Slowly, very slowly Elsa woke up. It had been a sweet dream that had visited her that night - of rustling leaves, a soft breeze, moonlight on her face - and someone standing next to her, a warm presence, familiar and cherished, yet so exhilarating. But she could not remember who it was.
'Even if I have a pretty good guess' she thought and a small smile tugged at her lips. Covered under fur blankets and embedded on a surprisingly soft straw mat, padded with dry moss – sleeping, once a daunting task, had become something absolutely delightful. With a content sigh, Elsa turned from her side on her back stretched arms and legs, relished in the feeling the motion gave her. She exhaled deeply and laid one arm over eyes the other resting at her side – simply enjoying the peacefulness around her. It was still early she could tell – barley the break of dawn. The noise outside told her that. Not much sound except for the melodic song of some birds whispered conversations of the little group on breakfast duty, the muffled wailing of baby's and small children - woken up by hunger or a bad dream – and the soothing words of parents, grandparents and older siblings to put little minds and hearts at ease again. All done quietly as humanly possible so still sleeping neighbors were not wakened before their time ore some who had guard duty last night could find some hours of rest.
'There are all so considerate. So kind!' Elsa thought fondly of her people as she laid and listened.
Her people – not just her mother's – hers! Four months had passed since the coronation of her sister, four months she had lived with the northuldra – only interrupted by game nights with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven – and to her delight, she uncovered something endearing about them every day.
For one how they treated their children with endless patience and understanding
– without the sometimes stifling social norms that still could be found in arendelle. It was not like parents in arendelle where cruel to their offspring, far from it but there were still some old behavior rules in power that could be at best be a nuisance, at worst do quite a lot of damage. There was a great improvement since her grandfather's days as king – her father had set changes in motion to get rid of some these old burdens, she herself had continued this trend and with Anna on the throne a lot had been done for the better but here there was none of that.
Right now she could hear a woman sing a familiar lullaby.
"Where the north wind meets the sea
There's a river full of memory
Sleep, my darling, safe and sound
For in this river all is found…. and she sleeps. See, it works every time." the quit song and whispered words were close and the voice familiar.
'Must be Venling with Fen and…
"Uhh, did that trick worked on me too?!" the loud voice of a small girl priced the tranquility of the morning, in the distance some birds flew up into the sky, loudly complaining about being wakened so roughly.
"Shhhh, Linga not so loud. Trad had just gone to bed and Elsa is still all sleep too." The woman reminded her daughter softly.
"Oh sorry!" whispered the young girl, sounding a little crestfallen that she forgot to be quite.
"It's fine. Besides the trick still works on you, my sweet." There were rustling sounds and the delighted but muffled giggles of Linga and a small laugh of Venling. Elsa didn't have to see the two to know what was going on outside – the young mother was probably tickling her daughter and the girl tried to stifle her jubilation with her small hands.
Venling and her two daughters were Elsa's direct neighbors since she started to live with the northuldra. Trad was a relatively new addition to the small family, he had moved in about two months ago. Venling's first husband had been much older than her and had died not long after Fen's birth, two years back. The woman, who was a bit older than Elsa, had gotten a little misty-eyed as she told Elsa about the father of her daughter's, clearly still missing him but Trad was obviously great support. The tall, burly warrior had surprised Elsa. At first sight he looked rough and unfriendly. He always made a strict face and came across as quite unapproachable. But he had a soft side for children and whenever he would lift little Fen high in the air so the girl nearly shouted with delight, he would laugh just as much. When he was not on duty the warrior would catch up on some chores, vital for home and hearth- like sewing damaged clothes or carve flatware skillfully out of wood. While he did that, he had the most adorable conversations with Linga. The little girl would plaster him with questions about being a warrior, about plants, reindeer, hunting and simply everything the child could think of. Trad would answer her best he could, with great patience and even greater endurance – no matter how tired he might be of the day's work. Whenever he was out to gather supplies, to fish or on boarder patrol he never failed to bring something for Linga to craft or mix her colors with. The girl was very artistic and quite a talent in Elsa's opinion. She herself had proof of this in the form of this delightful reindeer figure that served as her head peace of her little collection of small gifts made by the children upon her first day at camp. To make it short – this mountain of a man was an absolute sweetheart. And the way he looked at Venling….well, there was no misinterpreting that. They were not married yet but the young woman had a feeling she would attend her first northuldra wedding soon.
'Never judge a book by its cover'
"Come now Linga. Why don't you work a little on your painting while I finish these?"
"Yes, mama."
A smile found its way on Elsa's face as she heard how Linga tried to head the reminder of her mother to be very quiet – successful must be added.
Inhaling deeply the young woman lifted her arm of her face and raised to a sitting position with relish. With a lazy flick of her hand, she summoned an ice mirror and started her morning routine, discarding her nightgown, washing herself quickly with water out of bucket, placed there the day before, deftly braided her hair and choosing a simple outfit that looked much like normal northuldra clothes but with some changes to the legs and sleeves – making it a hybrid of the outfit she had worn when she first arrived at the forest and a traditional tunic. Her spirit dress, even if very beautiful, was not really wearable when there were no spirit matters to attend to or a visit in ahtohallan was in order. For her day to day life with the northuldra, a more practical attire was much better suited. With one last look in the mirror, she dismissed it out of existence, grabbed the tea kettle on her way out and left her goahti. The sight she anticipated greeted her – Venling stitching a very small, quite tattered shirt – with Fen, the culprit for this senseless destruction of once perfectly good clothes, sleeping peacefully, covered in fur blankets close to her mother. And Linga, her hands and most of her face covered in blue paint, the tip of her tongue sticking out at one side of her mouth, face scrunched in concentration as she worked. The two sisters looked a lot like their mother. Same brown, shiny, thick hair, dark skin, slim face, and kind dark brown eyes. Nothing out of the ordinary there.
Still, Elsa found herself be completely blown away! On big peace of rasped bark – a courtesy of Trad – Linga had started to draw a big Panorama of the forest and all its spirits.
