It was still dark outside as Elsa woke up, a razor-sharp plan in her mind how she could help Maren make it through the first Trial and something that felt like an icy claw scraping at her heart. Fear and uncertainty had not fallen asleep wit Elsa but rose with her as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.
Maren was already dressed, ready to get going and looking almost offensively awake for this early hour. With a smile the warrior passed her a cup of coffee, taking in her tired eyes with a sympathetic look.
"Sorry that you have to get up so early too."
"You are kidding? Nothing in the world could keep me from being there for you today. And I have a plan."
Elsa said, suddenly wide awake, not able to completely banish the worry out of her voice.
Eyebrows rose so high they nearly vanished behind dark bangs let Elsa quickly say: "I will do nothing! Like I promised, but I will ask Nokk and Gale to follow you, only following you, nothing else so I know when our guests do something that is against the rules and I have to freeze them. Easy! "
Elsa said, doing her best to come across as relaxed, but she could feel that Maren was looking right through her act.
"Good…that actually makes me feel safer. But don't tell Yelena, or anyone for that matter, it will only make them worry more. We have to look strong for the others, you and me."
'We have to look strong? Oh, Maren.' Elsa thought, her breath hitching in her throat.
And then, as the warrior smiled reassuringly at her, and Elsa saw something soft gleam in this brown eyes she had learned to read so well over the past months, something grateful and deep - she understood something, not just with her mind but with her heart as well, really grasping what it meant to have someone at your side.
'She trusts me.'
This woman loved her, cherished and trusted her.
And now she was threatened, in danger while she fought for her people.
There it was again, the fear of losing her. Elsa tried to calm herself, thinking of the fact that the hunters were not allowed to carry weapons, but a little voice in the back of her head piped up, stating a simple truth.
'Ah stone, picked up from the ground can crack a skull just as well as any club, or a sturdy branch swung by a strong arm, again and again, could do the trick too.'
It was maddening, fear crashing down on her in waves, and Elsa could not even intervene like she wanted to. She had made a promise and Maren was so confident that she could make it, and as she stood there, in her strong and upright, a true protector of her people, Elsa believed that she could. But the fear of losing her was strong, almost overwhelming her but like always, Maren seemed to know what was going on in her mind.
"Don't worry Elsa. In this Trial, there are not even weapons allowed. I will be fine."
The snow queen fixated her; slightly displeased that Maren could read her so easily.
"But it's good to know you have my back, that you take care of me."
"Always." The spirit said simply, meaning it with all her heart.
'So proof it, Elsa!'
The spirit smiled at the warrior, pushing the wild mix of emotions down, while simultaneously reaching out for Gale and Nokk, asking them to stay close to Maren, protect her if necessary but never reveal themselves. Both spirits answered instantly, reassuring her that they would keep an eye out for Maren, sending Elsa calming waves and soft breezes that only she could feel – and suddenly she was more than thankful that she ended up with these particular spirits.
"They agreed to stay close to you. But maybe I could ask them -"
"They do enough already, Elsa. Now stop bugging these poor magical ladies and let's get going." Maren said kindly.
Elsa stood up, giving the warrior a quick kiss, before dressing, choosing an ice-dress but decorated with many symbols that were distinctly Northuldra, simply to make a point, earning a chuckle from Maren as she grabbed the white queen Gelwa had brought her yesterday, while the warrior put out the small fire she had used to make coffee.
They stepped outside, the black of the sky turning bluer with each second as they made their way to Yelena's gohati. Even though it was very early the whole tribe seemed awake, tense and worried judging by demeanor!
And close to Yelena's goahti, stood the leader herself, her hands clasped behind her back, Olaf at her side, the small snowman saying something that caused Yelena, even under these tense circumstances, to smile.
Kristoff had an arm around Anna, whispering in her ear, supportive and strong, like always and her sister leaned into him, but her eyes held this determent gleam, that Elsa knew all too well and suddenly she was very thankful that both had come, even if it made the situation tenser.
Maren's parents, Ryder, Fara and Trad, already waited in front of the slightly bigger hut of the leader.
