Chapter 10:
To be human again
"Easy. Easy." Smiled Honeymaren.
She wanted nothing more than to tackle her lover into a powerful hug, but she was following Sonya's strong advice and helping Elsa sit up with slow gestures.
"Here, I made you some herbal tea." Smiled the healer.
Honeymaren was the one who took the mug in her hand, however, for they had sadly discovered that Elsa was unable to make any move.
The Fifth Spirit was curled on herself and sulking in a traumatized posture. Honeymaren understood that the panic attack Elsa had when she had woken up still hadn't left the blonde despite hers and Sonya's soothing administrations.
When the blonde had found out that she truly didn't have magic anymore, and that it wasn't a nightmare she had in her coma, she screamed in the goahti, breaking Honeymaren's heart in half.
Elsa's breathing still was ragged, and her lover placed a hand above hers. The blonde immediately hissed, but it was involuntary, so the Northuldra retracted her hand right away.
"Sorry."
"No, I am." Muttered Elsa. "I just… They are very sensitive."
Honeymaren nodded in pity. They had changed her to a Northuldra tunic when she was unconscious, and since she opened her eyes, everything she touched had an impact.
"Your whole skin is sensitive. It's normal. It's the first time that you don't have magic coursing in your veins." Assured Honeymaren.
She felt bad for stating the truth so bluntly, and her heart sank in her chest at Elsa's tearful sigh.
"Anna is going to arrive soon. The Wind Spirit understood my worry and it's very likely that she'll basically swoop her up and bring her directly here through the air." Reassured the brunette with a joking tone to make her lover smile.
She succeeded, for the blonde's lips finally twitched up for the first time since she woke up, and Sonya and Honeymaren felt relieved to see her in that mood. Honeymaren blew on the mug of tea then brought it to Elsa's lips, tilting it so she could drink, and her girlfriend jolted at the liquid. The brunette had good reflexes and tilted the mug back to not splash its content out.
"Gods, I didn't– I'm sorry."
"There's no need to apologize, mitt lys."
"No, it's not just sensitivity… It's so hot, I didn't expect it."
Honeymaren frowned, looking down at the mug on which she had blown, and eyed Sonya. The latter frowned too. She had prepared it while Elsa was still in her coma, and they had spent a long time calming her down, so it should be lukewarm by now… Honeymaren carefully brought it to her lips to test it, and indeed the tea was just warm, not hot. She was about to make that remark out loud, until she realized that it was because Elsa's affinity with hot and cold had been completely disrupted.
"Yeah, it's still very hot." Lied the Northuldra, and she placed the mug aside.
Sonya was clever enough to not check after her.
"In the meantime, maybe we can talk?" Smiled Honeymaren. "Come on, I need you to tell me…"
She put a caring hand on the pelt that was above Elsa's knee.
"…How do you feel?"
The blonde looked down.
"Terrible." She muttered. "In a weird way."
Her tearful azure blue eyes met Honeymaren's chestnut irises.
"It's like… A part of me is missing." She said, looking at her fingers, folding and unfolding them.
It was the only movement she could do that wouldn't send a sensation of needles through her whole body.
The Northuldra nodded. "I can easily imagine." She winced. "I mean, I can't. I can't imagine. That must be a very specific sensation. But I suppose that you feel like you're incomplete."
"Exactly." Gulped Elsa. "It's even like… Like one of my senses is gone."
Honeymaren worried. "Did you lose one of your five senses? Or was it like a sixth one?"
Elsa smiled, touched by her concern, and actually considered the question. She squinted and slightly tilted her head, analyzing what she was feeling. "Hmmm, no, it's more like… Something you always had, but never fully paid attention to, and miss a lot when it's gone, you know what I mean? Like trying to not use your thumbs for a day. Though it's constant, and not just physical."
Honeymaren smiled sadly. "Yeah, now I get it."
Elsa slowly shifted on the bed for a more comfortable position, but looked impossibly uncomfortable as she did. It was like she found her entire body strange, dull, alien even.
"You should drink your tea." Advised Sonya before leaving the couple alone. "It will do you good, I promise. I selected the herbs."
Honeymaren gave her a thankful smile as she passed the door. While she lifted the mug, she wondered if the healer should rather have made the tea with calming plants instead of fortifiers. Though if Elsa were to have another outburst of panic, she would be there to soothe her anyway.