"A gift for your sister when she marries Kristoff." the little girl had answered when Elsa had asked for whom it was and Linga, normally a very confident child had become very shy, like always when she talked about her art. That was two weeks ago and now Elsa stood before a masterpiece – half-finished but still a masterpiece! The forest made up the background was made up by the forest, and even though it was not a realistic image of it, the colors of the trees, leaves and the ground were a joy to look at. And there was already a Nook standing proudly on little lake, all majestic, the earth giants were there to look over the treetops close by and in the middle of the drawing was a small Elsa, standing tall in her white spirit dress and hair flowing in the breeze…wait, were there leaves and some flower petals in the breeze? Gael was finished too as it seems. The whole drawing reminded her of some of her favorite picture books when she was a child, but she doubted that hers had been drawn by a four-year-old.
"Linga, I…that is so beautiful! Every time I think you could not do better you come around with something like this!" Elsa meant every word she said.
"Really!?" the little girl nearly burst with pride. The fifth spirit had said her painting was beautiful after all!
"I just finished the sky and the leaves on the trees. Trad found some berries that made just the right color for the sky. But I still need a brighter red!"
"What for?"
"For Bruni when he's burning! The roots Honeymaren gave me were good for the brown-red of the leaves but not for fire!"
Like he had waited for his name to be said out loud the little fire-lizard appeared on Elsa's knee looking intensely at the painting, then his tongue shot out and licked over his left eye, earning a laugh from Linga.
"Hey, there little guy. Do you wanna have look? Linga drew it herself." The snow queen explained.
A happy 'gurgel' and a jump of off Elsa's knee to the still colorless parts of the bark followed. Clearly pleased about what he saw the little lizard carefully walked to pictured Nokk, admired the mini giants, let out an impressed 'breep' when he saw how clever Linga had portrait the formless Gale and mad trip-trap-dance of happiness as he reached the image of Elsa. Then he roamed the picture, obviously looking for something else until he suddenly stopped in his tracks, like he had realized something. Elsa watched as his whole happy demeanor changed, sad little eyes shot Linga a hurt look, then averting his gaze to his little feet, his throat bloating and deflating in quick succession. It took Elsa only a second to understand what was wrong with her fellow spirit but Linga was still faster.
Without missing a beat she cradled the lizard in her arms that by all means could be live threatening for her. Bruni was small but he commanded the destroying powers of fire yet there was no fear in the girl. Elsa shoot a quick glance at Venling – the woman was totally relaxed; no scream that her daughter should put him down. Was this pride in her eyes as she watched Linga talk to the spirit, to something magical?
Yet another thing she loved about her people was the complete lack of mistrust against something new or different. They got to know you first and judged you later and celebrated differences instead of condemning them. Not for the first time, Elsa asked herself what her childhood would have been like when she had been born here.
"Don't be sad Bruni. I have not forgotten you. I just need something extra special to get you just right!
At that the fire spirits head perked up, his little face all hopeful as he looked at Linga a clear question in his eyes and the girl had not to be a spirit herself to understand it.
"That's right, just for you!" at the word 'you' Linga gave Bruni a little tip on the nose with her index finger in a very Elsa like fashion, clearly having adopted the gesture. A rush of affection and warmth for the girl hit the snow queen.
'Is it possible for me to melt?"
"I need a very bright red! I want to draw you with your flames. There are so beautiful!"
At that Bruni's good mood was more than restored. Happily 'breeping' he slipped into her sleeve, reappearing at the collar of her tunic crawling over the right side of her face only to sit enthroned on top of Lingas head – all the while leaving little blue footprints everywhere. Linga's hands had been quite spotted with paint. But she didn't seem to mind at all - she laughed loudly – her mother not bothering to tell her to be quiet again. The morning had arrived in all his glory and all-around people had breakfast ore started their day's work. Elsa remembered the teapot she had brought with her, grabbing it and put it next to the fireplace giving Venling an apologetic smile.
"Sorry for not saying hello but I was just so surprised by what Linga had drawn. She is truly gifted!"
"Don't worry about it. And I know what you mean. I would not believe it that she is really doing it all by herself if I would not see it with my own eyes." The woman spoke, pride in her voice.
Elsa quickly finished piling the wood for the fire. She placed the pot above it and with an easy wave of her hand, she filled the pot with snow only to melt it a second later – leaving it full with fresh clean water.
"Brunni, if you could spare a moment?" she asked her fellow spirit with a smile, pointing with her head to the fireplace. Linga froze to the spot, Bruni shot a lazy look at the wood under the kettle and in seconds a fire was burning there as if had done so for hours already before both resumed their game.
"Oh, Elsa! What would Honeymaren say if she were here? That is cheating." Venling scolded her, though her tone was light.
The warriors of the tribe were quite busy these days. The old outposts at the north-west border, that had been outside the mist had to be repaired, 34 years had taken quite a toll forcing the warrior's to head out much more often to repair them. It made a meeting with Maren quite difficult, sometimes downright impossible and Elsa hit a pang of longing.
'Damn, I miss that woman.'
"Well, she is not here right now, is she?" Elsa said sheepishly.
That earned playful shove from the older woman. A smile found its way on Elsa's face and another wave of affection spreading in her chest. Over the time she had lived here the two had become good friends, Venling making it a point to share tea in the morning and talk whenever they could - a sweet gesture to ensure that Elsa would feel welcome in her new home.
"Not anymore!" Venling said a small, somewhat knowing smile on her face, and pointed behind Elsa. She turned and found a plate full of fruits, roots and nuts placed on the tree stump Elsa had put there to have something if she wanted to sit outside of her goahti. Awestruck by Lingas painting she had walked right past it.
Another wave of longing hit her, but different - stronger, more potent, leaving her mouth dry and catching her breath in her throat. She got up, happy that she could turn her back on Venling for a moment - a little embarrassed how strongly Honeymaren's little gesture had affected her. She took the plate returned to her friend, not quite trusting her voice she popped one of the berries blindly into her mouth. A raspberry – Elsa loved them. Of course Maren would remember something like that. She always paid attention to the little things, always attentive and ready to help.
'How often had she brought me food? ….'
"Those were two weeks." Venling interrupted her thoughts.
"Mmhh?" Elsa sat a little straighter. How long had she spaced out?
"Two whole weeks she brought you breakfast."
