Chapter 9:
But still I cannot see, if the savage one is me


Panicked adults and scared children were the reception of Anna and Elsa when they eventually came back to the camp.

The Northuldra were so busy running around to grab weapons or organize the defense and put kids into safety that they didn't notice their presence right away.

Anna frowned and grabbed the arm of a man. "Hey, what the hell is going on?"

The Northuldra looked devastated. "They're gone."

The Queen blinked. "Who?"

"Honeymaren and Ryder. They're gone."

Elsa's eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat like someone actually suddenly squeezed it. "Wh… What?"

Yelena appeared next to the man, saw that Elsa's usually pale face got even paler, and nudged him angrily. "Review your vocabulary! You make it sound like they're dead!"

"But…" Replied the man, trembling. "We have no idea if–"

"As long as I'm alive, I will never assume or let Northuldra assume that we die without fighting. We're a surviving tribe. Do you understand? I hope that you'll pass the torch when I'm gone." Frowned the old chief.

The Northuldra gulped. "Y-yes."

He then left, and Yelena sighed. She looked at the Fifth Spirit with seriousness, though one could see sadness in her eyes.

"They've been captured. The bandits have taken advantage of the two Nattura siblings being on their own next to the reindeer to put sacks on their faces, and several people of the tribe saw them knock their heads before putting them on the back of horses and going away as fast as they came. We tried to go after them, but it was too late. They had scared the reindeers anyway, and we had no ride to catch up. They… They took advantage of your absence to do so."

Anna and Elsa were devastated by the news, astonished and speechless, like the air had been captured from their lungs. The redhead turned to her elder with shock, and saw that Elsa was astonished.

"They… They were on their own?"

The chief had a sad smile. "Well, yes. You two left and they remained on the edge of the Forest. Iskko told me that Ryder had meant to ask Honeymaren about her feelings since the… Letter incident, and it's probably why they weren't focused on their surroundings. The conversation went confidential, I think, because the Wind Spirit was above the herd and yet she came back to the center of the camp, which she usually does when one of us asks for privacy. And I know Ryder. He likely opted for a quiet conversation and eased her nerves with the reindeer babies to pet."

Elsa's heart sank in her chest and she looked at her own sibling. Anna gulped with a sad expression, perfectly imagining what was crossing her mind. She wasn't even there when the reading of the letter had happened, and yet she had sensed Elsa's emotion when she told her how it went. It was natural for Honeymaren to feel even worse.

Elsa's face crumbled, and she started to hold her head.

"No, no, no… Honey… I shouldn't have left her."

"Wait, Elsa, Yelena is right. Even if we were next to her, she would have asked for privacy." Assured Anna.

"But I could have protected her!" Jolted Elsa.

The redhead widened her eyes when she saw her sister suddenly pace around, her left hand passing through her hair while the other was over her belly, like a reassuring self-hug. Anna knew that posture too well.

"Relax, it's gonna be okay…" She whispered, lifting calming hands.

"I'm always here with her! I live with her!" Exclaimed the Spirit, twirling around and around. "I can always keep an eye on her and protect her, I can't believe that–"

"That when you're absent, someone takes her away? Yeah, that's the whole plan, actually." Pointed out Anna, trying to ease her with that blatant fact.

Elsa kept pacing around with anger towards herself.

"Of course whoever did this has waited for me to go away so I won't protect her. But that doesn't change the fact that it's my fault!" She exclaimed.

Yelena slipped away from the emotional outburst. She had lots to do to protect her tribe anyway.

Anna planted herself right in front of her sister at her next turn, to block her in her unending spiral.

"Elsa, Elsa, calm down. Think rationally. We need your clever and composed brilliant side now."

The Spirit snorted at the compliments, still passing a hand in her hair - now really sparkly with all the added layers of ice - but she eventually calmed down at the trusting teal blue eyes.

"You surely have enough faith in Honeymaren to know something. Even the tiniest thing." Encouraged Anna.

Her elder sighed. She closed her eyes and thought, took the time to breathe out, then opened them again with calm.

"Honeymaren is a hunter, a strategist at heart. She always plans things in advance, and she actually always has a second plan, and it's very likely that she planned something in case she gets captured by Hans or any thug when I'm not around. She just never got the occasion to tell me."

The Fifth Spirit felt terrible as she theorized that Honeymaren maybe never told her her plan because she didn't want to hurt her with that possibility after the Collapse.

Anna frowned at Elsa's theory. "But if she told her suspicions and plans to someone, that would put the person in danger. It's not very Honeymaren." She cleverly noted, aware of how the brunette worked.

"I agree." Said Elsa. "So… She must have written a note for me somewhere."

Anna agreed in turn, nodding.

"And hid it. Now the question is, where and how could she hide a note that only you would find?"

Elsa thought for a moment.

Then she suddenly widened her eyes, and turned to stare at Anna.

"The cryptex."

"Uh?"

"THE CRYPTEX!"

Anna winced at her elder's scream. "Yeah. I heard that right. Despite the cannon fires during the Collapse, I'm not deaf."

Her arms suddenly got seized and shook. "Anna, she used the cryptex!"

The redhead blinked, then her lips slowly stretched into a smile.

"That minx."

Now Elsa frowned. "Hey."

"What? No offense, but we all remember that she was grumpy that day. I can't believe that she actually listened to your instructions."

"She's my girlfriend." Stated Elsa proudly. "Of course she did."

Anna grinned.

They ran to Elsa and Honeymaren's goahti and the blonde hurriedly opened the flap door, then immediately went to the shelf where she placed it as a decoration. Indeed, the cryptex obviously had been used; not only because Elsa had placed it on the left and it now was on the right, but also because it was locked, the letters scrambled.

"I knew it." Murmured the blonde, a proud grin stretching her face. "Oh, baby… You clever soul."

She took it, admiring and feeling it like she could still sense her girlfriend's hold on it.

"Not to ruin this whole epic and romantic moment, but you've said it yourself, there is an enormous amount of possibilities for the code." Said Anna behind her.

Elsa looked at her with a slight pout. She was right. She slumped on the edge of the bed, but Anna sat down next to her right away to pass a hand in her back.

"It's alright. We can try. We'll make it. You'll make it. She trusted you for this, didn't she?"

The blonde nodded absentmindedly, unsure at first, then resolutely. Of course she did. She could easily imagine Honeymaren urgently but delicately placing the paper roll in the cryptex for her to find later in case something goes wrong.

"Sooo… What are you going to try? Because last time I checked, neither Elsa or mitt lys have five letters."

Elsa had a pout. "Maybe… Boazu? The Sámi word for reindeer?"

She turned the glistening rings, but the cryptex didn't ceide.

"Arrow?"

It didn't work either.

Anna pouted as she thought.

"Come on, let's think straight."

She then smirked at her elder. "Wait, you can't do that, right?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

She however appreciated that her younger sister made the effort to appease her stress. The Spirit tried out different words, but they were very simple and she felt dumb in her attempts.

"How about you freeze it?" Inquired the younger sister, who couldn't believe that Elsa hadn't tried already.

The Spirit sighed. "I don't know if I'm able to."

"You're capable of freezing things that are a thousand times bigger." Snorted the redhead.

"It's not the issue." Said the Snow Queen with a shake of the head. "I can't see what's inside. And it's not like a magical being or something of the kind, that I can sense with my eyes closed or through anything and any distance. This is entirely mechanical. Sure, I could freeze it and force it open, but there is a slight chance that the vinegar would spread then. And I could freeze the vinegar vial, of course, but I can't see it, and I'm afraid to not be precise enough, and if I freeze the paper, then it will break when we open it, and we won't have any answer–"

"Okay, okay, relax." Calmed Anna, Elsa's ramble reaching nervous proportions. "We'll solve it the proper way."

Her voice put an end to Elsa's panic, and once the latter regained a normal breathing, the goahti fell into silence.

"Let's see… 'Bow' doesn't have enough letters, 'staff' has too many letters…" Mumbled Anna, counting on her fingers for other words as well, but nothing fit. Then she widened her eyes. "Hey, 'honey' has five letters."

"Do you really think that she would have been egocentric enough to do that?" Said Elsa with an eye roll.

"If you don't dare to try it, I will." Said Anna, taking the cryptex out of her hands. She turned the letters but 'honey' didn't work. She tried 'Ryder' too, without success.

With a sigh, she slammed it back in Elsa's hand.

"I give up."

"I've known you to be more optimistic than that." Chuckled the elder.

The redhead shrugged. "Maybe try 'fifth'?"

Elsa frowned. "It can't be that simple. Five letters, 'five'…"

Anna gave her a look. Then the blonde jolted. "Oh, you mean because of the Fifth Spirit."

She gave it a try, but the cryptex didn't open. They both sighed.

'Think, Elsa, think, think…' The blonde repeated in her mind as she fidgeted with the rings of letters. 'She clearly chose a keyword related to you…'

Well, she hoped she did, otherwise her sadness would be amplified.

'Come on, what did we talk about that has five letters? What could she have thought about?'

Now she held the cryptex vertically in the palm of one hand and fiddled with it with the fingers of her other hand, lost in her thoughts, and she realized that she did the exact same thing with Sir Jorgenbjorgen when she was young.

Wait.

Elsa gasped out loud and widened her eyes as she clumsily flipped the cryptex, nearly dropping it, and started turning the rings.

"What are you doing?" Asked Anna curiously after she got startled.

The Snow Queen was grinning as she rapidly placed the letters, and the redhead was surprised that she was this happy before even trying the whole word.

She watched her place a 'P', a 'U', a 'F'...

"On my birthday, she asked me what my favorite animal was. I…" Elsa smiled with emotion. "I didn't know she would remember."

"Of course she did." Smiled Anna warmly. Then she winced. "Uhm… However, puffin is written with two 'f's."

Elsa turned to her with a confident grin. "Yes, but she doesn't know how to spell it."

Anna dropped her jaw at the realization. "She just guessed…" Murmured the Queen.

They stared at Elsa's hand placing the 'N' at the end, both holding their breath.

A very satisfying click sounded in the silence of the goahti, and the two sisters let out a sigh of delight as the cryptex opened. Despite her rush and excitement, Elsa delicately took the roll of paper in her hands and dragged it out, making sure that it didn't touch the vial of vinegar. The respect she had for the parchment reminded Anna of the gentle way she used to slowly put the charades words down on the floor instead of dropping them.