"I'll blow on it until it cools down. I can work my little magic as well."
Elsa smiled softly. "Thank you so much for taking care of me."
"Anytime, my love."
The blonde had to stop grinning to drink properly. She couldn't hold a shiver when the heat came down her throat.
"I hope that the poison will soon dissipate," she whined, "this is horrible."
Honeymaren forced herself to smile. 'The dart met your magic less than two hours ago, so I doubt that your body will recover from it soon…' She thought, but refused to share to not bring the already fragile blonde to a state of despair.
Elsa suddenly sneezed.
"Sorry."
"Your body's probably just adapting with the heat." Smiled Honeymaren.
"Well, at least I don't sneeze snowgies. That's a start."
Honeymaren laughed. "True."
She looked around and was happy to see that for once, the little creatures were nowhere to be seen, and that she didn't need to prevent them from making a mess, especially in a goahti. The one time she had tickled Elsa's nose with a feather definitely was the last. She had been fascinated for sure, but also quickly overwhelmed by the situation when trying to catch them all.
Elsa sniffed, and slowly, very slowly, lifted her hand to touch her nose. Honeymaren let her do it at her own pace, to see how much time she would need. The skin at the tip of her nose was cold, leaving Elsa very intrigued. "Waow. This is truly weird."
She focused a bit more on the sensations of her body now that she felt more calm after her fright when she woke up, Honeymaren's close presence in the silence soothing her.
The feeling of the tunic against her skin was really odd; she felt like she hadn't worn actual fabric in a lifetime. It was tickling her everywhere.
She knew that she would see her breathing appear in a cloud if she stepped outside, and she wasn't psychologically ready to see that again. Visions of what happened when she last did were printed in her mind.
She clenched her eyes shut, and Honeymaren noticed it.
"Hey. Give yourself a break. Things are okay. You're conscious, you're safe, and we're all here for you if you need us."
Elsa nodded, and asked to drink more tea. She owed so much to the Northuldra people, and promised herself to thank them deeply once all of this would be over. If it was even returning to normal one day. What was normal? Was being magic her normal?
"I can see you overthinking." Pointed Honeymaren.
"I can't help it." Murmured Elsa. "And I still can't find a way to describe that dizzy feeling I have since I woke up, and it's really bugging me."
Honeymaren watched her starting to mutter.
"Maybe… Inner ear deficiency? A psychological imbalance?" Self-suggested the blonde.
Her girlfriend grinned.
"What?" Frowned Elsa.
"It's nice to see that your nerdy brain is still there." Smirked the brunette. "Anna will be relieved to see that you're okay on that point."
Elsa rolled her eyes.
Then she realized how giddy that simple gesture made her feel. She clenched her eyes shut and groaned in discomfort, but also inconvenience. She never considered that such a loss could cripple her that much.
"I feel so weird…"
"I know, baby." Smiled Honeymaren reassuringly, and she gently squeezed her knee from above the pelts.
The blonde observed her girlfriend for a moment, smiling in awe.
"You're so beautiful." She murmured, in an emotional whisper, love roaming her.
Honeymaren chuckled. "Thanks, but I think that your state makes you say that. Hey, here's the word you're looking for. Feverish. You're feverish."
Elsa kept her glance. "I'm serious. You're so gorgeous it hurts."
The brunette shook her head. "It's your brain that's hurt."
"No, I'm pretty sure it's my heart."
Honeymaren laughed out loud. "Oh, waow, it's a good thing that Sonya walked out, or this would have been awkward." She wheezed, and she realized that her previous panic and stress were washing over her at Elsa's uncharacteristic behavior. "I can't believe that all it takes for you to switch to your cheesy romantic mode is to be very tired."
"And lose my magic." Added Elsa bitterly.
The Northuldra's smile turned to a pout. "Of course, mitt lys. Sorry, I shouldn't have joked about that."
"It's okay. I was just teasing."
The two lovers looked at each other, lulled in their cocoon.
"You'll be alright, Elsa. You're safe."
The blonde blinked tired, disoriented eyes, but she gave her a weak smile.