'Can she read minds now?' It was scary how good she could guess Elsa's thoughts sometimes.
"Really?"
"Really." Venling's voice was free of any leading tone - no teasing or pushing the other woman. Dark brown eyes holding a clear invitation for Elsa to share if she so desired. The snow queen wasn't quite sure if she wanted to face that pile of confusing emotions right now. Her throat felt dry again and she was happy as the water boiled giving her an reprieve as she prepared the tea. She passed a full cup to Venling before filling her own. Taking a sip to clear her throat, careful to not burn herself, she faced the older woman again – her fingers nervously turning the cup in her hands.
"Maren knows I tend to skip breakfast. Old habits die hard I guess." Elsa carefully offered, trying to convey with her eyes that she was not quite there yet to have this talk.
Venling seemed to understand. Choosing not to point out that raspberries were hard to come by around this time of year (so Maren had to search quite a bit to get some) or that two weeks of extra work for something that wasn't really necessary (there was breakfast made for all who wished to have some of the central fire pit after all) ore that Elsa had said 'Maren' (a short form of the warriors name only family and some friends used) the northuldra mother simply said:
"Our Honeymaren is considerate like that." Elsa gave her a thankful look.
Fen chose this moment to turn in her sleep – happily mumbling something but pushing the blanket off her upper body in the process. Venling smiled fondly, her eyes soft as she covered her daughter back up, combing through the little mop of black hair.
"How is the fever? Better?" Elsa asked. The little girl had a bad cold with high temperature and an ugly cough that made sleep for nearly impossible – for someone so young quite concerning.
"Much better. Your idea with the rose hip and willow bark broth helped a lot. She can rest much easier when she had some. Not to mention the smell is quite pleasing. Trad loves it too. Thank you!" there was honest gratitude in Venlings voice and Elsa had felt a little bubble of pride that her idea had worked.
"You better thank Rue. She was kind enough to teach me what plant is good against what malady." she said modestly.
"It was your idea to mix them tough. So I thank you both."
A grateful hand found its way on Elsa's shoulder and in Venling's eyes she could see the relief that her youngest was on her way back to health.
A loud and happy shriek cut their conversation short and woke Fen, who luckily didn't seem to mind that her nap had been cut short. She got up yawned, rubbed her eyes and let herself fall on her mother's lap, right on the torn clothes her Venling had been trying to fix.
"Hey there my dear. Slept well?" Venling asked feeling the forehead of the small girl to see if the fever was still at work. The pleased expression on Venling's face gave Elsa the answer to her unspoken question.
"Yes. Brad?" the little girl said, face all grumpy but her voice still held a friendly tone. Elsa had to stifle a giggle. Fen always tried to look very serious and grown up, clearly mimicking Trad.
"No sweetie, its 'bread' and yes we go get breakfast soon."
Another happy lough made them turn slightly to see Linga, now not only spotted with blue food prints but also yellow, brown-read and green ones and Bruni, dipping each of his feet in a different bowl, which each held a different color Linga had used before. Linga held out her hand for the fire spirit and he deftly, but still very cutely, jumped on her palm, vanishing into her sleeve again, earning another giggle, only to quickly repair at her cheek. With great concentration Bruni began to work, setting his feet in a deliberate pattern. Linga was holding very still and whispered: "Look! Bruni is drawing too! I am his canvas." Her mouth was barely moving, so she would not disturb the spirit while he worked.
"I can see that, my dear!" Venling had clearly trouble to hold in her laughter.
"Bruni!" Fen called loudly – her serious face gone in a second as she happily tumbled over to her sister and the little lizard greeting both with great enthusiasm. The little guy had become a favorite among the young ones and as if to prove his magnetism one by one children of all ages started to appear. It nearly looked like they had come out of thin air and soon Bruni found himself surrounded, all pleading that he should draw something on them too! The little spirit seemed to enjoy this a lot Elsa could tell. She smiled, eyes soft until a thought hit her.
"Bruni!" she said, stopping the little lizard dead in his tracks. He had been about to jump on a little boys arm; clearly about to give him the same treatment he had given Linga. About twenty children plus a fire spirit, who had the same expression Anna always made when she was caught stealing chocolate out of the kitchen, turned to her – all holding their breath.
Elsa kept her face stern, back strait looking al regal, even in her simple clothes.
"Make sure not to paint on the clothes. It's quite hard to get the color out. Only on the skin!" she said pointing her finger at Bruni like she had seen her mother doo so long ago when she had scolded her lightly. A relieved sigh went through the whole group and Bruni's head bobbed up and down frantically. Since he started to interact more with humans he had adapted some mannerisms that looked quite adorable. With gusto the lizard started his work, to the great joy for the group surrounding him.
"Well, that is going to be a colorful breakfast." Venling said drily.
"No, a colorful day, I hope!" this time Elsa gave the other woman a playful shove.
"I help bathing them later. But now I have to meet Rue. She said I could join the lesson today if I wanted and no spirit duties are calling me."
"See you for dinner then?" Venling asked.
"I will be there." She got up, grabbed some nuts from her plate, left the rest for Venling and her family and made her way to the healing hut.
Rue had been the head healer since even the oldest of the northuldra could remember. The woman was ancient, the oldest person Elsa had ever seen. No one knew her exact age because anytime someone would ask her, she gave a different answer.
Her back was bent by the weight of so many years. Her skin was dark, nearly black and time had mined deep wrinkles in it. Her hair, still surprisingly long was white like Yelena's and always in two braids that hung over each of her shoulders. Age had also taken her eyesight, leaving them milky white and at times quite scary looking – a fact Rue used in dark moonless nights when she told ghosts story's at the campfire. But besides all that the old healers mind had not suffered. No one knew as much about healing plants as Rue – being still able to distinct them by smell and touch alone. She was wise beyond measure, while still full of mirth and kindness.
Next to Rue, there were Alvor, Iloh and Flippan.
