"Thanks for meeting with me. Now that the forest is open, we have some people from the city wanting to join us, some of our own wanting to go to the city. It's a lot of planning, how we can be inclusive without losing our sense of who we are. I never dreamed we'd see the fog clear, much less have to think about special wagon trails or making more food than we need so we can start trading."
Bruni cuddled on Elsa's shoulder. Now that the weather was getting warmer, the fire spirit lived off the cooling mini-clouds produced by the sorceress of snow and preferred to stay close. She lightly pet the lizard's head before returning her attention to Yelana.
"There's a lot to do now that the curse is lifted. I'm happy to help."
"Are you sure?" the older woman questioned, pausing their walk through the village, "I worry I've assumed just because you were once queen that you'd like to be a bigger player here. I think you're great at it, and we certainly feel you are one of us, but is this what you want?"
Elsa glanced around at the people completing their daily tasks and towering trees that surrounded them, meditating on the future plans they had been discussing mere moments before.
"The Northuldra live in harmony with the magic of the forest. I happen to be an extension of that magic. I do truly want to help. And helping you means helping the spirits," she explained, absentmindedly spinning her fingers through the miniature snow cloud precipitating on her shoulder, "I'm still figuring out exactly where I fit in with that, and I may not be the all-knowing being some of the people think I am...but I want to be part of the bridge that unites all of us together. City, woods, and magic," Elsa explained before stating more softly, "If anything, my sister and I owe you and your people so much after what our grandfather did."
"We've earned each other's respect and trust. Sometimes the most beautiful things require taking a leap of faith," the elder replied with a gentle smile, "Though, sounds like I still need to start thinking of getting an official apprentice to work with you on that."
They continued on their stroll, and while most of their business and planning was concluded for the day, Elsa found herself radiating around the scenes of everyday life before them, taking joy in observing parents teaching their children how to tie a fishing line or waving at the farmers taking a break from sowing the ground. It was home.
Shouts and barking laughter echoed across the camp. When Elsa raised an eyebrow to Yelana, she rolled her eyes, walking in the direction of the noise, walking stick steadily thumping against the dirt with the beat of each step.
"Combat training."
As they approached in the distance, Elsa saw a group of people in a small clearing on the edge of the village, some watching while others appeared to be running and moving.
Once Yelana brought them to the tree line, upon closer inspection, Elsa could see larger branches had been whittled down to rough quarterstaffs. Heavy cracks tore through the air, signaling the clashing of the wooden weapons. Some clapped each other on the shoulders in victory and they all seemed to laugh at the less graceful moments as they took turns dueling. It reminded her of the guard training in the castle courtyard without the stuffiness of formal uniform and a captain barking orders.
The swing of a familiar braid caught her eye. Elsa gasped.
The heavy, long tunic was gone, a thinner, lighter vest in its place. She had only known the Northuldra people during the fall and winter. They always had sleeves and high collars to protect against the cold of the northern region. Skin was a new discovery.
Elsa felt a sting of embarrassment that something so human overwhelmed her so suddenly. Ice was rigid, geometrically methodical, and cold. Heat, chaotic and desperate, was very new and overwhelming. The sight of Honeymaren's skin should not have sparked this much heat.
"Running around with the herds all day keeps her spry, doesn't it?"
Her arms flexed with energy, the staff in her hands spinning swiftly with the twist of her wrists. Calm and confident, she held her ground even when others barreled towards her, springing at the last moment with powerful speed. She dodged effortlessly, her body easily bending before she countered with the momentum. Sweat beaded on her forehead and glistened on her arms and her chest, but eyes remained fierce despite the exertion.
She was warm and bold and like the spring sunshine around them.
"She's a good fighter. Strong and nimble, but smart about it," Yelana commented.
The blonde beside her nodded absentmindedly. Honeymaren was smirking devilishly now, saying something to her opponent.
"Lady Elsa, I should mention you're blizzarding."
"What?" She turned to see a concentrated flurry of white pouring down her shoulder. With a gasp, she quickly waved, dissipating the cloud and snow entirely.
The retialian spirit that remained looked incredibly displeased.