Honeymaren lifted her head to the sky when she heard the Wind Spirit approach in a tingling at the top of the trees. She was carrying two people that the Northuldra recognized instantly when they got gently dropped on the grass. She ran to join them.
"Anna! You're here! I'm getting some water for Elsa. Woaw, are you okay?"
Honeymaren switched from a welcoming warm voice to a worried one when Anna, who had just put her feet on the ground, raised a warning finger, her other hand on her thigh as she bent in two.
"Hold on." Muttered the redhead, her face pale. "Between the stress and Gale's speed, I think I'm gonna throw up."
She took a deep breath, still lifting a finger. Honeymaren saw Kristoff retching next to her, and Ryder ran to help him.
The Northuldra winced as she turned back to the redhead, and noticed that she was in full Queen attire, and probably had interrupted something important.
"It's okay. Breathe calmly." Advised Honeymaren, understanding her concern.
The redhead slowly retrieved her regular breathing back, ending her hyperventilation and nauseous feeling. Her cheeks regained some colors, and she lifted her head, the golden touches of her outfit shimmering in the daylight as she looked around.
"Thank you for the picking up idea. It was necessary for the urgency." She told Honeymaren. "Though, I'm not willing to do that ever again."
The Wind Spirit floated above them in a sorry gesture, and Anna smiled nervously, still out of breath. "It's okay, I don't blame you. You were as stressed as I was… It's normal that you were fast."
Gale chimed before leaving, relieved that her friend had forgiven her.
Anna sighed with her hands on her hips. "I've never traveled that fast in my
entire life. Pretty sure I broke a world record."
Honeymaren smiled. "According to Mattias, you were remarkably fast when you ran away from the Giants…"
Anna didn't smile anyway, and the Northuldra understood that now wasn't the time for jokes.
"Where is she?" Asked Anna, and Honeymaren could hear in that simple sentence a mix of a regal ordering tone, and a deep sisterly worry.
"In our goahti." Pointed the brunette.
The Queen dashed past her in an instant.
Elsa jumped of surprise on the bed when something very fast, orange, black and green suddenly barged into the goahti, and soon threw itself in her arms.
"Elsa!" Exhaled Anna's voice, as a last clue of who it was.
"WAIT, ANNA!" Warned Honeymaren.
How could she have spent such a long time greeting her and completely forgot to tell the tactile redhead that Elsa was very sensible to touch?
The blonde however quietly accepted the embrace of her little sister. Anna couldn't see it with her face against the pillow above Elsa's shoulder, but the latter had her eyes clenched shut, her whole face contracted in agony.
Honeymaren's soul hurt at the sight.
"Anna, Anna, let her breathe."
The younger sister retreated from the hug, sitting next to Elsa's legs. "Are you okay? You look pale."
"And I had no idea how warm you actually are." Muttered Elsa with a nervous smile.
"Warm?" Frowned Anna. "Do you have a fever?"
She raised her forearm and was about to place it on her forehead, when a quick huntress hand grasped her at the crook of the elbow and tugged it back.
Anna blinked at a very serious Honeymaren.
"What?"
"Can I talk to you outside, please?" Asked the brunette with a clenched jaw.
"It's fine, Honey." Sighed Elsa. "You can tell her here. I don't mind."
Honeymaren gave her a stare of confirmation.
"I really don't." Assured the blonde.
Anna's head went back and forth between the Northuldra and her sister. Honeymaren sighed, and spent the following minutes telling the Queen everything, until the tiniest detail. At every step of her story, Anna's face decomposed.
"Ryder probably is making a summary to Kristoff outside too, well at least once he'll be done throwing up." Ended Honeymaren.
Elsa winced.
"The Wind Spirit was quite urgent in her… Delivery." Explained the brunette.
Anna was devastated by the reveal, and her eyes filled with tears. She quickly blinked them away with determination, keeping her royal assurance.
"It will be okay." Said Anna with a resolute frown, patting Elsa's leg from above the covers. "It's the first day of your life without your powers. Of course it feels odd. But you'll get them back. I promise."
Elsa gave her a look. How could she have any guarantee of it?
"Are you holding up?"
Elsa snorted. "Well, for now, the only moment when I would need my magic was to cool down a mug of tea. So I'm good."
The two others smiled. "I mean, are you able to stand up?" Asked Anna.
"Oh."
She suddenly looked sad.