Alvor, already a fully trained healer was about three years older than Elsa, taller than the snow queen and very thin. Her face had something strict and closed off to it, she rarely smiled or laughed, her nose was straight and long and she had eyes in such a dark brown that it nearly looked black – giving her gaze an intensity that could scare you if you did not know her. But as Elsa had started to work more often in the healing hut she learned that Alvor was a loyal friend, patient and strong at your side. Someone you could count on when things got dire and besides Rue there was no better healer around. When the head-healer would find her last rest eventually Alvor was going to take her place.
Iloh was about two years younger than Elsa, one of the apprentices and in nearly every way Alvor's complete opposite. She was small barley reaching Elsa's shoulder, had a curvy body that suited her well and in combination with her full lips, shiny hair, cute bottom nose and, most unusual for a northuldra, green eyes she got many admirers, a fact she enjoyed immensely. It was easy to become friends with her, for she was open and quite funny – even though she tended to get a bit noisy sometimes.
Flippan, the second apprentice, had just turned 18 and started his training two months before Elsa had come to the forest heading the voice. Outside of his work, the stocky young men could be somewhat unreliable. He could be quite the prankster - his eyes often had glint of coming mischief in them. Especially put together with Iloh there was always trouble close by. But when he worked he showed a concentration and discipline that came close to Alvor's.
As Elsa stood before the big goahti at the center of the camp, she only allowed herself a second to admire the skillfully crafted hut. It was one of the few lavvu's that had been painted in soft blue and green colors- a little trick Rue had thought of to make the hut more appealing for children.
Smoke came out of the chimney - a clear sign that the lesson had started already. Slipping in she got into a little anteroom. She switched footwear, putting on comfortable moccasins sandals, cleaned her hands thoroughly with hot water cleverly provided in a large deep stone bowl that was placed on a thick stone plate and packed underneath with hot coals before entering the main hut. Elsa loved it in her! It was large round room, never to cold or to warm even though a fire burned in its center. It was meticulously clean and form the thousand little shelves an enticing aroma rose up. A mix of honeysuckle, fresh peppermint lavender and many more Elsa could not name yet.
Close to the fire Rue, Alvor and their students sat in a circle.
"Sorry I am late. Bruni discovered his artistic side this morning." Elsa said as she quickly took her place. Iloh and Flippan had left one free between them.
"Oh did he?" Rues voice surprisingly deep and strong for such an old woman. She let out a low raspy chuckle.
"Don't worry little spirit. We were about to start a bit late anyway. We met earlier this morning to recreate your broth, Alvor and I. We were quite successful I might add." She pointed with her finger to her left. A small pot stood there, steam rising off it.
"We added some balm and chamomile for a calming effect. Ven had taken very good too it. He is resting peacefully know." Alvor added.
Ven must be nearly as old as Rue, Elsa had decided as she has seen the old man for the first time. But other than the healer, Ven wasn't spry anymore. Day by day he got weaker and now he has gotten an ugly cough on top. Elsa was happy that she had done something that helped to lessen his suffering.
"Now, let's get back to the task at hand shall we." Rue said matter of factly.
Today's lesson was something Elsa would not forget so fast. Learning to set a broken bone seemed more complicated than she could have imagined. She had grasped the concept but learning everything about something and doing something - well, that was two different stories altogether. Elsa was relieved that today's subject had been strictly theoretical. With the lesson finished Iloh turned to Elsa: "We need more meadowsweet. Want to help me get some? I also need to check upon Ven."
"Sure."
"Great. Oh before I forget: we four want to cook dinner later. Care to join us?"
"Yes little spirit, join us. I want to hear everything of this 'artistic side' Bruni has discovered." Rue seemed really interested.
"Of course." Elsa said, a warm feeling flooding her chest at the sweet gesture. Since she moved in the forest she had never had a lonely meal. She said her goodbyes to three and followed Iloh, leaving the others to their work.
Close to the healing hut some smaller goahti's, all northuldra called resting-huts, had been set up, painted in the same green and blue colors. These were for the very sick, the badly wounded ore, like in Ven's case – the dying. As Elsa entered the resting-hut after Iloh and looked at Ven, compassion and the strong need to help him nearly overcome her. Even in his deep peaceful sleep, he looked exhausted. Age and sickness were taking their tolls. Rue had told her that there was no cure for Ven anymore. All the healers could do was to ease his pain and make him comfortable.
"Hey, how is he doing?" Iloh whispered to Aru.
"No changes. Sleeps peacefully like a baby. I am glad. He really needs the rest." The tailor answered just as quietly.
"Thank you for keeping an eye on him!"
"No problem. I can work here or in my hut! Makes no difference to me." He said simply, lifting a tunic he was working on.
It had not surprised Elsa that Aru had offered to help with the care of Ven. The snow queen had learned some while ago that the brisk men was all bark but no bite. As Iloh carefully checked on him Elsa watched her attentively – trying to memorize what exactly she was doing. She was not the only one watching Iloh like a hawk though. Sitting on the foot end of the bed, silent like a ghost was Gelwa, Vens great-granddaughter and only living member of his family. The rest had died two years before the mist had been lifted. A bad disease, only contained trough the quick thinking of Yelena and Rue had befallen the tribe. It had not taken many lives but some families were hit harder than others.
She was four like Linga but taller and stronger. In the beginner combat lessons all kids attended she showed great promise –Honeymaren had told her so. Like with most northuldra her hair was black, her skin dark and someone probably Flippan had woven it into single braid that hung over her shoulder. Her cheeks were covered in freckles and her eyes were the lightest brown she had ever seen. She was a very quiet child, not shy but barley opening up to people – withdrawn as if to save herself from harm after losing so much. To get a smile or laugh out of her was no easy task. Yet she was always polite when spoken to and did as she was bidden.
Elsa felt her heart break a little as she watched this young girl, that had to grow up to fast – and yet trying so hard as another great loss was dawning at her horizon.
"He seems fine for now. I will check on him before dinner. Aru, can you stay with him till then?" Iloh asked.
"Like I said! No problem."
Elsa's barely listen, her eyes on Gelwa who in turn didn't leave Ven out of her sight – like he could vanish any moment. How long had she been sitting her, silently keeping vigil on her dying great-grandfathers bead, nearly unmoving?
Aru must have similar thoughts. With a look at the baskets they had brought he spoke to Iloh: "You are out gathering." No question but a brisk statement.