The Spirit unrolled the paper and couldn't hold back a bubbling emotional gasp when she recognized Honeymaren's handwriting. She had written in Elsa's language and not in Northuldrian, and in a hurry, so it had mistakes here and there, but Elsa couldn't care less.

She cleared her throat to read the message out loud, but her eyes instinctively went to the end of the letter and she saw a 'I love you.' She blushed.

"Uhm…"

"It's okay," said Anna, understanding and cuddling closer. "Let's just read it quietly."

The goahti turned quiet as the two sisters' eyes danced on Honeymaren's words.

Elsa, my light

If you're reading this, then it means that I've been captured.

Otherwise, it means that you've opened the cryptex just for fun, which doesn't surprise me of you but I hope that I caught you doing it so I can destroy this note right away. I don't want to ruin your day with the fact that I thought of this possibility.

There is a very high chance that whoever chose to harm me also picked a far off place to hide me from the tribe, but that place would also have to be on half way of Arendelle, to manipulate both sides depending on your position at that moment. I know a strategic place that fits exactly. There is an old tower that had been abandoned a long time ago. It's in the hollow of the valley where we went to pick up flowers for the yellow dyes.

I actually initially planned to go to this place with you on our own, for a romantic week-end, and we would spend it trying to rebuild it together and come back to it from time to time when you would need some privacy (and me, some time away from Ryder). But now that I realize how strategic and military this place is, I really cancel the idea. If I ever disappear and it coincides with Hans returning, find me there. Find me there like you always find me, through magical mist or the whole world.

I love you.

H

"She has a really interesting style." Noted Anna with amusement. "Mixing humor and love."

Elsa blushed and awkwardly folded the parchment. "Y-yes, she does."

"Off to that valley then." Announced Anna, changing the topic to avoid her getting flustered or growing worried for Honeymaren again. "Do you remember where that is? Or should we ask some Northuldra?"

Elsa was obviously ready and eager to go right away, but first took the time to place the folded parchment on a shelf.

"I remember." Assured the Snow Queen. "However, even if I'm boosted enough to freeze Hans' and his entire gang's butts on my own, I know several Northuldra warriors who would love to accompany us to avenge Ryder and Honeymaren."

Anna smiled happily. She always appreciated when Elsa didn't choose to do things all alone.

"The only letdown is that I didn't bring a sword." Said the redhead. "And I'm super clumsy with a staff. But it's alright."

She cracked her phalanges.

"I'm always in to punch Hans' face."


The sisters arrived with their squad at the tower Honeymaren had described, the medieval building easily identifiable now that her girlfriend had pointed it out. It was an old round observation tower that hadn't been used for centuries, though it could not be easily spotted from afar as trees had grown around it.

The Northuldra warrior that accompanied Elsa in the lead of the group lifted a hand to tell the rest to stop. They came to a halt, using the curve of the valley at their advantage and hiding from the sight of the thugs, waiting for instructions.

"I'll distract as many men as possible. In the meantime, try on the back. And on the left, look, there's an entrance through a window." Ordered Elsa in a whisper.

The Northuldra nodded. He turned to his friends. "Ealja, Apmot, with Anna on the left side. Mavrres, Gearral, you come with me."

"Remember," warned Elsa as they were about to go. "If you find Honeymaren and a guy with her, leave him to me."

They nodded without any question. She said 'him', and they all understood that she secretly hoped that it was Hans.

Elsa observed the tower, which was made with dark stones and had crumbled and collapsed at most of its parts but still stood high. On the last floor, at the top, she could spot three thugs who were watching the valley. She had to distract them first so they wouldn't see the group approach.

She focused and moved her left hand in a quick flick.

"Do you think that we can ask for a dental plan?" Asked a pirate to his mate.

"Don't be ridiculous." Puffed the other. "He already pays us every time he gives us a mission like that, content yourself with that."

"Alright, alright."

Something poked the bandit's shoulder, and he jolted before twirling around, pointing with his pistol. There was nothing there.

"Why did you do that? You scared the shit out of me." Grumbled the pirate before putting his pistol back.

The other frowned. "I didn't do anything. You– AGH!"

He stumbled forward in fright of something that just touched his back, and nearly fell off the parapet. He punched the other's arm as soon as he retrieved his balance. "You idiot! I could have died!"

The third bandit turned at the shout, and stopped his watch on the other side of the tower to walk to them. "What are you two doing? Stop screaming, you'll alert any Northuldra who's walking nearby."

"But it's him!" Whined the punched guy.

"No, it's your fault!"

"Enough, the two of you. You're–"

Something flicked against the back of his hat, and he startled before turning around.

There was nothing. Or rather, nothing else than a floating hand made out of ice, which now waved at him.

"Uh?" He grunted, his shoulder slumped in confusion.

Suddenly the hand slammed on his face and he fell backwards, rolling down on the floor and stumbling against one of the thugs, taking him down with him. Elsa smirked from behind the tree she was hidden and watched as the third one screamed and tried to grab the hand that had jumped on his face. The Fifth Spirit purposely made it very cold for it to burn his cheeks and forehead.

The two pirates present on the floor below were alarmed by his screams, and instead of being clever enough to interpret this as the classic distraction, they ran to the danger and joined him as he rolled on the stones next to his mates and tried to take the hand off his face.

"What a bunch of idiots", muttered Elsa to herself.

With a flick of the wrist, she made the ice hand disappear, just in time before the thugs arrived on the last floor.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Yeah, did you eat something spicy or what?"

"THE HAND!" He exclaimed, sitting up in panic. He looked around frantically, like he was crazy. "WHERE IS IT?"

The others frowned, looked at each other, then smirked at him. "There's no hand, man."

"I KNOW WHAT I SAW! AND FELT!"

He shivered in fear. He was red from the frost bite, but not redder than usual to the other thugs, who did not spend their time admiring him anyway.

"Must be the alcohol kicking in." Snorted a thug, who then poked at the others with his cutlass. "Did you knock them down while you twirled around like crazy?"

"There was a hand!" He yelled. "I'm telling you! It was like… This size!"

He tried to show by distanciating his hands, and Elsa snorted as he exaggerated the size, and the others bent to see what he was miming.

The Snow Queen smirked at the offered opportunity and made two ice hands appear behind the thugs and slammed them forward.

"EEK!"

"Shit, what was that?"

They twirled around.

"Did you see something?"

"No. You?"

"Did you just slap my ass?" Blurted one.

"It slapped me in the back." Informed another. "Not the ass. Did it slap you in the ass?"

Elsa now was trying her best not to laugh, and she bent her back as she discreetly made her way to the tower, pressing against the wall to create a blind spot. She then twirled her left wrist and created a thick stalagmite with a footstep, and raised herself to the now empty third floor. When she hopped through a window and heard the thugs busy yelling upstairs trying to get rid of the magical hands, she smiled and vanished her ascending creation.

The Spirit then turned serious, focusing on any clue she could get to find her girlfriend's location. She walked around in a crouched posture, with a slow pace, her hands turned forward with her palms glowing a soft blue, aware that the tower may have been filled with traps.

However, she found none. The thugs likely had just finished installing their prisoners and started taking their positions when they arrived to the rescue, or maybe they simply didn't care about securing the place more. Elsa found more challenge in avoiding to step on the rumble here and there to not make noise and dodge away from spider webs. She peaked through every room she walked by, but they were empty, or destroyed.

At some point, she froze when she heard whispers.

"I swear I heard something."

"Are you sure?"

Elsa widened her eyes, but then frowned. She had been very discreet, what did those two thugs hear? While she wondered, she took note that there were only two of them in the next room, and they probably were holding Ryder or Honeymaren hostage. The blonde waited, maybe one of them would be stupid enough to say 'Keep an eye on them, I'll be right back' to the other. Only, they seemed smarter than the previous pirates, and didn't move. Elsa could almost sense that they had stopped breathing to listen carefully.

Were they listening close to each other, a few meters away, separated by just one old wall?

Suddenly, a distant sound came louder, and now Elsa could hear it too. She recognized Apmot's specific war cry, and understood that he was just one floor below and had knocked down someone with his staff.

"We're under attack." Precipitally said one of the two pirates to the other, and there was a ruffle when the other nodded.

"Quick, we need to move her to another room."

Elsa's blood froze in her veins at the word 'her', and her heart then beat twice as fast.

She formed snow on the ground and vanished her sandals to mask the sound of her footsteps as she made her way to the room. Just like the others so far, it didn't have a door, and she crafted herself a mirror made with two layers of thin and opaque ice to have a glimpse at what was happening.

Honeymaren was seated on the floor on her heels, a large cloth bag covering her head tied at her neck, and her ankles and wrists were tied in her back by ropes.

"Help me lift her up, she's a real stubborn bitch." Said one of the thugs, and he was the tallest, so Elsa came to the conclusion that he was in charge of the whole abduction. The blonde's soul filled with both anger and pride at the way he talked about her lover.

"Come on, stand up!" Ordered the second thug, when suddenly Honeymaren stood up in one go, despite her tied and joined feet, and aimed at the man's crotch with her shoulder.

"OWW!" Whined the man, and he dropped the sword he had meant to use as a menacing weapon to reach his parts with both his hands, before falling on his knees.

"Are you dumb? She's a fighter, make your position less obvious."

Elsa could almost see Honeymaren grin under her bag, and it was the boost she needed to enter into action. She melted the mirror and the snow and came inside the room in one quick movement, pointing her hands at each man.

"And you should have chosen different positions than those."

The two thugs barely had the time to twirl around to her that she illustrated her point, projecting gusts of ice along her arms and easily aiming at the separated thugs.

They flew back with shrieks before slamming their head against the wall of the back. The tallest thug stood up as quickly as he could, while the other crawled to his sword that still was on the ground.

Elsa lifted an unimpressed eyebrow. She did circular movements with her hands and sent plates of thick ice in their directions, pushing them back and sticking them to the stone of the group.

The two thugs fainted with synchronized grunts, and Honeymaren was now free.

Elsa approached and kneeled behind her to freeze the ropes and snap them apart like they were mere paper.

"It's me." Whispered Elsa.

"I figured, judging by how badass that was." Said a muffled smiling voice behind the bag.

Elsa grinned and untied the bag to pull it off her head. Happy chestnut eyes welcomed her.

"I knew you would save me." Beamed Honeymaren now that they finally saw each other.