"You can't move from the bed, right?" Guessed the redhead.
Elsa sighed, biting her lip as new tears threatened to fall. She shook her head, and the sole gesture made her feel dizzy. Honeymaren quickly reached out to help her retrieve her balance, and Anna widened her eyes when she saw that her elder nearly fell.
"She can't move at all without feeling nauseous, Anna." Said Honeymaren when she saw her expression.
The blonde gave her a stare for saying it so bluntly, but then breathed out in acknowledgement that it had to be said. She saw the teal blue eyes looking at her bedridden state with a heartbreaking familiarity, and her ribs seemed to itch for a second. Elsa gladly wanted to drop the topic of her horrible state, so she forced herself to smile.
"How was it to make it all the way from Arendelle with Gale?"
Anna blinked away tears, and smiled in turn.
"It was even worse than I possibly imagined, but I'm fine. Though I shouldn't have drunk two hot chocolates this morning." She added, massaging her belly.
"I'm so sorry." Winced Elsa.
"You don't need to apologize. It's not your fault."
"It's even mine", admitted Honeymaren.
Anna laughed. "You should have seen the face of the politicians and the staff at the meeting when Gale suddenly came in through the window and practically pulled Kristoff and me outside."
The two other women stared at her with wide eyes.
"I barely had the time to explain that they saw me drop from the second floor."
"That's crazy!" Exclaimed Honeymaren and Elsa at the same time, but not in the same tone.
Honeymaren found that rapture hilarious and liked the idea of elder men dropping their jaws at the brisk intervention, and Elsa found it extremely dangerous.
"Did you get the time to at least… Postpone the meeting?"
"Kai was there, he'll take care of it. And take care of politicians' possible questions." Assured Anna, waving her hand in a 'meh' way.
Elsa however still had widened eyes. "Possible questions? You mean, other than seeing the King and the Queen being propelled through the sky?"
"I've made them see worse for the past year's meetings," assured Anna.
Elsa didn't even want to know.
Honeymaren grinned. "You can add that to the number of times Kristoff and you jump in the air from a height together."
The redhead laughed.
She then looked at her elder with a smile of pity. "So you feel the others' real skin warmth for the first time, right?"
"That's it." Sighed Elsa. "I wasn't surprised by Honeymaren's, though, she's always hot."
She realized what she just said, and blushed, which felt like she had just plunged her whole head in a fire. Anna snorted. "Excuse me?"
Honeymaren was about to say something, but Elsa was faster. "I mean when I cuddle with her. I always get warmer."
No, that was worse.
The Northuldra was amused by her lover's behavior, but worried that her heart rate would go too high with the innuendo. She didn't want Elsa to faint because of it, so she moved forward to check her pulse.
However, she just complicated the already flustering moment by casually placing her palm over Elsa's chest. Despite having the Northuldra tunic on, the gesture brought both sisters to a blushing state.
Elsa was deeply embarrassed, though she undeniably loved the tender and affectionate touch, while Anna scoffed in disbelief at Honeymaren's choice.
"Couldn't you feel her pulse on her wrist?" She snorted, abashed. "Like normal people do?"
Elsa gave her a stare and blushed even more, if humanly possible. With her current state and the impossibility for her to cool down her cheeks, she felt like her entire body was seized by fever.
Yep, Honeymaren had been right. Fever was the right word.
Anna didn't notice her reaction, too busy looking at Honeymaren with sarcasm, and the latter retracted her hand.
"Oh, my bad, I didn't realize. I didn't think…"
She wanted to tell the Queen that Elsa's heart rate was fine as good news, and proof that she didn't mean anything other than to check her health, but she felt like it would bury her even deeper.
Sonya suddenly came in, saving them all from the awkward situation it had generated.
"Sorry, I was busy helping out Kristoff." Apologized the healer as she settled her satchel on the goahti's furniture again, and the three women moved away from each other. "Hello, Anna."
The latter happily saluted the healer, grateful for her experience to help her sister, and Sonya turned to the brunette with a frown.
"Honeymaren, maybe next time you shouldn't ask the Wind Spirit to do such a thing. The poor King is having a hard time."
Anna grinned and stood up to walk out. "I'll go check on him for a minute. I'll be right back."
