls, a little less than a quarter kilo from where she stood.
Newfound adrenaline coursed within Elsa's blood. She stumbled into a run, and followed along the height of the cliffs.
"Honeymaren!" Elsa shouted as she neared the rolling hills.
Loud waves coursed below her. The wind littered the current with large branches and twigs, and the further Elsa ran, the faster the water churned.
"Help me!" She heard again, and this time from much closer by.
"Honeymaren!" Elsa hoped, though she did not know for certain.
Elsa held her breath.
"I'm down here!" The voice pleaded. "Please! I'm stuck between rocks!"
Where the ledge circled the bend in the river, Elsa stopped to peer out. The valley appeared as if a hurricane had surged through the narrow inlet, tearing the walls apart. Boulders ripped away from where they'd lodged in the cliff face. Now, rocks surfaced like small islands amongst the fast moving stream.
And there, caught between the river and a dismantled flood wall, was Honeymaren. She was looking up at Elsa as if she couldn't believe she was there. With her body lodged beneath a shallow divot, only the top half of her was exposed. She waved to Elsa erratically with the only arm she could free, as the tide pooled up nearer toward the rock that held her trapped.
"Elsa?" she called to her.
"Don't worry! I'm coming down!"
Stepping back, Elsa assessed her next move. She could slide in at Honeymaren's side, but would risk further jostling the precariously fallen rocks. Instead, Elsa decided on her stair method. She could freeze the remaining rockface to the walls, while navigating down to Honeymaren.
Elsa felt her powers begin to surge beneath her skin. She stepped back. Her hands aimed at the wall. She fired at the ledge and a bright light emitted from her palms, but suddenly, it fizzled out into a small flurry.
Frowning, Elsa tried again. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and felt the magic alive within her.
Ice shot from her fingertips. It laced over the boulders, coating them quickly and with precision. In a burst of excitement, Elsa hurried down the embankment. She sailed over the rock ledge, using her powers with ease.
"Elsa!" Honeymaren sighed as she neared.
Elsa could see now how the two boulders had wedged Honeymaren against the floodwall. The rising tide held them into place, but had allowed Honeymaren enough space to free her upper half.
Elsa landed amongst the shore.
"I am going to get you out." she promised.
Ice cascaded around the first boulder and tugged it from the tide. Elsa tossed it into the river, sending waves splashing amongst the current.
Water surged up Elsa's feet and onto her calves. She didn't care.
Elsa ran to Honeymaren's side and took her arm over her shoulder. Elsa lifted her from the hole.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" She leaned Honeymaren against the wall.
Honeymaren briefly fell into her. Her nose pressed into Elsa's neck, as she worked to calm her breathing. Honeymaren's arms dragged from Elsa's shoulder, and she pulled away.
Her hands shook erratically. "I- I think so. My head, I'd knocked it against something… Do I- do I look alright?"
Elsa came to stand at her back. Honeymaren's long hair was tangled and disheveled by the wind. Brown curls had caked with dust and dirt, and her hat was now missing. Very gently, Elsa pulled the tie from Honeymaren's braid. She brushed each strand clean from debris and set the loose hair against her back.
She sighed. "You have a good size bump back here, but no blood... We should get you back to the village."
Honeymaren shook her head. "No. No, not yet, please…" she begged breathlessly. "I need- just give me a minute…"
"There's no rush." Elsa assured her. "Catch your breath." She sat at Honeymaren's feet.
Honeymaren gasped for air, and her hand caught against her chest. She had her wide brown eyes transfixed on the river across from them.
"I thought-" She stumbled. "I thought I was going to die… drown… The water kept coming and I couldn't yell loud enough over the wind. I didn't know who would come for me, or what had happened… I was so scared, and- how did you know?"
Honeymaren turned to Elsa.
"How did you know to look for me here?"
"I didn't," She held Honeymaren's eyes as her lips tugged sheepishly to the side. "I search for you everywhere I could think to. I- I didn't want you out in the storm on your own. I'm so sorry I let you down…"
Frowning, Honeymaren's head tilt. "You didn't let me down, Elsa. You saved my life! You risked going out in the storm for me, and- thank you!"
"Don't thank me." Elsa told her. "It is my fault you were out here on your own in the first place."
Honeymaren softly laughed. "Technically, it was my own foolishness that drove me out here, but whether it was guilt or genuine concern that led you to me; regardless, I am so thankful for you, Elsa."
Elsa reeled in a sharp breath. "It wasn't guilt, Honeymaren. I do care for you. You have to know that?"
Her cheeks stained red. Honeymaren turned away. "I know, I- I didn't mean to, it's just-"
Elsa placed her hand on Honeymaren's knee, stalling her words. "Let's… talk about this later, okay? We should get back to the village. Someone should see about that injury."
Honeymaren seemed to be contemplating Elsa's words. Her eyes had circled back slowly, and she stared.
"Okay." she finally agreed. She struggled to pull herself to stand.
"Here," Elsa quickly came in at her side, lifting Honeymaren to her feet. "Easy does it." she encouraged.
Elsa took Honeymaren's arm over her shoulder. She started them slowly, trekking them back toward her stairs of ice.
Honeymaren suddenly pulled them to a stop. Her head turned, face lingering close to Elsa's.
"Is Gale gone?" she asked.
Elsa nodded. "I'm afraid so…"
Though saddened, Honeymaren moved to walk again. Her thoughts were elsewhere as they stumble back up the embankment.
"Elsa…" She whispered, halting them once more. "If Gale is gone, how will you communicate with Arendelle? The bridge between you and Anna has faded… Even if both sides still stand, the spirits have now made it harder for you both to cross…"
Cheer, (kinda)
-M.