"I'll always do." Smiled Elsa, and she bent forward to kiss her deeply.

Then she retracted with a wince. "Pleh! Your lips taste so bad, I'm sorry."

"No offense taken." Assured Honeymaren. "Those bags smelled like shit."

While Elsa discreetly spat with as much elegance as she could muster, Honeymaren stood up and looked around. "Who are the others? Despite your sneak attack, I could hear many people."

The Spirit smiled at how her girlfriend's huntress skills made her better than most people in this tower. "Northuldra warriors. And Anna is here too. She's taking care of Ryder."

Honeymaren gave her a warm thankful smile and stepped close to hug her. The blonde closed her eyes in the embrace, relief washing over her like a waterfall.

"Elsa, Hans isn't here. He orchestrated the attack, I heard him, but then his voice stopped, and I think he left a long time ago."

Elsa sighed. "His goons do all the dirty work for him."

They carefully made their way out of the room, slowly making their way out of the tower, or to find the others further in the building. Elsa noted how Honeymaren was leading the way, while having a raised arm to shield her beloved, and she was glancing every now and then behind her to check for surprise attacks. Elsa had been the one saving her and now the brunette was over-protective? It amused her, but she tried to focus on what was going on.

Her focus didn't need to last long, because suddenly a scream startled both of them. A group of grown-up big and muscular men ran in a perpendicular corridor, and Elsa thought for a moment that they were coming at them, until she heard a familiar laugh following them.

"Oh, now that I'm the one holding the morning star, suddenly you all flee, uh?"

Honeymaren frowned at Anna's voice and wondered what the heck was a morning star, until, and Elsa smirked as soon as she made an irruption, the Queen of Arendelle appeared at the end of the corridor, waving around a big stick that was twice too big for her, with an enormous ball of steel with spikes at the end. Despite the heaviness of the weapon, she seemed to have tons of fun twirling it in her hand.

"Oh, hi girls!" She said enthusiastically when she saw the couple at the corner of her eyes, and she quickly turned. "Honeymaren, are you alright?"

"Uhh, yes…?"

"Good."

She then pointed at the group she was making run, still running herself. She was getting away from the couple, and raised her voice to be heard.

"Those idiots. I'm leading them right to the spot where the warriors are waiting to jump on them and tie them up." She grinned, very proud of her set trap.

Elsa smiled at her and Honeymaren widened her eyes at the crazy scene.

"Don't hurt yourself, Anna." Simply said her sister.

"Okay!"

And the redhead left just like that, turning at the next corridor.

Honeymaren blinked. "That's all you tell her?"

Her girlfriend gave her a look. "I've learned to just give up understanding at this point. Trust me, with her, it's best to prepare the bandages rather than ask questions."

They went down the tower floor after floor, and eventually bumped into a fight between the rest of the thugs and the Northuldra. What they didn't expect, however, was to find Ryder amongst the fighters, and he didn't have his bag on anymore.

"Take that, you filthy animals!" He grunted, his normally calm features frowning with offense as he grabbed the rubble on the floor to throw them at the pirates.

A stone that probably used to be a brick from the wall hit one of them at the brow bone, and he stumbled back at the blow, incredulous that the naive Northuldra he had seen before had just touched him. He started to bleed, and he gritted his teeth as he twirled his cutlass.

Elsa was about to intervene, but Honeymaren was faster; actually, the blonde suspected that she was eager to fight, and also to protect her brother. She would have done the exact same if it were Anna.

The brunette grabbed and pulled out a torch holder that was on the wall, which detached easily due to his rust, and scratched then twisted his arm with it.

The thug howled in pain, and found himself blocked, Honeymaren's gesture both a defense and trap parade. Elsa smiled at her intervention and helped the rest of the Northuldra to finish the job. They were better than them, it became quite clear, and the fight came to an end pretty quick.

Elsa did the final touch by creating strong shackles made out of ice to capture the thugs, and flicked her wrist to bring the two thugs from earlier to them.

Anna smirked when she saw the two fainted men float by her after they flew down the stairs, trapped in plates of ice like sandwiches.

The Northuldra shouted war cries, then led the thugs outside.

Ryder grinned, his fist clenched to the Sun. "Victory!"

"It's almost too easy." Puffed Honeymaren.

She smirked at how pissed the thugs were.

"I hope this will teach you for good that you should never provoke the Northuldra tribe."


The bandits were very bitter on the way back to the Northuldra camp after getting arrested not only by Northuldra, but also the Queen in person. When they started to send insults, she stated that they were all going to face justice for their crimes and that they better not say anything or it could be held against them. Several angry grumbles sounded, and she managed to silence a group of ten men with those words.

Elsa smiled at her sister. She was a bit disappointed that Hans wasn't there, but deep inside, she expected it. He had an army of bandits, of course he was going to exploit them. She reassured herself by imagining the group of pirates, wherever they were hiding, growling at him that he sacrificed their mates once again.

One of the thugs cleared his throat next to Anna as they walked, but in a loud way, and it wasn't like he was preparing himself to talk to her. He stared at Anna and moved forward, and Elsa realized that he was about to spit at her face.

The Snow Queen reacted in a second and lifted her hand right when he opened his mouth, effectively stopping his spit mid-air right after he suddenly sent it to the monarch. The spit levitated in front of him. He widened his eyes at the sight, Anna also startling when she saw the blob of saliva in the air. She then scoffed as she understood that it was her sister's work. Well, saliva does contain water, doesn't it?

With a sassy expression to the man who had slowly turned to her, Elsa flicked her fingers and the spat returned to its sender, splashing the thug's face.

Mocking laughter fused from his crew as he groaned and tried to wipe the spit out of his eyes using his shoulder, his hands currently taken by the handcuffs.

"Don't spit on Her Majesty's face ever again." Warned Elsa in a glacial tone.

Anna grinned at her elder's protective badassery and furious stare but remained serious.

A Northuldra warrior pushed the thug forward to make him join the group of prisoners. The roles now were reversed, and he liked it.

Anna saw Gale make a victory twirl above her and smiled, asking her to warn the authorities in Arendelle to come and take them away for them to pay for their crimes.

The Wind Spirit happily obliged, and Elsa smiled at her go. She liked when Anna commanded her like that, she was the other side of the Bridge and deserved this authority too.

She couldn't wait to go back to the camp to celebrate their victory.

"Aow!" She suddenly winced, her hand at her neck.

Anna twirled around, stopping right in her tracks. "What is it?"

The blonde gave her a reassuring chuckle. "Nothing. Must have been a mosquito."

She ran her fingers along her skin, and startled at the sensation of something fluffy. Was it a bird? No, that was way too small. A weird spider then? She gently swatted it away and winced at the sensation when her nudge became painful. It was like she didn't get rid of the problem and rather had moved around a really thick sting.

'What the…' Thought the blonde, and she slowly detached the thing, which she realized was in fact planted in her neck.

In the crook of her palm, she found a tiny dart made of metal, with a glass container and a fluffy end made with bright red fur. But what concerned her the most, despite having found a damn dart at her neck, was that the container was empty.

"Mosquitoes? In the Forest?" Frowned Honeymaren, turning too. "That can't be. Around the fjord, maybe, with the humidity, but here it's neither the place nor the season…"

She then noticed Elsa's panicked eyes at the sight of what was in her hand.

"What?"

The blonde urged to hide the dart. She did a quick trick of the hand and kept it in her closed fist then turned it down to dissimulate what she was doing. She pretended to wipe her fingers and smiled at Honeymaren.

"I… I just slapped it and now I have blood on my palm, that's all."

"Ew." Giggled Anna. "Gross."

"Yeah." Simply said Elsa with an awkward smile.

Honeymaren was still staring at her, however, and the blonde started to feel dizzy. She knew that her girlfriend had an impact on her when she tried to lie, but this time was particularly intense. She gulped, clenching the dart in her fist.

The blonde then looked around, trying to understand where the dart had come from, but she stopped in her suspectful gestures when she sensed Honeymaren's gaze back on her.

"Hey guys, we've arrived!" Announced Ryder at the front of the group, distracting them from the tension, and he joyfully sprinted to the camp.

The herders present at the edge of it yelled in joy at his arrival, and stretched their hands forward to hold his shoulders, glad to see he was alive. Some men violently slammed his back with loud laughter, but the young herder didn't seem to mind, smiling as he bathed in their affection. Other Northuldra did the same with Honeymaren, kids even tackling her legs in delight, and she effectively forgot the doubt she had with Elsa's behavior and to ask her for more. While she smiled at the people and ruffled the kids' hair, Yelena approached the blonde and the warriors who were standing at her side.

"I'm going to take care of the bows and quivers to put them back in the armory goahti. Go on, you all deserve your moment of glory. We've been preparing some soup since we saw the happy behavior of the Wind Spirit. It's a moment of celebration." Insisted the chief.

They moved, except for Elsa, and Yelena tilted her head.

"You need to relax." The elder said with a softer tone. "You seem to have had quite a shock, seeing how pale you are."

'I am?' Worried the blonde, and she indeed started to feel weak. It's like she had been running for a full hour, like she sometimes did along the shore with Nokk, but compressed within the past two minutes, but they had casually been walking to the camp.

She anxiously looked at the happy warriors gladly handing Yelena their weapons before joining the happy crowd. Then she looked at Anna and Honeymaren smiling arm in arm while Ryder was telling his point of view of the capture in front of everyone's laughter or enthralment. Elsa turned to the chief, grabbing half of what she had in her arms.

"I'm gonna come along with you, Yelena. We will tidy up more quickly if we're two."

She smiled, and found herself actually forcing it, which was weird, like she couldn't feel her face much.

"Alright." Nodded the old woman, always pleased when the Fifth Spirit helped around.

They walked to the goahti and Yelena hung up the bows back on the wall while Elsa crouched to place the quivers in their respective spots. She heard a small sound of wood clinking and noticed that her hands were shaking, which was moving the arrows inside. With a gulp, she immediately stood up before Yelena's eyes would be on her. She then fidgeted with the small clay pots on the furniture at waist level next to the storage, pretending to be occupied to not turn her face to the chief who was standing by the door.

"I'm… I'm going to prepare an ointment for… For Honeymaren." She blabbered, trying to grasp the words but it was a difficult task.

Each passing second, everything actually turned out to be more difficult for Elsa, and she got scared at this finding.