"Yes, we need more meadowsweet." Iloh said her gaze gracing the girl as well.
"Why don't you join them Gelwa? I can take care of your Gran-Ven for a while." Aru said trying to sound casual.
"No. Thank you." came the polite but distant answer.
Intuition hit Elsa like charging Nokk. Suddenly she knew what to do.
"Ah shoot! I really hoped you would come with us." She said, giving her face a disappointed look, her shoulders hanging in defeat, hands on her hips.
At that Gelwa's eyes left her great-grandfather for the first time Elsa had entered the hut.
"Really?" she asked honestly surprised.
"Yes. It's still hard for me to identify meadowsweet. You know, Maren had showed me those two months ago, and only once. I was really hoping you would help me find some so Iloh has not to do all the work. Maren told me you are very good at finding herbs." A little lie but the snow queen knew that Gelwa admired the warrior greatly. Elsa offered Gelwa her hand.
For a long moment just looked at back at her, not making any move to take her it. Suddenly Gale flew by outside, calling something that only Elsa could understand.
"Your great grandfather likes the smell of meadowsweet, doesn't he? Wouldn't it be nice if you could bring him some?"
"Who told you that?" Gelwa asked, her eyes narrowing the slightest bit as if to make out if Elsa was tricking her somehow.
The fifth spirit raised one of her eyebrows and gave the girl a small smile: "Only ahthoallan knows."
Was that the faintest ghost of a smile on Gelwa's face?
A little hand found Elsa's and held on tight.
Gelwa had run a little ahead of Elsa and Iloh, both women were laden with a full basket each. They took their time to get back to camp - the weather was very enjoyable indeed. Elsa watched as the young girl jump skillfully from a rock, grabbing onto a very low hanging branch, swinging two, three times then letting go – flying, her hair gleaming in the sun that shone through the leaves of the trees – before landing deftly on her feet and started to run again without a stumble. The fifth spirit started to get what Honeymaren meant with 'showing great promise'. When Gelwa moved it was very controlled and smooth besides her young age and she really was strong and fast for a four-year-old. Her heart contracted painfully as she thought of the dire situation the girl was in.
"How long has Ven left?"
"We don't know. Rue said it could be a week, a month, a year. He might recover from his cough, regain a little strength and stay with us a while longer, he might not and leave us. Only athohallan knows." Ilho answered her beautiful green eyes unusually dull.
"Were will she stay? Who will take care of her?"
"Yelena is trying to find someone. A lot are willing but….well, there two sides to this. She doesn't want anyone but Ven and she completely shuts Yelena or Rue out when their try to talk to her about it."
Elsa face must have shown her worry because Iloh quickly added: "She will never be alone though. She is a northuldra. She is one of us. We will take care of her!"
Elsa smiled at the resourcing pat on her shoulder. The two young women caught up with Gelwa who was crouching now, hands and knees on the ground, her intense gaze fixed on a beautiful flower with purple petals Elsa didn't recognize.
"Oh you found fireweed!" Iloh said with a kind smile.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? Why don't you pick it for your Gran-Ven?"
"He loves purple." The girl offered carefully, her face and eyes not revealing anything.
"But if I pick it, it's going to die. I don't want that." She said simply, as if not caring. But Elsa saw that Gelwa's eyes had lingered a little too long on the flower before she got up and for second it was like former queen of arendelle could see herself a little girl again, only slightly older, deprived of everything that brought her joy and comfort because of circumstances that she had no power over – only, with time, to think that life had to be this way, an endless string off cold regrets, dark dreams and lonely, sleepless nights.
'No! Not this time!' Elsa's screamed that thought in her head, her whole being vibrating with it and she surprised that Iloh could not hear her. And somewhere one of the Earth Giants seemed to think so too. With soft rustling sound a hole in the ground appeared direct in front of Gelwa, stopping her dead in her tracks. Slowly the girl leaned carefully over the hole, peeking into the darkness only to jump back as a perfectly crafted flowerpot out of stone was thrown out of the depths of the earth high into the air, landing smoothly in her arms. The hole vanished. All looked as if nothing had happened.
Slowly Gelwa turned around facing the fifth spirit, her eyes holding an odd gleam. Elsa simply looked back at these light brown eyes, which seemed to belong to a much older person than the little girl that stood facing her, all grown up before her time.
'Suffering would do that to you.' Elsa thought, offered Gelwa a small smile and summoned a little shovel of ice. She didn't turn as the child came silently to her side, helping her dig out the plant with her bare hands.
The three returned in the early afternoon. The camp was still quite empty for most were still out working. Iloh quickly checked on Ven, only to find his condition unchanged – while Gelwa placed the flowerpot with the fireweed close to her great grandfather's bed so he would see it right away if he woke up and placed some meadowsweet under his pillow so the smell would surround him while sleeping. To Elsa's and Iloh's surprise Gelwa joined them as they headed the cry for help of Venling and Trad, both trying to tame and bath an excited group of children that still carried signs of Brunis artistic endeavors. It was quite warm so the river had been the chosen bathtub. Elsa saw Linga, with the little fire spirit still sitting proudly on top of her head, in a whispered conversation with five other children – clearly planning something, their eyes shining with mischief. She tucked Iloh along and the two of them intervened before anything reckless could be done. Flippan's appearance strengthened the numbers of the grown-ups to five and together there were able to settle all kids down – soon the river was as colorful as Linga's painting.
Like everything the northuldra made, the paint was not harmful for nature and Nokk seemed quite interested in them. She formed herself out of the colored water, clearly enjoying the admiring 'oohs' and 'ahhs' of her young audience. Elsa could sympathies – Nokk looked like a beautiful autumn day in the forest. The nice weather seemed to bring out the playful side of the water spirit and soon she let herself be chased, appearing and reappearing at will, splashing water and parcened around like a young foal. Elsa smiled and couldn't believe that the so aloof and proud Nokk could be such a dork at times.
The whole mop of children had joined the spirit in her game – all but two. That Gelwa did not join in was no surprise, she rarely did these days - but Linga?