To Elsa's surprise, Anna looked surprisingly fit, even though she was not an early riser, but Elsa saw how she pushed down a yawn discretely, making the snow queen smile as she stood next to her, after greeting everyone else.
"Tired?" she asked her younger sister, earning a reassuring look from her sister and as the red-head straightened her shoulders, she looked every ounce like a powerful queen. "Don't worry about me; I think Maren needs your attention more than I do!"
A snort next to Elsa made the two sisters turn to said warrior.
Maren stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, back straight the picture of absolute confidence.
"Don't worry." she said, first looking at the faces of the sisters, then turned her gaze to her family and friends, and then to the rest of the tribe that stood further away, nervously waiting, all incredibly concerned expressions on their faces.
"I got this." She said it with so much conviction, confidence radiating from her and all around her seemed to relax somewhat, eyes shone a bit brighter and some close by even laughed as Maren allowed her parents to fuss over her in a way that was more appropriate for a little child.
But the warrior stoically endured as her father evened out her clothes, seeing to it that her hat sat correctly on top of her head and evened out her hair. From where Elsa stood she could see that Skjolda did her best, as she looked at her daughter, her hands clutched together in front of her chest, but she seemed unable to hold back her tears, and like the first raindrops that came before a great storm, some hit her interwoven hands, leaving wet marks on her cheeks.
Maren's eyes turned from slightly amused upon her parent's affections to concerned in a second. Elsa knew that Skjolda was a very strong woman, fearless and proud; she probably cried only a handful of times in her life, and most certainly never in public.
"Mother." Maren tried to console her but she only made it worse, as she reached out to touch her mother's shoulder, the small woman started to cry in earnest and nothing Maren said seemed to console her.
Her warrior had clearly not counted on the deep love her family and tribe held for her, the wave of worry that crashed over her head.
Fiskar seemed just as emotional as his wife, even to though he managed to keep his tears at bay as he laid his arms around Skjolda, trying to provide some kind of comfort but the way he bore his fingers into her shoulders could have not been very reassuring.
Intuition gave Elsa direction again and with a look to Ryder, she signaled the young man with her eyes to follow her lead. The fifth spirit stepped next to the weeping mother, gently losing the death grip of her husband, while Ryder stood between his parents, serving as a bridge between the two, still connecting them, as he tried to be strong for his parents.
Elsa knew this was not easy for him as she saw the slightly forced way of his smile, that was only noticeable when one looked very closely and new him well. It was heartwarming to see how he tried to keep it together, and his efforts were rewarded, his mother stopped crying and his father seemed a little calmer as well. Elsa held the small woman next her close, speaking softly to her.
"Will you wait with me until the trial is over? I really could use the company."
To Elsa's surprise, Skjolda leaned into her, after letting out a breathy laugh, vigorously wiping her tears away.
"Thank you!" She whispered close to Elsa's ear before straightened up again, putting on a brave front, her hands only slightly shaking as she reached for her daughter, gently holding her by the shoulder.
"Please be careful."
Ryder hat managed in the meantime to calm his father down, the tall man reaching for the other shoulder of his eldest child, his eyes speaking, saying so much with them just like his daughter was able too.
"Of course!" Maren said, allowing her family to hold her shortly before the sounds of a group coming closer, caused her to step out of the family hug, giving them one last confident grin as she passed them by, taking her position to Yelena's right. They shared a look and nodded to each other before facing the group of the other tribes, the leader and her next-in-line, a gesture that showed familiarity and deep trust in each other and as they stood shoulder to shoulder, strong and unyielding, Elsa could feel how the rest of the fear the tribe vanished, transformed into a determination.
'How are they doing this?' Elsa asked herself probably for the hundredth time she had come to life in the forest, as she admired the extraordinary ability to bring out the best in the people around them with their mere presence.
Their guests arrived, but this time none was caring a weapon or armor of any kind only Lato Garugel and her successor Usko had their birds on their shoulders.