The old woman frowned. Honeymaren, hurt? Not only that was rare, and she knew it better than anyone because she had seen all of the brunette's progress at battle since she was a child, but in addition, Honeymaren had assured at her arrival and the Northuldra's numerous questions that the thugs didn't hurt them.

Yelena interpreted from it that Elsa was overcaring and protecting her girlfriend.

"Are you okay?" She frowned in concern. "Are you still scared of what happened?"

Elsa didn't answer right away.

The stripes of the wood wall in front of her mixed over each other in her vision, and she suddenly held onto it heavily because she was losing her balance.

"No, actually… I feel… Really warm…"

Talking required a tremendous effort, and her breathing laborious and long, so Yelena legitimately panicked.

She turned around and called for someone through the opened door of the goahti, but Elsa couldn't hear nor see what she was saying because everything turned to black.

The chief twirled around at the sound of pots tinkling, and widened her eyes when she saw Elsa's eyes turn up and her body collapse on its side towards the floor.

"ELSA!"

She rushed to the Fifth Spirit as she fell in a clatter of broken pots, grabbing her at the last second before she would knock her skull down.


Anna walked around and around, so much that she was pretty certain she would lately have to apologize to the Earth Spirit for tracing a path on the ground.

The sound of the flap of Elsa's goahti made her twirl around, and she nearly slapped Honeymaren standing next to her with her hair.

"How is she?" Asked the two women in one voice, and Yelena approached at their common panic.

"She's fine. Breathing. She's weak."

The two exhaled in relief, and Anna switched to anger quickly. "I knew that it wasn't a mosquito."

"You believed it right away." Corrected Honeymaren, frowning. "While I had doubts…"

The redhead turned to her, unimpressed. Was she trying to make this a competition? 'If so, you will lose…' Thought the redhead with a frown.

"Girls." Interrupted Yelena. "Look. I couldn't see it right away because of all the pieces of pots on the ground, but when I cleaned up, I found this…"

She showed the dart which she cleverly held with a cloth.

Anna and Honeymaren gasped, approaching to see it better. The Queen observed the dart and recognized it, having seen illustrations of this kind of ammunition in encyclopedias.

"This has been shot from a blowpipe." She declared, and Honeymaren took it off Yelena's hand with the cloth to lift it in the sunlight and inspect it.

"It has a small receptacle, but it's empty. It must have been where the poison was."

Anna's hand was stretched forward to inspect it in turn, and Honeymaren nearly threw the whole thing in her palm.

"Whatever did the attack, it wasn't Northuldra. We don't use blowpipes, and even less poison."

The Queen frowned at her aggressive defense. "I never said it was Northuldra. Of course you wouldn't hurt Elsa."

Honeymaren stared at her with defiance. "And I know everyone from our tribe. Nobody would attack from behind. We all vow to protect her. This is from your people."

Anna dropped her jaw. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You know!" Frowned Honeymaren, facing the Queen eye-to-eye. "Your people always have cowardly ways to attack."

"I beg your pardon?!" Scoffed Anna, baffled. "This clearly is an attack from one of Hans' thugs. It was part of his plan. Get Elsa's attention with you and Ryder, then target her with poison when she least expects it. Arendelle has nothing to do with it. Do you genuinely think that any Arendellian would want to harm Elsa?"

A silence followed, and the chestnut irises that had been staring at her slowly softened; it was like an intense and impromptu flame had been ignited in them and now diminished.

"I… I'm sorry, I just…" Muttered the brunette, her voice weak.

The redhead saw her rare embarrassment and smiled with benevolence. "I get it, Honeymaren. You're scared, we're all scared, but she's safe now. First, your capture, then the rescue, then this… It's a lot. We should try our best to keep calm and analyze the situation properly, not let our suspicions and distrust take over."

Ryder had approached, and he put his hands on his hips after the Queen's wise words. "Well said."

The women turned to him with small smiles.

"Besides," he added, "as the two persons who love Elsa the most, you know that she wouldn't like to see you fight each other about it."

Honeymaren sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry, Anna, I don't know what came over me."

The redhead put a hand on her forearm. "It's fine. If anything, this proves how active and vengeful you will be to find out who did this and make them pay." She grinned.

Ryder smiled as he knew for a fact that the whole tribe joined in the feeling. It was quite overwhelming to go from bad news to good news to bad news again in one day. Those cowards who had targeted the Fifth Spirit? They would pay.

"Oh, it's a quite bright color." He said when he saw the tuft of the dart in Anna's hand. "Weird that I didn't see it at her neck."

"She hid it from us." Said the redhead sadly.

Honeymaren winced. "She said it was a mosquito bite."

The sister and the girlfriend looked at each other, pouting.

"When do you think she will wake up, Yelena?" Asked the Queen.

The chief smirked. "Looks like you both want to punch her face when she wakes up."

Honeymaren rolled her eyes. "Of course not. She's herself and we love her, we're precisely worried about her being hurt–"

"SHE'S AWAKE!" Jolted a voice.

The entire group twirled to the Northuldra healer who had just been in the goahti with Elsa. "She just opened her eyes!"

She had barely finished her sentence when two energetic women zoomed past her, followed by Yelena and Ryder who were more calm.

When they passed the flap of the goahti, the blonde was rubbing her eyes tiredly, and she narrowly missed an eye sore when her two loved ones jumped to inspect her and Anna bumped her elbow.

Her ears then rang when a long worried rambling from Anna and Honeymaren sounded in each of them.

"There really is no need to panic." Said Elsa with a grunt.

"Oh, no you don't." Grunted Honeymaren, who pointed at her once they both parted from her. "You are not in position to say such a thing. You hid the dart from us!"

Ryder tilted his head to whisper to Yelena's ear. "That's the part where they will punch her face."

He received a hit of the elbow in the ribs.

"She's right, Elsa." Frowned Anna. "Why didn't you tell us?"

The blonde looked sorry, and lowered her gaze. When the two other women insisted, and even started arguing together against her, she lifted her eyes and frowned angrily.

"I'm fine, okay? Look, I'm safe and sound. I'm in great shape, I swear."

On that note, she even stood up, pushing the covers away - and purposely pushing Anna and Honeymaren too in the process - and walked towards the door.

The Queen's hands jolted forward in a caring reflex. "Woaw! Are you sure?"

But the Fifth Spirit seemed to be perfectly able to move around. "I am fine." She frowned again.

Honeymaren pouted angrily at her obstination. How did she dare? They had been so worried about her!

Ryder turned to Yelena with a gulp when he saw the bad atmosphere with the rising tone of the siblings, apparently having an already occured debate about Elsa's insistence to hide things from others as a faulty selflessness, and the death stare Honeymaren was giving to her girlfriend from the bed where she was sitting still.

Yelena sensed his gaze on her and cleared her throat.

"Everybody, calm down. You all have points, but now, I really advise to remain wise. Elsa, dear, for safety measures, I'll ask the healer to inspect you one last time to make sure that everything's fine."

The Fifth Spirit didn't want to contradict the Northuldra chief, and she nodded reluctantly.

Anna crossed her arms in victory, like this one was obtained by herself.

Honeymaren, however, clenched her fist on the pelts of the bed.


Dry and cold blows sounded in a clearing as a Northuldra angrily trained in this secluded part of the woods away from the camp.

Honeymaren was venting out her rage by chaining arrow after arrow, shooting it with more and more fury. When her hand eventually grabbed air above her quiver, she grumbled and stomped her feet in a rapid pace to the poor round targets made of rope spirals suspended to trees that received her blows.

She dislodged the arrows one by one while muttering to herself, put them back in her quiver, and stomped back to the spot she started at. Then she nocked an arrow again, shot, nocked another, and continued her loop. Each time, the arrows would stack at the center of the targets.

"I was about to applaud you for hitting the bullseye each time, but I suppose that you're not in the mood, right?" Said Anna's voice to her right.

The huntress barely looked at her with a side eye above the hand placed against her cheek. She didn't jolt at her presence, which surprised the redhead.

"No reaction whatsoever?" She teased.

"You have an awfully loud way to move around." Mumbled Honeymaren. "I heard you when you approached and leaned against that tree. If we were hunting, the prey would have run away in no time."

Anna's smile faded. "Now, there's no need to take it out on me." She calmed down. "Maybe we can talk?"

The only answer she had were three more consecutive and faster 'THWACK!', all hitting the center of the spiral ropes.

"Oooor you can just unwind with archery. Yep. Good for practice and all." Said Anna with her mouth in a thin line, not wanting to cross the Northuldra, because the next target could be her head.

"What do you want to talk about?" Grumbled Honeymaren. "It's her decision to always keep her injuries secret. And I respect it."

The huntress placed another arrow on her nock line, drew back and let loose in one nimble move. Despite the impressive skill, there was clear anger.

"...I can see that." Said Anna. "Not affecting you at all."

Honeymaren's shoulders slumped, finally breaking her tense posture. "What do you want, Anna?"

"Well, first, congratulations from you. I managed to find you despite being far from a good tracker. When I stepped out of the goahti looking for you after you seemed crossed and left, and the Northuldra told me that they had no idea where you were when I asked, I knew that my optimism had to play a part."

Honeymaren didn't look amused. She supposed that it wasn't that hard, given her mumbling and loud archery training.

"No, seriously." Sighed Anna when she saw that the brunette didn't want to respond. "Honeymaren, if you're affected by Elsa's stupid decision to hide the dart, know that you're not out of the woods for your entire relationship."

Honeymaren frowned confusedly.

'Out of the woods?' She thought. 'Is this a metaphor like 'out of the closet'? Why is she telling me this? Elsa and I…'

"What I mean by that," clarified Anna, "is that if this single stupid act of hers is upsetting you, then you won't see the end of your troubles. I'm sorry but you'll have to get used to it."

"I know that she makes decisions that put the others before her all the time." Sighed Honeymaren, putting her bow at her shoulder. "And I also think that she's an idiot."

"...But?"

"But I love her, and…" Sighed Honeymaren again, fidgeting with the edge of her quiver to not meet Anna's eyes again. "She should have told me."

The redhead smiled. "Would you have let her walk back to the camp if she said she had been hit right away?"

Honeymaren's eyes lifted up vividly. "Certainly not. I would have made her sit down and ask for someone to go get the healer.

"Same for me." Added the Queen with a smirk.

The brunette let out a sighing scoff. They did have that in common.

"This is precisely why she never tells anybody." Continued the redhead, walking forward. "She would have hated if, after saving you, we stopped on our way back to the camp on her account."