Yet here she was, sitting next to Gelwa and, it must be said, talking the other's girl's ears off. Linga seemed to need no breath at all as she babbled on about her painting, how she made the colors for said painting, how many words Fen could say by now, what kind of food she liked most, how Trad had told her the scariest story and got trouble with Venling has she could not sleep afterward and on and on and on!
At first Elsa thought that Gelwa was ignoring the sheer onslaught of words as she stoically washed her dirty hands in the water but sometimes she would give a curt nod ore a very short and precise question – showing that she was listening carefully.
The sun started to sink lower, time to head back and prepare dinner. Nokk bowed playfully before the now clean children but before she vanished she trotted over to Gelwa and Linga – lowering her head so the small artist could reach out and pat her snout.
"Bye Nokk, I play with you next time, ok? You know what? I am nearly finished with my painting! I'll show you after dinner if you want." Linga turned to her silent companion, her eyes shining: "Gelwa, can you help me carry the big bucket? Nokk needs to be closer to see and I want her to comfortable. Gelwa is really strong you know!" Linga explained proudly to the water spirit, her eyes still on the other girl – obviously trying to look endearing. Gelwa simply looked back at Linga – face and eyes not giving away what she was thinking. Then her light brown eyes seemed to soften for a second but it was so fast that Elsa could not be sure that it really had happened.
"Ok. I'll help." Was the short answer and Gelwa turned to Nokk, both ignoring the happy squeal Linga let out as she run to her mother to tell her that she would have a guest this evening.
There they stood, facing each other - the spirit and the human girl, one standing on water and the other on solid ground, watching each other carefully, searching for something in the other's eyes. Nokks beautiful, yet somewhat wild gaze softened as she pushed her snout forward only for it to be met halfway by Gelwa's hand, softly stroking her – eyes never were leaving each other.
"Bye Nokk." The girl said, eyes lacking there intense sadness for a moment. The water spirit fondly nipped at her braid and was about to leave as she became aware of the dry smile Elsa gave her. The snow queen thanked her fellow spirit for her kindness but not with a little friendly jib to it!
'Softy' she thought, teasing the proud Nokk. The graceful spirit threw her head back, it nearly looked like she was rolling her eyes – then she tapped gently with her front hove on the surface and vanished.
A big wave hit Elsa – only her, mind you – drenched her completely and pulled her further into the river. Venling and Iloh were not the only ones that laughed so hard that they had tears in there eyes as both women reached out to Elsa and pulled her back on her feet.
Cooking had been completely new for Elsa, being a former queen and it had taken Maren a good portion of her time living in the forest to teach her the basics. To Elsa's shame (and delight) they had spent hours in front of a fire, Maren trying to stifle her laughter when the great fifth spirit managed to burn her stew yet again only to be silenced by a snowball that hit her on the shoulder. But eventually, Elsa had managed to cook something eatable herself and found the task enjoyable even. She made a point to help when she had the time. What she loved most about it was the easy camaraderie it would bring. There was always someone to talk to if this was your wish.
Just like now. Elsa sat close to a fire on a tree log, cutting some parsley root into a pot and talked to Rue – the old woman chuckled at the tale of Bruni's exploits. Gelwa and Linga, under the watchful eyes of Flippan, did their share. At least Gelwa and Flippan were helping - Linga was back at talking like a waterfall with the taller girl as her newfound faithful listener.
Bruni was still on Linga's head, snoring quietly in his sleep.
Trad, already fully prepared for his night guard duty, sat with Venling and took care of the fire so it would be just right for cooking, Fen was happily sitting in her mother's lap, while Alvor and Iloh grinded some herbs and chopped up roots and mixed the result with water to a spicy paste that, in Elsa's opinion, gave even the simplest meal a rich flavor. Both were absorbed in a lively, yet whispered conversation and as Venling, who sat next to them, leaned over and shared something Elsa could not hear Venling and Iloh broke out in hysteric giggles. And was that a smile on Alvor's face? What was going on!?
A moment later she got her answer. Vakker had arrived. Maren's very big, strong and nearly black-furred reindeer loved to make a short visit at the camp after returning with her rider, meeting some of the children and let herself be cuddled before returning to the herd for the night. The friendly animal had already an older boy on her bag that happily hugged her while three or four other children stood around and patted her. That could only mean that Maren had returned home – a fact that Iloh did not miss.
'Oh Uh'
"What are you talking about? Care to share?" Flippan asked smugly as he through a little piece of root at Iloh. The young woman caught it deftly with one hand.
"Oh, nothing special." Her eyes darted to Elsa – gleaming in way that only could mean trouble for the spirit.
"I was just saying that the arendelle way of dancing is very fun. I really enjoyed it at the coronation but it's been awhile and I was wondering if Honeymaren could show me again. She is sooo good at it, right Elsa?" Iloh looked like a cat ready to pounce.
'Say something - anything!" Elsa's mouth felt dry.
"Sure." She offered in a voice that was only a little higher than normal but it was enough for Iloh to know she hit a nerve. Her smile grew bigger, she opened her mouth to say more but then something behind Elsa caught her eye.
"Speaking of the devil there she…" she stopped abruptly, all playfulness gone, eyes wide she yelled: "Honeymaren! Are you hurt?" Iloh was already up, Alvor close on her heels, as Elsa stood herself and turned around – Iloh's words were ringing in her ear! As Elsa's eyes found Maren cold terror was griping her heart. The warrior was covered in blood. It was on her clothes, half of her face was soiled, her left hand all read.
But why was Maren so calm? Was she smiling? Her arms were raised in a reassuring gesture as she said something. Elsa had to use all her self-control to calm herself down and listen.
"Relax everyone. I am fine. It was just the 'helpful hand' of Gale that that gave me a little push."
'Alright? How can she be alright? Is she….wait, is that…?'
"Paint!?" Elsa spoke out loud as she stepped closer, inspecting Maren's face and clothes. What she had mistaken for blood was defiantly something else.
Maren smiled kindly at her, brown eyes shining warmly and Elsa felt a pang in her chest.
'Damn, I missed that woman all day!'
"Not quite but I know someone who can make some out of these." she said holding a carefully warped bundle in her uncolored hand so Elsa could see, before walking past her to Linga. The little girl stood still with a now awake Bruni on her head, Gelwa still at her side, looking somewhat fearful until she saw that Maren was smiling, telling the girl it all was well.