The owl sat calmly on Lato's shoulder, not at all bothered, by the daylight or the many strangers around it. It was a funny little creature – with his brown soft-looking plumage, that was sprinkled with black and white dots, and the long feather ears on top of its head, it almost looked cute, comical even but its huge dark- yellow eyes, that shined even brighter thanks to the black, thick rings around its iris, it appeared that the bird was always displeased whit whatever his gaze fell upon, its huge pupils pitch black pools of disregard.
But the white gyrfalcon was unwilling to be here and showed it! Unhappily it flapped its wings from time to time, looked nervously around and as a young woman Elsa did not recognize, that stood relatively close to Usko, leaned forward the slightest bit, to see better, was enough to make the bird screech aggressively!
But by the way it skootched closer to Usko's head, leaning into him slightly, made it clear to Elsa that the poor animal was afraid more than anything else. Usko was murmuring to him, stroking the feathers at its chest softly, calming the bird easily, and reminding the snow queen of Ryder that spoke for and with the reindeer, coaxing them to do his bidding without doing much.
When this bird was similar well trained as the reindeer of the tribe, it would be hard for Maren to avoid its sharp eyes that could spot the warrior easily even when high up in the sky and the white feathers would provide excellent camouflage among snowed in branches.
'Great…' Elsa thought displeased sighing discreetly.
Not all fifty that had come would participate in the hunting party that would go after Maren, only two from each tribe would be granted that honor.
As Lato and Usko stepped forward, announcing that they would provide the Nord portion of the party, Elsa found her fears confirmed that the birds would be a part of the hunt.
Alykas send two stout women called Kuo and Lema, for the Itaan. They had thick, musclebound arms like all Ittan seemed too, and with their light brown hair and blue eyes, they looked so much alike that Elsa was pretty sure they were twins.
Vil had chosen Hankana, her successor, and a very young man called Tann that barley had come of age by the looks of it, with blond hair and dark brown eyes. The many freckles that graced his pale cheeks and his slightly large front teeth made him look even younger, but if the proud Vil had chosen him as a member of the hunting party, he must be very skillful.
And the Etelar had chosen Gral, her grey eyes stoically looking ahead, avoiding to meet anyone's eyes and a small, very thin man, with very dark brown eyes, long grey hair and thick eyebrows. He was introduced as Orn his hollow cheeks and very strong hook nose giving Elsa the impression of a proud eagle, his hair swaying slightly in the cold breeze. Taitava stepped forward, his ever pleasant smile on his face as he spoke.
"We have chosen our participants as tradition demands it. We are ready. Have you chosen the prize that has to be brought back?"
That was Elsa cue, she stepped forward, standing next to Maren, presenting the white queen. Vil scoffed, but everyone else did not show their opinion that Elsa was the one that presented the trinket. Taitava's smile did not falter as he continued.
"Very well. We are ready and await your signal, Yelena Lethia."
The leader of the Northuldra looked up to the tree line waiting for the rising sun to appear above it. The minutes ticked by, no one spoke and as first rays of the sun touched Yelena's face, she gave a Maren a small nod, the sign for her to make the most of her head start. But the warrior seemed to think otherwise. She turned to Elsa, took her hand, and kissed her, in front of them all.
"Don't cancel your lesson with Gelwa this evening. I will be back by then." she whispered to Elsa, but the snow queen was sure that some of the hunting party had heard her.
The warrior turned, elegantly breaking into an easy run, vanishing into the forest like this was just a normal day for her, filled with patrols and fighting lessons. It had been a chaste kiss, nothing lewd but the fact that she used precious time to say goodbye in this way came across…a little cocky?!
'Maren, what are you doing?' Elsa was not sure if she should be mad or amused…maybe a little bit of both?
Maren had one hour, then the hunters would be allowed to track her down.
To shorten their wait, Yelena let fires be light, provided food and warm drinks for all, while the hunters prepared themselves for the coming task. It always amazed Elsa how well the Northuldra seemed to be able to measure time, even though they had spent so long without a clear sky, for exactly one hour later Yelena, who had barely moved from her spot, only accepting coffee from her daughter, leaving it untouched, letting it turn cold in her hand, spoke again, loud and clear, all attention on her instantly on her.