Honeymaren agreed, however she didn't find the courage to admit it out loud. She went to the targets to retrieve her arrows in silence, ignoring Anna's body language when she walked by her. Once she tidied up everything and put the arrows back in her quiver and her bow in her back, she walked back in the direction of the camp. She saw that Anna was still standing there, like she was waiting for something. However, it was with calm and respect. When their eyes met after Honeymaren found that intriguing, the brunette realized in those smiling teal blue eyes that Anna knew exactly what she needed most in that moment. She sighed.

The Queen smiled at her reaction, and lifted her arms open. "Come on."

She was sincere yet sarcastic in her move. She expected Honeymaren to roll her eyes, then accept, and walk slowly to her for a quick hug.

Nothing in the world could have prepared her for the brunette's actual reaction.

Her eyes glistened for the first time since they came back from the tower, and she gulped a whimper, then she ran to Anna's arms and threw herself in her embrace.

She breathed out, her hands clenching her coat.

"I was… So scared, Anna. So scared." Murmured Honeymaren, sniffing.

The redhead, who already was very emotional at her way to tackle her in the hug, had her soul crushed at the confession. She clenched her eyes shut, holding her friend against her.

"Me too."

They embraced for a while, their silence punctuated with the birds chirps around them, and Anna's soothing rubs in Honeymaren's back ruffling her tunic. The Queen understood that they didn't even need to say out loud that they had both been scared to lose Elsa.

"At least, we agree on the same thing." Murmured Anna. "Whoever threw this dart, they're gonna pay."

Honeymaren's chestnut irises filled with fire as she nodded over her shoulder.


"What are you doing here?! I told you to stay inside and rest!" Grunted Anna, and she sent the meanest teal blue eyes she could to her sister.

Elsa was unimpressed, and kept stacking the pelts with other Northuldra. "Sonya said it was fine. Besides, I'm 25 years old, you don't get to order me anything."

Anna sighed, and rubbed her closed eyes. "I should have guessed that you wouldn't listen to me."

"Hey, that's mean."

"Oh, sorry, because it's so not like you?" Replied the redhead, and she was more aggressive in her stare this time.

The Spirit startled.

"You keep doing this, Elsa." Continued her sister. "Every time we advise you to not do something, you end up doing it anyway. Sometimes on purpose. Hell, once we were even three to tell you to be careful and you didn't listen."

Elsa had a confused and interrogative expression. Anna started to count on her fingers.

"Mother told you the story about Ahtohallan and how one shouldn't go too far or they'll drown. You knew the warning just as much as me. Then Honeymaren reminded you of that warning. Then I told you again about that warning. And yet you jumped head first into it!"

The blonde sulked. "I didn't jump head first…"

"But you did jump, you moron."

"HEY!" Now fully exclaimed Elsa, refusing to be shamed by her sister.

"You are! You know that I love and admire you to no end, Elsa, but that kind of behavior truly is dumb of you. How do you call someone being stupid enough to continue walking down a magical tunnel with a bottomless pit at the end, when said tunnel is so cold that they feel cold despite having cold magic? Uh?"

The Spirit looked elsewhere.

"I was curious." She grumbled. "Don't pretend that you wouldn't have done the same."

Anna was about to reply, then closed her mouth. Elsa noticed and smirked. "See?"

The Queen crossed her arms. "I don't have magic and I would have brought equipment with me in the glacier anyway. And used a rope to slowly go down, and if it were too cold, climb up again."

"As if." Sighed Elsa with an eyeroll, knowing more than anyone how impatient Anna was.

"I would have loved a rope, anyway." Murmured Anna at a memory. "Now I learned my lesson, and will always have one on me when exploring."

Elsa understood what she referred to, and instantly shared that memory. After all, she had seen the ice statue representation of that long night of solitude Anna had experienced in her own pit, literally and figuratively, and the sole vision of it in Ahtohallan had been gut wrenching. She had never gone to Arendelle and back just for a hug before.

"Anna…"

"I'm fine." Automatically said the Queen, the reflex fast on her lips. "I'm fine."

She clearly wasn't. The sole fact of having that moment float again in her mind was visible in her expression, and Elsa had taught herself to recognize this specific facial feature. She dropped the last pelt and walked to her sister.

"Come here."

"What?"

Elsa opened her arms.

"But I just yelled at you." Pouted Anna.

"Don't be ridiculous." Smiled her elder.
The redhead eventually smiled too, and they grinned as she launched herself in her waiting arms. They embraced warmly for a long moment, their eyes closed with a shared emotion.

"Why do we even fight." Mumbled Anna over her sister's shoulder.

The latter laughed. "At least we came to a regular sibling relationship despite our years of separation."

Anna giggled. They parted and she pouted to have a final point. "Still, I haven't forgiven you for the winter outfit at Oaken's."

Elsa widened her eyes. "What does this have to do with any of this? Also, it was ages ago!"

She received a tap on the arm from the redhead. "I'm kidding. I was just teasing you."

The tap on the arm became a gentle hold.

"Are you okay?" Frowned Anna.

Elsa looked sorry that her younger sister didn't fully believe her. "I am, I swear."

The Queen still gave her a suspicious teal blue stare. "Are you certain, though? Sometimes I ask different Northuldra for their point of view on your health, and everyone keeps telling me that you're fine. But I wonder if they protect their Fifth Spirit to help her hide her true state…"

Elsa tilted her head in amusement, picturing the nervous redhead jumping on every member of the tribe she could find to ask for their opinion.

"They tell you the truth. The Northudra people don't take health lightly." Assured the blonde.

Her sister didn't hide her sigh of relief, and Elsa smiled.

"Pretending isn't really in the Northuldra code. They are not the kind to lie. Well, there might be one exception…" Admitted the Fifth Spirit.

Her sister was all ears, and she chuckled. "There's one time where they lie. When kids help build the goahtis after we arrive in a new area for settlement. They sometimes do it all wrong, but we tell them "That's nice! Thanks! Now you can go play!" and once they're away, we redo them entirely."

Anna burst into laughter.

"Okay. But if anything goes wrong with you, I mean, if you feel weird at any moment, even the slightest change in your body, like if you feel dizzy or anything, you tell someone around you, alright? And sit down. It's very important to sit down." Insisted the Queen.

Her elder smiled warmly. "I will."

"Elsa?" Asked a familiar voice behind them.

They turned to see Honeymaren give a stare to the blonde with slight shock. She then sighed in a similar manner to Anna's, and Elsa understood that she expected her to rest as well.

"Well, now that you're here, you can make yourself useful." Retorted Honeymaren.

Elsa's jaw dropped and she wanted to point the pile of pelts, but her lover showed the basket she was holding.

"Come with me to look for harvest."

The Spirit nodded with a gulp, not wanting to contradict her girlfriend. Anna watched their relationship with a smile.

She had no idea why, but Elsa really wanted to make up to Honeymaren, so she became very attentive to what was surrounding them as they walked. It was a weird act and she wondered why she did that, since it wasn't her fault at all that she got shot by that dart.

Oh, right, she felt sorry for hiding something from her girlfriend.

"Look! Mushrooms! We could make some soup for tonight." Said Elsa excitedly, pointing at a group of fungi hidden behind a tree.

Honeymaren followed her gesture. "Those are poisonous."

"Oh."

Now that she actually looked at it, Elsa indeed recognized that it was a poisonous species. She knew they were, though, after learning from the Northuldra for more than a year and spending her reclusive childhood reading all available encyclopedias about floras and fauna. So why did she forget? Why did she precipitately tell Honeymaren without thinking it through first?

'Because you're stupid when you want to attract her attention.' Said a smirking voice in her mind.

Elsa blushed at her own thoughts.

'It's a done deal.' Added her subconscious when she saw that Honeymaren was smiling on her side as they walked, still amused by Elsa's intervention.

The blonde closed her fist in slight annoyance at her inner voice, telling it to shut up.

She trotted to be at Honeymaren's level, noticing that she had slowed down in reaction. "Sorry, I..."

"There's nothing you need to apologize for." Smiled Honeymaren. She then nudged her gently. "We always check before cooking any mushrooms, so we would have noticed if you accidentally tried to poison us."

Elsa had a wince, and the brunette winked, then passed a hand in hers before they continued walking together.

When they came back to the camp, they met Kristoff, who had come as soon as he could. The Fifth Spirit didn't dare to make a comment, but she could see that it did some good to the man who grew up in the mountains to take a bowl of fresh air from the stress of Arendelle's reconstruction events. He also had heard from Gale about the letter event, which was the other reason for Anna's venue, and more recently about what happened at the tower.

Once they arrived at the same level, the Spirit heard that Kristoff was talking about the upcoming management of the prisoners.

Elsa wondered if he felt overtaken. She had already asked him many times about his comfort in his new tasks since he married Anna and became King - in fact, she was worried about his feelings towards the royal life when they were only partners - and Kristoff was a person who always was happy to help, so he found himself in this new role.

He was wearing his harvester outfit, and Elsa noted it with humor as she hugged him.

"I left Olaf in charge." He smiled after stepping away from her arms.

Several pairs of eyes widened at his declaration.

"I'm kidding." Snorted the King. "Of course he's not. Kai and Gerda are taking great care of the business."

Anna nodded, confident.

The group helped Kristoff to unpack, and his bags seemed to hold many Arendellian food specialties, which made their mouths water.

Ryder sat down next to Elsa as they unwrapped packages. "I prepared a goahti for him. Say, do you wish to sleep with Anna tonight? I can tell Honeymaren to come sleep in mine, if you two want time together."

Elsa thanked him for his politeness and friendly suggestion, but declined. "Anna and I spend all the time we need together when I'm in Arendelle, don't worry. If the goahti is large enough for two people, she'll be happy with Kristoff."

The herder frowned with care. "Are you sure that you won't have nightmares about… You know."

He rubbed the back of his head and looked elsewhere, wondering if he had crossed a line and she would be scolding him, but Elsa did none of it. She understood that Honeymaren recently told him about her nightmares, like Anna and herself talked a lot about their emotions. It was important as siblings, and she even smiled from it.

"I'm used to having them. Insomnia is a thing that has accompanied me for a long, long time in my life. Your sister helps with it." She added with a smile.

Ryder grinned, not surprised by his elder's attention.