The healer took great care of Elsa - and of the couple, in fact, for she had the right words to appease Honeymaren when she asked nervous questions about her partner's state.
They shared their opinion about her feverish state, and Sonya nodded as she considered it to be indeed similar to that.
"So it's like she has the strongest flu of the century?" Understood Honeymaren.
"Minus the sore throat and runny nose, yes." Confirmed the healer. "She has sore muscles and dizziness, it matches."
The brunette calmed her nervosity with a smile, and she turned to her girlfriend.
"Well, for someone who never had the flu her whole life, you're handling it admirably."
Elsa looked at her with sad sarcasm. "I am bedridded and unable to move."
The door of the goahti flapped open again and Anna came back in. Honeymaren however felt like the healer hadn't told everything. The brunette took advantage of the healer inspecting Elsa to walk to the redhead and whisper.
"Ask Sonya to come outside with you and ask for her full diagnosis. Grab the boys with you so they can hear it too. I'll stay here with Elsa, you'll give me a review later. For now, she needs company more than ever. She's emotionally and physically unstable and I am not leaving her side." Stated the brunette, determined.
She had a side look at her lover, and her eyes filled with sadness. "She needs someone with her."
Anna's eyes sparkled with emotion. "Thank you for your love, Honeymaren. Thank you so much."
"You know how it is," whispered back the Northuldra with a shrug. "we can't let her hear the diagnosis yet, that would break her, but we can't leave her alone either."
"I agree."
Only then the brunette noted Anna's emotion, and she saw pride forming a smile. "You're the perfect partner for her. You're caring with just the right amount for her, who both is a big introvert who needs her space and someone craving for presence. I've seen you, the past months. You always adapt, and you never push her. This is… I'm just so happy, you know." She added, her whispering trembling.
Honeymaren rubbed her back, seeing that Anna's worry was taking over her.
"Hey, Sonya, could you show me where you picked up those medicinal herbs that you put in the tea?"
The healer lifted her eyes from her satchel.
"Oh, it's in the valley in the East. It's less than half an hour of walking, I can make it myself, don't worry."
Anna cleared her throat. "No, I insist. Would you mind… Showing me from outside?"
Sonya frowned, then widened her eyes. "Sure, sure."
The redhead gave one last smile to her sister. "I'll be right back."
She left the goahti with Sonya without any other word, closing the door behind them.
Elsa found it weird, but Honeymaren's body then obscured her field of vision, and when she looked at her lover's face, it was beaming with care. It made everything turn to mush in Elsa's already disoriented mind, and she had a dopey smile like she always did when her girlfriend stood this close above the bed.
Honeymaren climbed up on the pelts with a feline slowness, making the pine tree branches of the mattress crack and Elsa gulp.
"So… I've been thinking…" Smiled the Northuldra.
The blonde found her mood completely changing. Until now, she was bathing in fear, agony, without any landmarks, struggling to adapt to her new body. In that instant, while her azure blue eyes lost themselves in the welcoming and reassuring depth of Honeymaren's chestnut ones, everything switched; she did not fear anything anymore, immediately feeling secure in the arms that placed themselves on either side of her shoulders. Her trembling members turned to marshmallow when the cascade that was Honeymaren's dark hair flew around her face and chest like a curtain, perfuming the air divinely. Elsa couldn't tell where the up and down truly were but her head had stopped spinning, the Northuldra's presence in the center of her brain acting like an anchor, a beacon, to which she held firmly through the storm. And Elsa's body was the least of her worries when the only thing she saw above her now was the one of her girlfriend.
Her cheeks were on fire. Now that her body didn't have the magical equivalent of a cooldown system, the blood rushing at her face with her excitement gave her the feeling she had two pieces of coal stuck to her face.
"How about we take a nap?" Smiled Honeymaren, finishing the sentence she had started in what felt like a century ago to Elsa.
The blonde's mouth opened but no sound came out. It amused the Northuldra, who could see that her reaction had nothing to do with the loss of her magic. No, it was her helpless girlfriend being stunned by her beauty, and Honeymaren enjoyed it very much.
Anna tried to listen closely to what was happening in the goahti, but she blamed the tribe for their competence to build them with excellent isolation, because she couldn't hear a thing.
"So?" Frowned Sonya impatiently. "Aren't you following me?"