"It is time. Elsa?" Elsa was allowed to choose the hunter that was supposed to hold on to the prize, without much thought she choose Lato, the smaller woman took the chess peace, both human and owl examining it carefully. After a moment Lato offered the spirit a small smile before putting the figurine into her broad belt, before leading the hunters out of the camp into the forest, leaving a whole tribe with heavy hearts full of uncertainty behind.
The spirit joined her sister who was talking with Skjolda, Ryder and Kristoff who were talking about reindeer but for once seemed not really into it and Fiskar who stared extremely worried into the forest.
Olaf stood next to Yelena again, the leader appeared like a statue once more, barely moving but as the snowmen laid a little stick- hand on her arm, she relaxed and as Iloh resolutely gave her mother another fresh coffee, almost ordering her to sit down with Rue, making the ancient healer laugh out loud, everyone else slowly settled down too for the long wait. Only some needed to work, or helped to provide for the guests.
Elsa sat next to Fiskar, who still looked glum and bumped into his side with her shoulder, just like his daughter would have done. That did the trick and made the man smiled thankfully at her and as Issun came over, offering the fisher some of his favorite tea, before moving on to Skjolda, tripping over himself to be helpful and supportive.
Elsa nearly laughed at his antics, only the dazzling smile Ryder gave the other man stopping her.
'These two are the cutest...do Maren and I act like this too?' Elsa thought, wishing that this was not the case
Fiskar on the other hand seemed to have not such reservations, as he sniggered slightly. Elsa smiled, happy that the tall man seemed to relax a little, leaning closer so only he could hear her whispered words.
"It's cute how much he tries isn't it?"
"Well, he better be. I don't hand out my children to just anyone!" he said, making them both laugh, before sipping at his tea, comfortable silence falling over them.
At one point Glewa appeared out of nowhere at Elsa side, making the spirit jump a little as she shy but also in a brisk fashion sat next to her, appearing a little surprised over her own boldness of seeking the spirit out like that. Elsa did not question the sudden urge in her, as she tenderly stroke Gelwa's cheek with her cool hand making the girl looked up at her, an unreadable expression in her so light brown eyes.
"Don't you worry! It's going to be alright." she said kindly, and as Gelwa carefully leaned into her side, stiff and tense, clearly unsure if she overstepped a line here, it surprised Elsa little how much her chest swelled at that gesture, how much space Gelwa had already claimed in her heart.
Carefully she held the girl closer to her side, one arm around her and as she felt Gelwa relax against her, she did not need to see to know that her eyes searched the tree line too as they waited together.
As soon Maren was out of sight she stopped running, thoroughly erasing every trace that could betray where she was going to go, before climbing the next tree close by. Hidden away by the branches she made her way back to camp, choosing a pine to hide in, its evergreen nature hiding her even in winter perfectly.
The warrior lay there, quite comfortably on a thick branch with a good view at the camp, silent as a shadow, letting the hour pass her by, witnessing who Elsa choose to carry the prize. Maren was more than pleased as she saw how Elsa picked Lato, a plan already forming in her mind.
Quickly heading back to where she had left her trail, she jumped back on her path quickly making her way through the forest leaving clear sings along the way the hunters would follow, before reaching a false trail that lead further east, on of many that the Northuldra created to mislead any unwanted trespassers.
A little more than a day ago Maren had renewed this particular one in preparation for their guests so she was pretty confident her little ruse would work. Connecting her new and old trail, she took to the trees again, taking a detour to the small river she often went fishing at night, when she needed some time to herself or more recently, time alone with Elsa.
But now, as she reached the small goahti that had been build there, well-hidden and always stocked with anything one needed to make a good catch, the tender moments she spend here with the fifth spirit lingered somewhere in the background of her mind, nearly overshadowed by something she had not felt in a long while!
The thrill of a challenge! How she loved that feeling, the excitement of having new opponents she could measure her strength and skill against, almost made her feel giddy and as she opened one small chest, looking down on its content, she could not wait to set in her plan into action.