"I stopped counting the number of times I cried in bed at night." Said the blonde. "Oh, Ahtohallan surprised me the other day, with a memory I had nearly forgotten. Once, Anna was riding her bike in the corridors and I could hear Gerda running after her and scolding her. It made me laugh, and in fact, it made me laugh for the first time in days…" Admitted Elsa with a chuckle, and Ryde's blue eyes sparkled as he pictured the scene. "So I went to sit by the door to listen closely. They were at the corner of the corridor near my room, and Anna surely had looked behind her to see where Gerda was, because she knocked the front wheel of the bike at the corner and fell on her hip. I remembered the lesson she got taught by Gerda about caution, and asked her to sit and wait there the time it took her to go grab a bag of ice and come back. I heard Anna grumble in pain at her bruise, but she had no idea I had heard them. I crafted ice cubes that I put in my pillowcase, and sneaked out to place the pouch on the carpet of the corridor before quickly closing the door. She didn't notice at first," precised the blonde, and Ryder looked disappointed, "but later in the day, I heard her knock at the door with an adorable 'thank you', and she slipped a paper folded in the shape of a heart under the door."

"It's so sweet!"

"I know." Smiled Elsa deeply, and one could see that she also understated in that sentence that Anna was the sweetest person in the world, and she was deeply proud of her. She however then looked sad.

"That was the least I could do. Help her ease her pain if she got harmed. I would never have dared to go to Anna's door and apologize and explain everything. I only wished. But back then, it was dangerous to dream."

Ryder winced.

To change the topic and ease their minds, he asked her to introduce him to the food specialties that the King had brought.

Further in the glade, Kristoff frowned with amusement. He had noticed that his wife had her favorite cape and pants on, and she usually never used them for travels to not soil them. "Why are you wearing this outfit?"

Anna widened her eyes and composed herself before turning around.

"What, this? Well, Ahtohallan could make a memory of me anytime, right? Gotta make myself presentable." She said, a bit hurriedly.

"...This can't be the reason." Eyed the blond suspiciously.

"It is. Now stop talking and unpack the food."

He gently grabbed her wrist when she handled the bags. "We'll talk about it later, okay?"

Anna jolted a bit and looked at him with emotional eyes, then sighed. "Okay."

They started to gather around, several minutes passed, then Honeymaren cleared her throat, attracting everyone's attention.

"We should make a campfire. I mean, most of us don't mind the cold, especially Elsa who's immune to it. And, well, Kristoff too, who's used to it from when he worked up in the mountains. Actually it's just for the two of us, Anna." Said the Northuldra precipitately.

She then gestured to Anna to follow her. "Want to come with me to grab some wood?"

Anna blinked, a bit lost. "...Uh?"

Honeymaren insisted with her gaze.

"Oh. Uh, yes, right away." Clumsily said the redhead, and she followed her in the Forest, away from the others.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to have noticed their weird behavior. Elsa would have suspected something if she weren't busy laughing at Ryder's pronunciation of the Arendellian dishes, and Kristoff would have paid more attention if he weren't looking for his iron canteen in his bag.

"What is it?" Asked Anna once they arrived in a quiet spot, understanding that Honeymaren wanted to talk in private.

The latter indicated to her a fallen trunk on which they could sit, and they did in a common move.

"Come on, you're the one who has to tell me something."

"What?" Frowned the Queen.

Honeymaren had a sad expression. "Why are you so obsessed with your outfit?"

Anna's eyes widened, but she didn't reply any 'wait, what?', clearly showing the brunette that she was right to find it weird.

"You usually wear adventurous outfits when you plan to be in the wild for several days, and you love the gear. Those clothes look great on you, really, but they're a bit out of place, and I've seen that you have been paying extra attention to not rip it with branches when we walked. Like… Like you're going to a ceremony with it afterwards."

She bit her lip, especially when she saw Anna starting to bounce her leg nervously and look elsewhere.

"I'm worried, that's all." Assured Honeymaren. "Why did you choose to wear this?"

Anna kept bouncing her leg for a moment, until she looked at her friend, then she fled her gaze again, turning her head to the trees.

"It's in case I get murdered all of a sudden or die in a trap or an attack."

Honeymaren widened her eyes and dropped her jaw. If she weren't seated, her knees would have buckled. "...What?"

"I'd rather have a good-looking outfit in the statue memory that I know Elsa will watch again and again and again."

Honeymaren widened her eyes in surprise, terror and shock.

"...Anna…" She eventually managed to whisper, her breathing short.

The Queen sighed. "I know. Very dark, isn't it? It's been keeping me awake recently. Kristoff noticed, but he thinks that it's because of the Collapse. His care feels good, I'm not gonna lie, but…"

She sighed again, and the emotion was palpable in her voice, so Honeymaren put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. You will be alright. Everything will be alright, and over soon. You have my word. No, really, look at me." Insisted the brunette when she saw Anna scoff, and only continued when the teal blue eyes landed on hers again. "You have my words, Queen Anna of Arendelle. You even have my life. Everyone around you will protect you until their last breath."

Anna's lips trembled. "Which is exactly what I hate! Do you know how many people died in the Collapse to save me?"

"I know, yes."

"How many will continue to die as long as bastards like Hans will be out there, and–" She interrupted herself with a sob before biting her lip to not cry, which was in vain.

However, her strength was admirable; she only shed a few tears before her bravery took control again, and she gulped.

"What will she do, Honeymaren? How will she react?"

The Northuldra didn't have to ask who she was talking about and what possible situation she was mentioning.

"Well, according to you, she will stare at a representation of your assassination again and again, which, pardon me but, I very hardly see Elsa doing."

Anna's usually optimistic eyes turned to devastated ones. "Give it time. And context. When she's done with her mourning, she will inspect every detail of how it went to identify the murderer and–"

"Anna."

Honeymaren's sigh was filled with sadness but also sarcasm. "You're tired. Exhausted even. It's been a long week, okay? It's been stressful and demanding, you're not thinking straight."

"I am perfectly focused!" Growled Anna, and she pushed Honeymaren's reassuring hand away.

Honeymaren had a slight scoff.

"So you were serious when you told Kristoff about Ahtohallan's point of view."

The redhead gave her a stare. "You've been eavesdropping?"

"Calm down. It's not like you had tried to be discreet." Eased the Northuldra. "Besides, it's my job, as a huntress, to be aware of sounds nearby."

Anna scowled.

"Look, we should all go to sleep, alright?" Suggested the brunette. "We'll have this conversation again tomorrow, and–"

"What, you'll tell me that I'll change my mind about Elsa's reaction? About the murder?"

"Maybe." Simply said Honeymaren, gathering all her energy to not get irritated by the redhead cutting her and nearly spitting on her with anger.

Anna muttered something and stood up in one go, away from her.

Despite clearly about to leave each other on bad terms, Honeymaren was confident in Anna's change of attitude on the following day. And she knew the Queen's heart; she would, sooner or later, come to her with a sincere apology.

As a reply to this future gesture of kindness, Honeymaren stood up quickly before she left the area and decided to tell her one more thing.

"Anna."

"What?!" Grumbled the redhead, not stopping.

Honeymaren sighed resolutely. "You know her more than I do, okay? You're her sister. In no way will I ever contradict you on what you think about Elsa. Just like I am not trying to steal her from you. I want you to know that."

Anna froze in place, slightly turning her head, though she didn't turn completely. A silence passed. Then she had an expression that Honeymaren couldn't see, and she walked to join Kristoff and the others.

She watched her go with a sad smile.

Then she realized that they hadn't been picking up wood at all, and she cared about Anna's health as much as she cared about giving her an alibi for why they walked away from the group, so she looked around for kindling.

As she picked it up, she noted that her sight was blurry sometimes, and that she hardly grasped reality. She was exhausted too.

Honeymaren sighed. They all needed a good night of sleep.


After the warm and genuinely intense hug Anna gave Honeymaren on the following day as an excuse for her previous behavior, the Queen expressed her gratitude for the sharing exchange they had.

"Thank goodness you're open-minded, Honeymaren, really." Sighed Anna, apologizing again and again.

"It's fine. I'm sorry too. I'm the one who told you about Elsa's nightmares where your life was in danger in the first place, and it's one of the reasons why you came to the assassination conclusion."

They sighed longly, and looked at the landscape.

"Did you have a lot of nightmares after the Great Thaw?" Gently asked Honeymaren.

Anna had a sad smile. "Yeah. Before too, that's for sure. And as you can guess, it took a while for both Elsa and I to dare ask the other if she minded that we spent a night in the same room. I can't even remember if what I asked her first was if I could join her one night after a nightmare, or if she needed company and I was happy to offer some, or invited her to come sleep in my bedroom when I noticed she was having nightmares too."

Honeymaren made a pout and Anna sighed. "We've been apart for so long… Boy was it awkward at first. It's like we were strangers again, and yet we had just found each other back."

She paused, then chuckled. "Once, we both had a nightmare at the same time, and we bumped into each other in the corridor; we had been walking to avoid sleeping. It was really funny, though. We spent the rest of the night in the kitchens, laughing about stuff while drinking hot chocolate."

"It sounds sweet." Smiled Honeymaren.

"So was the chocolate." Remembered Anna with a laugh. "While I was preparing it, she made a hilarious joke and the bag of sugar slipped out of my hands, and the pan was filled with it."

"What was the joke?" Inquired the Northuldra, curious and interested every time Elsa's humor was implied.

"I can't even remember. Something about the Moon. Probably a pun. It didn't really matter, what I remember most was how we were trying our best not to laugh too hard to not warn the watchmen."

They giggled as they kept walking.

When they passed next to birch trees, Anna passed her hand on the bark. "What's ironic is that our nightmares often had a common theme. Most of the time, it was about me freezing entirely and never waking up."

Honeymaren's heart pinched, and she nodded wisely. "I figured. I never truly approached the topic with Elsa, because I don't want to make her sad. But we talked about it sometimes."

Anna nodded, not sure how to move on. Thankfully, a moment of silence later, she heard Honeymaren chuckle lightly with a smile. "It's crazy how I assumed for so long that Elsa was flawless, but she really is vulnerable."

Another silence followed, this time shorter, with Anna staring at her in a judging way. Honeymaren widened her eyes and lifted her hands innocently. "No, no, wait, it didn't sound like I wanted… I-I mean…"

The sister's gaze, which held the power of a Queen, kept staring at her, and she felt like she was about to sweat. She cleared her throat.