"Here little paintbrush, I think Gale wanted you to have these. They should solve your Bruni problem." Maren said simply and placed the bundle in Linga's outstretched hands. With big eyes the girl opened it and revealed a handful of small, deep black mushrooms – Linga's eyes were sparkling as she gave Gelwa the mushrooms, hugged Maren so tight that it forced the air out of her lungs and rushed off to finally finish her masterpiece, now just as covered in squashed mushrooms as her benefactor. Maren smiled after the exited little artist then turned her attention to Gelwa who still held on faithfully to the bundle, holding Honeymaren's gaze as she respectfully bowed her head a little, the greeting of a student to her teacher.
"Good evening Honeymaren."
"Gelwa, it's good to see you! How are you doing?
"Fine. Thank you. Will you be teaching classes again soon?"
"Soon. We are nearly finished. Give us a week and then we return to or normal schedule."
Both were straight to the point but friendly and simply adorable interacting with each other, Elsa decided.
'I have to watch a lesson with these two! So cute.'
Alvor seemed smitten with Maren's find as she took one of the small mushrooms and inspected it closely: "There are perfect! Where did you find these? Are there more?"
"Oh, just about a thousand! There is little cave close to the dam and it's full of those little guys."
"Uhhh you have to show us where it is tomorrow!" Iloh nearly jumped with joy, in a very Anna like way.
"What makes them so special?" Elsa asked.
"They're called 'black rubies'. There are very good for disinfecting wounds and as you can see, make a beautiful red color when you squash them." Maren explained dryly, turning back to Elsa gesturing at her clothes and face.
Elsa had to fight hard that her smile did not grow too big. With one eyebrow raised, she looked at the warrior.
"And when you say 'Gale's helping' hand you mean…"
"Jepp, she thought the best way to show me was to push me right into the flipping cave. It was quite the fall, let me tell you. I REALLY COULD HAVE HURT MYSELF!" she yelled the last words loud into the air and in the distance there was sound, familiar to little bells ringing, only it sounded much like a laugh.
Maren sighed deeply, hung her head, arms crossed over her chest, mumbling to herself: "Spirits."
She had been quite but Elsa was standing close to her.
"Ahh come one. Not all of us are bad!" the snow queen said so only Maren would hear her.
'What would Anna say if she heard me talking like this?'
The warrior lifted her head, meeting Elsa's gaze, smiling that smile of hers. Some while ago the little tug in her chest would have had a comeback at this point but it had long since transformed into a constant, not unpleasant pressure close to her heart, that would intensive when she saw Maren or thought about her. Now, as she looked into these molten pools of dark honey that were Maren's eyes she felt it was incredibly hard to breathe all of the sudden.
'Molten pools of dark honey?!Really!? Get a grip, Elsa!'
"GELWA! COME QUICK! I NEED THE MUSHROOMS." Linga bellowed, scaring a flog of birds out of the trees close by yet again and made the whole camp flinch. That girl could scream!
"You better go." Maren chuckled lightly and ruffled Gelwa's head fondly, so her hat slipped a little over her eyes. Elsa could swear that there was that ghost of a smile again she had seen early that day as the girl reaches out to fix her hat.
'Maybe I just am imaging thing. Maybe not.' But Linga cut Elsa's thoughts short.
Like a flash she appeared at Gelwa's side, a manic gleam in her eyes, gripping the taller girl's arm and tried to drag her off to her goahti but Gelwa dug in her heels, her eyes on the uncut vegetables that they had discarded at Maren's arrival.
"And the big bucket! We need the big…. one ….for Nokk." Linga said voice strained because of the effort she had to put in - the smaller girl was nearly hanging horizontally at Gelwa's side, teeth gritted, giving it her all but to no avail.
"Oh come on! You….didn't even…. budge?!" poor Linga had to give up and with her head hung, hands on her knees and heavy breathing she was the picture of utter defeat. Elsa had to work really hard not to laugh and as she turned to hide her smile she could see that she was not the only one.
"It's fine Gelwa. I just wash up and then I help with dinner. You two run along, we get you when food is ready." Maren said casually, waving them of friendly. An offended 'breep' later and the warrior was made aware of the fire spirit himself sitting on top of Linga's head.
"Oh forgive me, great spirit. I meant you three run along, of course!" Maren bowed to Bruni. He accepted it like a king, earning a giggle from Linga.
Gelwa simply looked for a moment at Maren, as if estimating her.
"Thank you." she said simply, grabbing Linga, easily dragging her along with one hand.
Maren's eyes were soft as she watched the two girls wander of – Linga had caught herself, took the lead again, the determent gleam in her eyes had returned. As both were out of sight Maren turned to the little group around the campfire that had started to prepare dinner again.
"Ok! Who managed to get Gelwa out of this hut? I have been trying for weeks and all I could manage was that she would come for training." The young warrior seemed clearly impressed.
"Elsa did!" Iloh was quick to answer.
Warm brown eyes, that held a hint of adoration found Elsa's.
"How did you do that?"
"Oh she was great! You know, all like 'I don't know what meadowsweet looks like' and 'only ahtohallan knows' and of we went into the woods for a nice sunny day outside. It was perfect!" Iloh explained further; clearly proud of Elsa and the snow queen felt yet another wave of affection hit her hard.
"Well done Elsa!" Rue added stroking her hand like a grandmother would and as Alvor, Flippan, Venling and Trad agreed silently by nodding their approval Elsa was sure she would drown in friendship and love.
'Ok, you are getting all emotional now. Hold it together!"
"How long do you think we can leave Gelwa alone with Linga before her ears fall off?" Maren whispered so only Elsa could hear her, causing the taller woman to nearly snort-laugh. Leave it to Maren to break the tension.
"You are evil!" she said just as quietly hitting the other playfully on the shoulder.
"Oh, I better go before the wrath of the ice witch hits me with all its might. Be right back!" and off she was to clean herself and change clothes. Elsa smile stayed as Maren left but quickly vanished as the spirits gaze met Iloh's, who gifted her a knowing smirk.