"I'm sorry."
Bruni flashed its tongue before making a show of leaping from Elsa's shoulder. Both women watched as its little body wiggled away into the forest. Elsa sighed, pointedly not turning to meet Yelana's gaze after such a mortifying display.
There was a pause before the Northuldran asked, "What's it like in Arendelle these days? Is it still 'man marries woman' and that's that?"
Elsa's head whipped around, eyes wide.
"Pardon?"
Yelana merely continued to stare expectantly.
Clearing her throat, she replied, "Same-sex marriage is legal. Though perhaps not common. I'm not sure what that has to do with-"
"Nature and Ahtohallan are beautiful teachers," the other interrupted, "I'm sure you know that even more than us now. But my people have always looked to the forest, and love between two beings is a pure, wonderful thing, no matter the form. The mother fox protecting her cub. The flower and the bee," her whimsical tone trailed off before shooting a pointed look at her conversation partner, "An ice queen and a lady herder."
Elsa glanced shyly from the elder to the group practicing before them. Honeymaren was swatting her stick almost playfully at Ryder, lips moving to what Elsa suspected was some witty quip or playful comment at her brother's expense. Their companions seemed to laugh at the exchange.
She tentatively returned to the rather intense, if not incredibly smug stare the older woman was giving her.
"I've never felt anything like this before, much less know how to act. She's one of my few friends; I have much to lose. And yet," Elsa murmured softly, "I would be lying if I didn't admit I desired more."
Yelena smiled, placing a sympathetic hand on the other's previously occupied shoulder.
"You dove into the depths of Ahtohallan," she said with a wink, "I think you'll do just fine with this leap of faith."
"Hey!"
Elsa jumped, the shout much closer than the previous calls of roughhousing from the group across from them.
Honeymaren was suddenly before her, panting from an apparent sprint across the field.
"Your turn!"
"What?"
A hand quickly enclosed on her wrist and began pulling her towards the group of fighters.
"Come on!"
Elsa looked behind her as she was dragged away, flashing Yelana a look of utter bewilderment and distress, a silent signal for aid.
The elder simply waved with a smile.
Shadow, shadow. Shifting through sunbeams, far from the shallows. Waves, not greetings. Salt longing to taste the shore. Shadows, many shadows on our watery sky...
Elsa awoke slowly, groggy from a deep and confusing dream. The sun was beginning her colorful descent past the horizon, and the light still stung her eyes as she tried to return to the world of the living.
The rhythmic waves crashing on the beach steadily helped to lure her back as she sat up. She had been napping. Then...somewhere else? Some dark, grey abyss floated in her memory. She sat up, blinking away the fog in her mind. Perhaps the weird dream was merely the result of exhaustion; her morning had been busy helping to finish preparing the fields and planting seeds, hence the nap.
A splash caught her attention, and Nokk trotted onto the sand from the tide and seafoam. With a small smile, Elsa stood and walked over to the spirit, the brilliantly cold water lapping at her feet.
"What're you up to?"
The watery horse was quite still, and she could not help but feel the gently glowing eyes were transfixed upon her. Calmly waiting.
"Am I interrupting an errand?"
Elsa turned quickly in surprise to another new presence on her sliver beach, body relaxing at the familiar sight of the brunette Northuldra approaching.
"Not at all," she replied with a grin.
Honeymaren offered Nokk a nod before her eyes settled back on the blonde, and Elsa felt the world shift.
"I thought I might come see if you wanted to watch the sunset together before we joined everyone at the fire."
"Sure."
Honeymaren glanced away, looking across the sea, chuckling, "You probably see it all the time."
"The company is nice, Shepherdess," she stated softly, perhaps more delicately than she meant to.
The dark, rich gold eyes returned to meet hers, wrinkled in the corners from a smile.
Is this what Anna meant when one finds their person? Their childhood fairytales suddenly felt so alive when Honeymaren looked at her like that. Spirits or not, she felt she could move cosmos with the sensation alone.