"When I started to have feelings for Elsa, and wanted so dearly to date her, I kept thinking… How can I be perfect for someone who already is?"

She lifted her eyes to the sky. "She looked pure, splendid, absolutely excellent in every domain… Really, it was impressive. I was in awe, I didn't even dare to walk in her steps sometimes when she wanted to show me something with the Spirits. And then one night… I heard her cry. She had isolated herself, and I felt bad when she spotted me and understood that I heard her."

Anna's frown melted, and she had a sad smile.

"She held so much… The weight on her shoulders…" Continued Honeymaren in a murmur. "But I'm peaching to the choir, right?" She smiled at Anna.

The latter nodded, then smirked. "It's preaching to the choir, but yes, I totally get you. I had assumed for the longest time that she was rude for keeping me away all those years, but when I learned the truth… Damn, I was crushed."

They kept walking, not adding anything. Then Honeymaren tilted her head.

"It's not peaching?"

Anna laughed out loud. "Why would it be linked to peaches? It's about the choir and something they already do. Like… Preaching the already converted. You see?" Explained Anna, willing to go deeper if the Northuldra didn't grasp it.

Honeymaren looked more disappointed than anything else. "I thought it was linked to the fruit."

She pouted a bit, and Anna laughed, which Honeymaren shared quickly.

"So I assume that you like to reassure Elsa, just like she loves being reassured by you, whenever she feels down or has bad memories?" Asked the redhead.

Honeymaren grinned. "Precisely. Thankfully, Ahtohallan doesn't show her her sad childhood too often."

Anna shook her head amusedly. "This sentence is crazy. If you told me, during the first months after the Great Thaw, about any of this… Waow. She came a long way. You two came a long way." She winked at the brunette.

"It's just as fascinating for us. I have to remind you that not so long ago, I thought that the Fifth Spirit was only a legend. Now… Being a Northuldra in harmony with Nature and the Fifth Spirit's girlfriend at once has its perks." Grinned Honeymaren.

Anna was very curious all of a sudden. "Do tell more. She's always embarrassed when I ask her how you two are… Proceeding, intimacy wise. I mean, if everything's alright where you're at… About the couple."

The brunette lifted an amused eyebrow at her friend's nonsense blabber. "Are you sure that it's not just because you have trouble asking her?"

Anna gasped. "That's because I'm asking you right now that I can't find the right words! When I ask her, it's completely different, and easier. Oh, come on, don't look at me like that with your fake innocent face. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Honeymaren kindly stopped her pretense and smiled. "Our bed life goes very well, thank you for asking."

Now Anna blushed lightly. She didn't expect her to be so direct. When she asked Elsa, it took forever for the blonde to finally utter a response, and the blonde had to check a thousand times around them if anyone was eavesdropping. Honeymaren, on the other hand, seemed to be completely fine with the possibility that people of her tribe overheard what Elsa and her were doing in private.

"G-good, then, excellent even." Stammered Anna. "I only wish for her happiness in… Every domain."

'Sweet goodness, why is it so hard to talk about it? Now I understand how Elsa felt when she asked me about Kristoff. Oh, and I get why she was as red as a tomato when she interrupted… Wait, does Ahtohallan keep those memories too? Technically, she does… Oh no…'

While Anna was lost in thoughts, Honeymaren had continued talking, and the redhead only just caught up.

"Also, she's a quick learner. Really, I was astonished by her talent. She's a natural." Nodded Honeymaren with an impressed pout.

Now Anna's cheeks were on fire, embarrassment spreading until the tip of her ears. She buried her face in her hands. "Nooo, nononono, now I have images in my mind. I'm picturing her… Agh!"

"Picturing what? Elsa picking berries?" Blinked Honeymaren.

Anna groaned behind her fingers. "Or whatever you girls call it, I don't wanna know, and I regret asking you."

Honeymaren frowned, then her jaw dropped as she connected the dots. She snorted. "Anna!"

"Whaaat?" Whined the redhead, clenching her eyes.

"I was talking about actual berry picking. Elsa has become really good at it in a record time. That was the talent I was talking about."

The Queen peeked at her through her fingers. "...For real?"

The Northuldra nodded with a grin.

A silence passed.

"I'm never gonna reveal any detail of our personal life without Elsa giving me her consent first." Revealed Honeymaren with a reassuring tone. "If she finds out that I've been telling someone anything on that topic, she will die. Well, she will kill me first, then die."

Anna smiled at her humor, and sighed with relief. Of course Honeymaren wasn't going to talk about that in the open.

"Well, at least I'm now certain that you know her, and have the best care."

"Did you have any doubt?"

The Queen thought and eventually gave her a smile. "Actually, I think I never did. From the moment you introduced yourself to me last year, I knew that you were a kind person."

"Oh, thank you, Your Majesty." Said the brunette with an exaggerated bow.

"...And a huge dork." Added Anna after her mockery.

Honeymaren faked a gasp.

"Which makes you a perfect match for my sister." Grinned the redhead.

The brunette was confused as she walked. "A match? Is it a word you use because partners lit a flame in each other?"

Anna snorted, but masked it with a cough. "No, but that's actually very poetic of you. No, we use it to talk about a pair."

"Oh, because of games."

Now Anna was the lost one. "Wait, what?"

"Because you call games matches?"

The Queen was astonished by the accidental parallel, but she really wasn't in the mood to think too much today. "Uhm, maybe. I guess you make quite the team."

Honeymaren smiled. "Thanks. Though, I'm not disappointed if we're on opposing teams when we play, no matter who prevails."

Anna smiled, and the brunette kept going.

"Seeing Elsa happy is a reward on its own. Even when I lose I'm winning. Have you ever seen her smile when she succeeds at something? It's like the whole world stops to light her up. It's so contagious, one could forget to be mad at her if it's found out that she actually cheated at the game."

Anna chuckled. "I know what you mean. Though I do stay mad at her when she wins against me. Especially at chess."

Honeymaren laughed.

"Speaking of cheating at games, be careful, because she has tricks you'll never see coming." Warned Anna.

The brunette widened her eyes, instantly stopping. "What? What does this mean?"

The Queen shrugged while she continued to walk. "You shall see. I guess I keep some secrets of hers too."

"No, wait, Anna, what do you mean, tricks?!" Asked Honeymaren, trotting behind her.


Life at the Northuldra camp for the following days was soothing with peace. Anna and Kristoff had gone back to Arendelle after their long break, now sure that Hans didn't come back with another attack.

Of course, every member of the tribe was on their guard in preparation of any trap, and Hans was on many minds, but now that the Arendellian authorities handled the group that had taken the Nattura siblings hostage, they felt better.

Elsa and Honeymaren thoroughly enjoyed their bubble of calm by isolating in a secluded part of the woods and crafted each other a flower crown, exchanging giggles and kisses as they sat in the grass.

At some point, Honeymaren heard a dry breaking sound, and thought for a moment that it came from her lover's gestures as she twirled the flowers with a focused expression. She frowned as she listened carefully, her eyes still on her girlfriend just in case, when suddenly the noise reoccurred, this time way closer.

Widening her eyes, Honeymaren turned to the origin of the noise, saw the person who had just stepped on a cracking twig on the ground again, and jumped on Elsa.

The blonde first thought that her partner was tackling her for a tickle fight, until she realized the silhouette behind Honeymaren's panicked face.

There was a whistle and a 'twack!' when a crossbow bolt passed right above her head, in the place where it previously was before Honeymaren threw all of her weight on Elsa to drop her down, and planted in a tree behind her.

The brunette twirled around with the fury and the glance of a tiger, and jumped in the direction of the man, still taking enough space to protect her lover in case the man was faster than her in his reload. One quarter of a second before he finished placing a new bolt, Honeymaren grabbed it and smacked his face with the crossbow, the thug grunting at the shock.

He stumbled backward and held his broken nose with anger, then moved forward for his revenge. However, as he had closed his eyes at the pain, he lost visual contact on the Northuldra. He looked around with panic as Elsa was standing up again, when he heard the sound of his crossbow being broken apart in his back. He barely reacted that Honeymaren passed the metal arch above his face and strangled him with it by pulling it back when it reached his neck.

The man tried to escape, but it was a clever trap. She didn't mean to kill him though; only to make him faint.

He however was stronger than her, and despite having the advantage, Honeymaren started to huff in effort.

"Here! I caught a bandit!" She yelled for help, and other Northuldra who were busy in their tasks nearby dropped everything to run to their spot.

The man grunted in pain, then realized that he could still use the rest of his body, and that Elsa was right there. He smirked, and reached for something inside his vest.

The Snow Queen saw him raise a blowpipe and aim at her as he brought it to his lips, and in an instant, something pierced through the air. She immediately lifted her left hand in one swift move, and a stalagmite of ice raised from the ground at the speed of light, trapping the dart inside.

She had a disdainful expression as she looked at the projectile. Through the blurry but diamond-solid ice, she could recognize it as identical to the one she had received at the neck and affected her health.

She lifted her eyes to the bandit who was now stumbling on the ground after being hit at the back of his legs by an angry Honeymaren. The brunette subdued him by standing over his calf, and he couldn't make a move anymore.

Elsa snorted with a smirk.

"You really think you can do it twice? I don't keep a good memory of your poisoned friend." She said, pointing at the trapped dart. "I've been on my guard since, and your pathetic darts are ineffective."

The man had a rictus, and Elsa frowned when she realized he was smiling.

"I know." Said the thug.

Honeymaren frowned in turn.

"Hans told me that you did that little trick with Weselton soldiers." He smirked, showing the stalagmite with a move of his chin. "That's why this time, I didn't put the poison inside the dart…" He chuckled in a gruff. "I spread it on the outside. The dart is coated with it."

Elsa widened her eyes.

The poison was directly in contact with her magic.

She looked at the dart a second time and noted that indeed, the dart was glistening with it. She hadn't paid much attention before because of the blur of the ice.

Elsa frowned and threw a gust of icy wind to his head so she could knock him unconscious.

Or rather, she tried to throw.

Because nothing happened.

She tried again, but once more, her swift move of the arm resulted in nothing.

"Wh… What?"

Elsa's face turned to terror, and in a few seconds, her breathing became ragged, fragile, weak. She looked down at her hands, her body and soul roamed with the feeling that something was missing.