The Queen's expression changed to a serious and determined one as she did a head gesture.
"No, you follow me. This way."
She led the Northuldra to a discreet area, and the redhead made sure it was far enough. On the way, she gestured to Kristoff and Ryder to tag along.
To Anna's demand, the healer repeated what she had said earlier about the flu.
"She may not literally have a fever, it's like her body is falling ill for the first time in her life. Her immunitary system is confused and going wild at the new… Configuration."
The others stared at her, so Sonya had a thinking pout as she tried to precise what she meant.
"Remember when you tried out Northuldra liquor for the first time?" She said, looking at Anna.
The Queen smiled. "Of course I do. Best booze I ever drank in years. It was soft and sweet yet tasty. Though I ended up tipsy for a very long time afterwards."
"Well, Elsa without her powers is exactly like being tipsy. Her head spins if she sits up too fast, and she lost her balance, both physically and mentally. It's like gravity has a different pull on her now."
They all nodded silently.
"Like a toddler learning to walk?" Compared Kristoff.
"Yes, precisely." Saluted the Northuldra, pointing at him.
In another context, Anna would have given him a stare for saying that her sister was a child, but he was right.
"It's like she has to start it all over again." She murmured.
"Yes." Confirmed Sonya.
"Like when you took care of Anton after he broke his knee, and you assisted him for months to help him walk normally again. Except that Elsa has no physical injury." Added Ryder.
Sonya nodded.
That intervention devastated Anna. "Do you think that it will take her months to be able to get used to it? If her magic never comes back?" She asked, her voice weak with fear.
Kristoff passed a hand around her hip, and she instinctively cuddled against him while she stared at the healer. He was sad to hear such words coming from her. She usually was the optimistic of the group, the one who saw the glass half full, and who ruled out the sad possibilities. Here, it's like she took on the fatalistic role of the Queen who had to imagine the worst scenario, which is for Elsa to never fully be herself again, but at least survive.
"I'm afraid I can't answer this question, Anna." Sighed Sonya with a sorry smile. "It's the first time that I heal someone as unique as the Fifth Spirit."
Anna cuddled closer to Kristoff, and he kissed her hair.
"Let's hope she'll be her awesome self and wake up tomorrow with her powers again." Said the redhead resolutely. "I never wished so hard to be awakened by her snowballs."
Ryder looked at the couple. "So you're staying for the night?"
"Of course. I'm not leaving so soon." Said Anna, then she had a tearful sigh. "But I'm not sure if I'll be able to find sleep."
A silence passed, and she winced. "Oh, no, I just remembered…"
Kristoff winced too. "Yeah. We have to go back to Arendelle by tomorrow's afternoon. We have an inauguration in town this week. We don't have a choice, the people wait for us."
The healer smiled at the King. "It's okay. Your schedule is very busy, we know. She's in safe hands here. I swear to Ahtohallan, if we have any news, I'll ask the Wind Spirit to inform you."
Kristoff had a whimper. "Please don't let her pick us up again."
They all laughed lightly, and Ryder showed them the way to his goahti.
After a few steps, the herder murmured with concern.
"So… Her magic loss… It's not permanent, right?"
Anna sighed, sharing his emotion. "Goodness gracious, I hope not."
Kristoff slipped his hand in hers, and squeezed gently. She smiled at him to thank him.
"Maybe she should get to Ahtohallan to get answers?" Suggested Ryder.
"And how can she? She can't even walk, and she's very sensitive to cold…"
"Then you go to Ahtohallan to get answers. You're the other side of the Bridge." Said the Northuldra, confident in her role.
Anna looked at him with amusement. "You're aware that Ahtohallan gave ice and snow magic to one and only person in order for that person to have exclusive access to it, right? Only Elsa can enter the glacier without dying of hypothermia."
Ryder didn't know what to say.
"We have to wait." Concluded Kristoff, to ease both of their minds.
They nodded.
And prayed that yesterday was not the last day of Elsa's Snow Queen life.
Nobody truly believed that Elsa would get her powers back by the morning, and as expected, she didn't.