When Elsa turned to lead Honeymaren to a spot near the dunes to sit and spectate, Nokk lightly touched their nose to her shoulder, salty water lazily trickling down her sleeve. The woman paused, extending her hand to the translucent beast's head at the unspoken request. As her fingers wrapped around their snout, the flowing liquid began to harden, the ocean's essence slowly freezing. She blew gently, a flurry of snow from her lips beginning to bend crystals of ice on the spirit's mane. Within a matter of seconds, Nokk appeared as if a sculpture of compacted snow, shining brilliantly against the backdrop of the sky now drenched with pink.
Elsa heard Honeymaren murmur next to her, "Beautiful."
"I know, I love how Nokk glitters in the sunlight like this."
The voice that answered back was quiet. "That too. But I was talking about you."
Eyes wide, Elsa looked away from her admiration of the frozen water spirit to the other woman; she was smiling sheepishly. She had complimented her before, but the directness was new. Even mastery of the cold couldn't stop the flush she felt spread across her face, and beyond the whistle of the sea breeze in her ear, she heard the pounding of her heart.
Honeymaren slid her hand into the pocket of her tunic.
"Can I-"
"Lady Elsa!"
The new voice was one of haste, crashing into them from across the sand. A reindeer and rider crested the dune, charging down towards them, sand flying. Yelana yanked the reins hard to bring her mount to a grinding halt.
"You and I have been summoned to the castle, most urgently," she stated firmly, her voice leaving no room for question.
The former ruler knew the voice, the commanding tone, the resolute drive of a leader faced with a heavy burden and task not to be questioned. Elsa glanced apologetically at Honeymaren before nodding to Yelana.
Arendelle needed her.
Before she could summon the spirit, Nokk trotted over and again touched Elsa's shoulder. Had they been waiting with her for this precise moment? What did they know she did not? She sighed, leaping up to the icy beast's back.
"Honeymaren, ride with us," Yelana turned to the woman still standing on the sand, "It's time we started figuring out our place in the world beyond our village. We'll need people like you to start showing the way."
"Yelana, I'm just a herder."
"You've become a fierce warrior growing up in the closed forest when we were constantly on guard. You're smart. You're friendly. Strength, wits, and charisma are the makings of a good leader. It's time to choose," the elder declared fiercely.
Honeymaren stared hard at her leader with the same intensity as the speech just delivered to her. When she looked to Elsa, the blonde did her best to meet it unflinchingly; this decision was hers alone, and she knew personally, not a light one to make. But as she felt Nokk breathing beneath her, she felt they were somehow out of time, the grey fog of her dreams seeping back to her consciousness.
The shepherd turned back to Yelana and nodded.
"Good, I already packed you a bag."
Honeymaren scoffed, throwing her hands in the air, "So much for a choice!"
Yelana brushed her off, nodding behind them, "Your brother brought a mount, hurry now."
The older Northuldran loudly whistled, and another mounted reindeer appeared over the dune. With a grunt, Honeymaren jogged to meet them.
The two remaining women turned their mounts southward. Elsa thought she saw Yelana try to hide a smile.
"I'm getting old. Like I said before, one needs to think of succession plans."
"Understandable."
Yelana's expression sobered as she reached into her pocket and held up what appeared to be a folded note.
"Gale just delivered this."
Her hand extended across the gap between them, and Elsa now saw the small paper bore the familiar wax seal of the royal family of Arendelle. When she opened it, she found Anna's handwriting.
Possible attack on Arendelle. War meeting. Hurry.
Elsa winced at the blunt desperation of the hurriedly scrawled ink.
"There's much we don't know. Too soon to worry, eh?" the rider next to her said calmly.
Nokk's head turned, as if glancing behind to their rider. Pressure began to build against Elsa's chest, as if she were underwater.
"Worrying is my specialty."
Heavy hoofbeats suddenly approached behind them as Honeymaren's reindeer surged forth at a full gallop. Nokk quickly bolted without instruction, and the trio rode hard for Arendelle.
A/N: Pretty sure "snow cloud while training" is common in this fandom, but we know what we like. Things will probably start getting more serious and dramatic soon, so if you're here for the fluff, this is your chapter to soak it up.
Please let me know what you like, love, and maybe don't like. Thanks for any comments and critiques!