Her azure blue eyes widened in panic, in realization, as her brain finally caught up with the fact that she felt cold, really, really cold, like suddenly she had just noticed the temperature of air. A horrible sensation seized her body and she trembled as she clenched her arms together, hugging herself in an instinctive way to warm herself up.

The last time she had felt like that was when she had been walking too far in Ahtohallan. But this time, it was worse. Way, way worse. She stumbled to the ground, her legs feeling like cotton.

"...Elsa?" Frowned Honeymaren, seeing her tremble like a leaf with shaking breathing. "What is going on?"

The bandit chuckled in victory at her state. Honeymaren frowned as she did a quick motion of the metal arch to stun him down, his head dropping down, then she ran to kneel at her girlfriend's side.

The group of Northuldra arrived at the same time, and stopped right in their tracks at the sight.

To Honeymaren's terror, and their embarrassed surprise, Elsa's clothes started to melt away on her skin and she soon found herself naked in front of everyone. Thankfully, Elsa was curled in a ball on the ground, shivering and shuddering, so the others didn't see anything; they had averted their gaze anyway.

Honeymaren gasped and detached her jacket, nearly ripping the buttons away, before using it to hide her weakening lover from anyone's sight. It also was to protect her from the cold, which for the first time in her life, the blonde clearly minded.

Honeymaren noted with stupefaction how the entirety of what Elsa had been wearing had been made out of ice and snow, but kept the snarky remark of the lack of underwear for later; her mind really wasn't in the mood for seductive tease anyway. What she concluded above all was that Elsa just lost her magic.

For the first time since they met, Honeymaren saw a cloud of smoke at Elsa's lips, and she gasped when she saw her lips tremble.

The woman was curled in the cold wearing nothing else than a protective jacket, and she lifted panicked eyes to her lover, weakly and confusedly.

"H… Honey… I…"

"Shhh, I know, baby, I know." Soothed the brunette, rubbing the back of her jacket. "Don't talk. Keep your strength."

But strength was the last thing that Elsa had, and all that remained of it vanished away. The Spirit wasn't a Spirit anymore, and she fainted on the ground at Honeymaren's feet.


"You absolute, filthy, ROTTEN–" Howled the brunette in Northuldrian, twirling around frantically, her glance impressively switching from tenderness when she had checked the pulse of her lover to flaming rage as she stared at the blowpipe shooter.

Two of the Northuldra men made him stand up to arrest him, and her shout had woken him up. A third man grabbed the weapon out of his hands to snap it in two. "Here. He won't hurt the Fifth Spirit or anyone else anymore."

Honeymaren's eyes filled with intense fury. "Oh, I'm the one who will hurt him."

She gently deposited Elsa to the ground before heading to the bandit, her feet stomping. Even the strong men were startled by her attitude.

"No, wait." Intervened the previous Northuldra, raising his hand as he placed himself between her and the now smirking thug.

Honeymaren fulminated as she stopped, and she sent a glance to the pirate who obviously was having a great time.

"He still has to deal with Arendelle on a justice plan. You know they have rules. Anna told us about the trial all the pirates have to face after what happened to their land. Also, if you break his nose with a punch, or do anything to his face, even a scratch, he can… What's that expression she used? Build a lodge? No… Lodge a complaint. It can turn against you."

Honeymaren wanted to retort, push him aside, but she clenched her fists and jaw as she admitted that he was right. She exhaled through her nose, however not without sending a death stare at the bandit.

The latter was delighted by her lack of choice, and wanted to tease her, but the warriors pulled him away and his breath was taken away for a moment.

"Lock him under surveillance in your goahti." Asked Honeymaren, and the wise Northuldra nodded.

She had asked him not only because he lived alone and had more room, but also because his house was the farthest from Honeymaren's, so she would be less tempted to go knock his ribs if she wanted to.

The brunette exhaled once more seeing the men walk away, and turned back to her lover, instantly kneeling to pass a soft hand against her cheek. Elsa may have her eyes closed, she was trembling, and Honeymaren quickly lifted her body to hold her with her arms under her back and thighs, and rested her head against her chest.

The way back to the camp happened in a weird atmosphere. It was hurried in urgency, yet solemn.

Honeymaren was devastated, speechless, and she really didn't say a word for the whole trip. She was gathering every ounce of will to not bark insults or yell at the bandit who had taken away what made Elsa herself, which hurt her at the very core.

The rest of the trip thus became awkward, with Honeymaren crying her heart out silently, her unrubbed tears glistening on her face as she fixed her chestnut eyes on the horizon. She was holding Elsa tight, rubbing her thumb along the jacket on her arm and feeling her shuddering breath against her now uncovered skin.

A Northuldra woman, who was watching their backs now that they were vulnerable, approached her.

"Honeymaren."

"What?" She grunted through gritted teeth.

"I know it's not the right moment to ask, but… Why did Elsa's clothes melt, but not the stalagmite she made just before?"

Honeymaren found herself unable to answer for a moment, too stunned. "Because it's cold enough outside for the stalagmite to not turn to water." She finally managed to explain. "Her outfit, however… It was in contact with her skin, and…" She gulped before the next part. "Her body now has a normal heat, so it melted the thin layer of ice."

Honeymaren looked down at her lover and saw her suffering, so she held her tight against her with a clenched jaw.

It wasn't like when Elsa had frozen in Ahtohallan; she had lost her powers. She had lost herself. She…

Honeymaren gulped.

'She has become human.' She thought, in utter disbelief of her own conclusion, but it was the right one.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived at the camp, and the Northuldra kids, who obviously hadn't been told that the Fifth Spirit was close to death, wondered why Honeymaren was holding her like they had just been married.

Yelena ran to her. "The others told me what happened." She said wisely, but she couldn't keep her calm expression for long when she saw Elsa's state.

She recognized the alarming appearance of someone who had been trapped in the cold with inadequate clothing, or someone who had just been dragged out of a frozen lake after falling through the ice.

"I need to bring her to a hot spring!" Exclaimed Honeymaren, tears falling over her face when she saw Yelena's worried expression.

Her yell was so sudden that it surprised everyone, and the old Northuldra was touched to see that Honeymaren had been holding her emotion so far and only cracked in presence of her.

"Don't be ridiculous." Frowned the chief, serious and looking for solutions to help her. "Bring her to your goahti. Cover her whole body with pelts. I'll bring some more. She doesn't need warm water right now, Honeymaren, she needs heat, and you."

The Northuldra gulped at the chief's words, and nodded through her tears. The group made way for her to walk to her goahti, and Ryder hurried to jump out of the crowd to run open the flap door for her. She gave him a quick tearful gesture, and he simply nodded with a sad smile, patting her shoulder. Several Northuldra helped her lay Elsa down on the bed and brought the pelts above her, politely averting their eyes again when they saw her naked. Yelena brought new pelts, and it now formed a big pile above the blonde. Honeymaren hesitated for a moment between taking her jacket back or leaving it on the blonde's body as a first layer, but decided to not move it away. Elsa had once confessed how much she loved the brunette's scent and she dearly wished that it would miraculously wake her up.

The blonde's body was still trembling, and Honeymaren's tears turned to sobbing.

"It's gonna be okay, Maren…" Whispered a Northuldra man, and he put his hand on her shoulder.

"GET OUT!" She jolted in a sudden outburst, pushing his hand away. "GET OUT! ALL OF YOU! LEAVE ME! LEAVE US ALONE!" She yelled, not even recognizing her own self at her words.

They all stumbled and left with wide eyes, clever enough to not cross the warrior.

When she heard the flap of the door closing behind the last Northuldra, Honeymaren clenched her eyes shut and sobbed even more. Her knees buckled and she let herself drop on the bed next to Elsa's unconscious body. She cried loudly for long, solitary minutes, her sobs the only sound in the goahti, reverberating against her with the wood panels.

After a moment, her breathing calmed down, her cries too, like she had no strength or tears left anymore.

In that moment of solitude, of despair, of unfairness, she wanted nothing more than to cry until the end of time on her lover's body. But suddenly something had ignited up her heart like a tiny fire. It wasn't out of happiness, though, but more out of motivation. Of duty. She owed something to someone. She opened her eyes with determination.

Honeymaren jumped up and ran outside, closing the door behind and lifting her head to the sky. With all the force in her lungs, she sang out the Spirits Call.
Everybody startled and turned to her, astonished. Gale instantly answered the Northuldra's request, and twirled down in a spiral to float in front of her.

"Bring Anna and Kristoff here. Right now." Ordered Honeymaren with fierce chestnut eyes, in which the Wind Spirit almost saw real fire. The brunette then softened her expression with respect, lifting her hand to caress the caring wind. "Please. Be quick."

Some leaves caressed her fingers back along a reassuring tingle, then Gale swiftly rose in the sky, propelling herself through the trees, tousling Honeymaren with its might. With ruffled hair, she watched her dash through the clouds to the South, and breathed out.

She was about to go back in to watch over Elsa, when a woman approached. It was Sonya, the healer, who was close to Honeymaren and their trust with the brunette was mutual, but for once the Northuldra was very timid.

"Honeymaren. Can I come in? I'm only trying to help."

She showed her satchel of cures and remedies, that contained many plants that could be used as fortifiers. Honeymaren looked at her with a dumb stare at first, still in utter confusion with everything that happened, then her heart sunk in her chest.

"Of course. Please, please enter."

Sonya smiled and stepped in, while Honeymaren stayed outside. She looked around and saw that all the Northuldra were staring at her. She could tell that it wasn't just out of worry for the Fifth Spirit's state. They also had been stupefied by Honeymaren's unusual aggressiveness.

A ball formed in the brunette's throat, and she gulped.

"Everyone, I'm… I'm sorry for my behavior. I'm so stressed, I… I didn't mean to yell at you."

Some Northuldra smiled at her, others nodded. They resumed their activities, wishing her courage with their glances. One woman sent her a smile and a chin gesture that universally meant 'What are you waiting for? Go back to her side!' and Honeymaren smiled, before entering again and closing the door behind her to keep as much warmth as needed inside.


Author's Note:

DUN DUN DUNNNN.

From family and friendship humor to ANGSSSSST [stirs pot] yes yes YES best recipe!

Actually this chapter and the next were initially split differently, but thanks to my beloved beta-reader phenixy-dunnhart I found a better way to make the cliffhanger. AND YOU LOVE IT DON'T YOU YOU DRAMA FANS :D

Thanks for the support so far y'all. Please leave a comment, it means a lot ;)