'Uh Oh!"
"Say Elsa wouldn't you agree with me that Homeymaren, even in this tattered tunic has a really nice piece of..!" the stern look of Alvor interrupted the apprentice.
"What? I wanted to say really nice piece, of….big...heart." Iloh ended somewhat lamely while clearly trying to look as endearing as possible. Trad and Flippan roared with laughter, Venling fought a gallant battle against her chuckle while Alvor was rolling her eyes, clearly trying to cover a smile. Elsa's face was feeling quite hot all of a sudden.
"Our Honeymaren is very kind and she has indeed a very big heart." Rue's words were not harsh, but her tone conveyed clearly that this subject was done with and all should find something else to talk about.
"Yes, Rue." All answered as one.
A pause in which all worked silently. And just as Elsa's face started to feel normal again -
"And she sure has a nice rear end, you don't need eyes to know that!" Rue cackled dirtily. For a mere second there was stunned silence, then all but Elsa exploded with laughter, joining Rue in her fun, laughing so hard that breathing became hard soon. The spirit hide her face in her hands, red like a squashed 'black ruby', whishing that one of the Earth Giants had mercy and let the ground swallowed her.
Surprisingly, even after being utterly humiliated, dinner turned out to be quite nice. Especially now that Iloh had stopped teasing her. Fara, the wife of Alvor and a comrade of Maren, had joined them, contributing a flask of blueberry frizz. The tall, lean woman with the scar on her left cheek smiled at the happy face of Linga and the polite 'thank you' Gelwa offred. Children loved that drink.
"Where are your boys, you two?" Rue asked after greeting Fara.
"Staying with the grandparents." Alvor answered.
Elsa had nearly choked on her own spit when she first heard that Alvor was a mother of two boys! But the strict woman could be just as sweet as Venling when it came to them. And the bond she had with Fara was simply endearing, both claimed there had loved each other since there were very young and when Elsa watched them interact...well, one could get the impression.
A clean Honeymaren had returned with Ryder close behind. The young men gave Elsa a big hello, swopping her of her feet in a bone-crushing hug, claiming how much he had missed her. If Elsa was completely honest she had missed him too. A great deal even. Honeymaren's younger brother had become a dear friend and both had been so busy that they had barely seen each other. A lot of the reindeer had calves and that meant more work for Ryder, causing him to spent long hours with his charges.
"You know what! Come with me tomorrow. Clover is close to giving birth and is it like they say: 'You are not a true northuldra if you have not brought at least one reindeer into this world'."
Maren snorted but Elsa asked: "Who is saying that?"
"Me." He said simply, arms crossed in a way that reminded Elsa of Maren, a smile on his face that was a mix of Kristoff's kindness, Anna's goofiness and something that was so Ryder that she found herself laughing, even if the joke was more than mediocre.
"I can't wait." Elsa said and Ryder's smile grew even bigger, if this was at all possible.
It was getting late, Rue assisted by Iloh and Flippan had gone to bed, Alvor and Fara wandered off too, Trad was long gone on his night watch, Venling had brought Fen and a very colorful and very asleep Linga to bed. The little artist had sat with Gelwa to her right, AND WAS STILL TALKING, but the taller girl seemed to have endless patience when came to the waterfall that was Linga. Deftly Gelwa had saved the other girl and Bruni as Linga had drowsed off, she had held her so she would not fall flat on her face, preventing a rude wake-up call for the smaller girl and the lizard. As Linga was carried away Gelwa got up, thanked everyone for the meal and speed of to the resting-huts. Ryder yawned shamelessly, whished his sister good night, said to Elsa he would wake her at the crack of dawn and left for his hut.
As it seemed to happen a lot, Elsa and Maren found each other alone togehter. The fire had dimed already making the stars above them shine even brighter. Conversation was always easy with Maren. It flowed like a creek between them, sometimes swift, sometimes slow but always pleasant and refreshing.
"You can be proud Elsa! Get Gelwa to spend nearly the whole day outside is not easy!"
"Thank you! I was glad I could help. She is such a sweet girl…I hope she is going to be ok." Elsa could not keep her voice from faltering a little.
"Don't worry. She is northuldra. We take care of each other. She never will be alone!" Maren said - everything about her screamed determination to make her words come true. Elsa felt herself smiling.
"Iloh said something like that too."
"Well, when Iloh said it must be true!" brown eyes were laughing at her.
"Oh you ARE evil!" another light hit to the shoulder was the warrior's reward. Maren held her arm dramatically, claiming she would not able to fulfiller her duties tomorrow. Elsa chuckled lightly; Maren could be such a dork sometimes - the pressure in her chest intensified.
"Thank you for breakfast by the way." She averted her eyes, her hands clasped together.
"My pleasure." A warm hand found its way on Elsa's shoulder and as the taller woman turned to Maren she found even warmer eyes holding her gaze.
"So, how was the rest of your day?" the warrior asked, her hands now on her sides as she looked up into the night sky, only coals remain gleaming of the once proud fire. Elsa also turned her eyes upwards, taking in the beauty of the sparkling black above them as she thought about the question. She saw Venling before her inner eye, kind and patient and understanding, Linga that comforted a sad Bruni, Rue wisely teaching and quick-witted, Iloh that could be caring but also full of mirth, Flippan's playful eyes, serious Alvor being all dutiful, gaze softening when she talked to Fara, poor Gelwa who was so brave, taking care of her great-grandfather, her fellow spirits, each kind in their own way, lovable and dorky Ryder and then Maren, bringing her breakfast in the morning, getting Linga the plants she needed to finish her picture, Maren whom she missed all day, Maren with the kind eyes who always knew what to say to make her feel better.
The last coals diminished, leaving the two women in total darkness, only the light from above remained.
Elsa smiled at the stars – long, so long ago she had believed loving Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, Sven and herself was all she would ever have, a gift already worth so much she could barely believe she had in her life. But now she found herself gifted yet again with so much more than she ever imagined.
The warrior sat so close that she could feel the warmth radiating off her skin.
"Oh, you know..." Elsa turned slightly to catch Maren's gaze: "It was simply the sweetest!"
Maren's eyes sparkled like the stars.