It's with red eyes that Anna walked to the river and rubbed her face with fresh water at the first rays of the Sun. She couldn't find proper sleep, the only thing guiding her to a peaceful rest being Kristoff passing a hand in her hair and the idea that a few goahtis further, Honeymaren was taking care of Elsa with great love. Anna trusted her, but couldn't help feeling guilty that she didn't go to the goahti to wish Elsa good night, or check on her. It was very likely that she would find her sleeping given her weakness, though. Yet, the guilt twisted her soul.
Bursts of voices resounded further down the river, and she squinted as she recognized the siblings.
"It's only temporary." Said Ryder's voice, as Anna caught up with their exchange. "It's just poison, no one is poisoned for life."
"Of course you can be poisoned for life!" Scolded Honeymaren back, her voice louder than his, even though they both remained quiet in respect to the sleeping Northuldra around them. "One can have after effects until they eventually die."
Anna heard Ryder groan at her negativity. "You're the one who told me ealier that her organism already is taking care of the poison. Even Sonya confirmed it. She will find her magic again, Maren, you know it. Your instinct knows it. You're letting your fear overrun your judgment."
The brunette groaned, slamming her temple on the birch tree she was leaning against. Her brother smiled sadly and bent his head. Anna widened her eyes in tender surprise as Honeymaren grunted at his gesture then agreed, and they slowly applied their foreheads together. They stood like that in silence in each others' close presence, their eyes closed.
"She will be alright." Whispered Ryder to appease her.
"Thank you." Murmured the brunette back.
After a moment, the siblings separated, smiling to each other before he left to check on the reindeers.
Anna slowly approached.
"Honeymaren?"
The brunette jolted, turning to the questioning redhead. "Oh. Hello Anna. I didn't see you. I suppose that there's no need to wish you a good morning." She said, observing her tired eyes.
"Why aren't you at Elsa's side?"
The Northuldra blinked, analyzing with her tired mind if Anna was accusative or not. She wasn't, so Honeymaren breathed out. "She's sleeping like a log. I'm just taking a break and fetching some water."
She saw how equally nervous the Queen was, which wasn't surprising. "Do you want some tea? I'm gonna make some to bring to Elsa, it would be nice for her to have some just in case she wakes up from a bad dream."
Anna nodded. They started to walk to the nearest fire created in the earliest hour by Bruni, then the redhead startled at Honeymaren's words. "Wait, didn't you just say that she sleeps soundly?"
The Northuldra winced. "I don't know. She trembled several times in the night, and she's been crying, though it was out of uncomfort and trauma. She woke up sometimes. I can't tell if it was after a dream, but every time I asked, she refused to answer. And then she fell back to sleep again, and hasn't stirred since."
She had a small smile. "I think that Sonya's plants eventually took effect. They're meant to calm her stress."
Anna nodded again, not adding anything, nor having the strength to do so. She followed Honeymaren to a teapot in silence.
"Can I…" She murmured after a while. "Can I come with you? Back in the goahti? I know that you won't wake her up to give her the tea, and I won't talk with her if she's asleep, I just… I need to watch over her."
"Of course." Assured Honeymaren immediately, with an inviting smile. "I'm not keeping her for myself." Her humor lifted their mood and they smiled at each other.
The brunette was touched by her nice intention but also by her physical need to see that Elsa was breathing.
"So, how is the reconstruction work progressing, at the castle?" She asked politely.
Anna had a thankful smile for the new topic of conversation, as she only had been staring at Honeymaren's moves in silence, and thought as she visualized the construction. "Very well. The team is really motivated in building an improved structure. It's like every Arendelle worker and architect had been waiting for this moment to happen. Not the war, obviously, but remaking the castle in general. I'm pretty sure that they had been eyeing it for years and seeing all the defaults but they never dared to say anything out loud, too scared to give any feedback."
"Maybe you're exaggerating it." Chuckled the Northuldra.
"Not in the slightest!" Assured Anna. "Elsa is an architect at heart and I could see her mental gears turning for three years after the Great Thaw. She kept staring at the beams and girders here and there, and the workers of the crew have the exact same expression and focus."
Honeymaren had a smile of pity, but the Queen shrugged with a smile to reassure her. "It's normal, though. The castle was built all those years ago, centuries even, and since, there has been technological progress, as well as new techniques, methods, et caetera. So it's logical that they're excited about making it better and updated."
The Northuldra nodded. She still was foreign to all of these things, and this whole other world out of the Mist, so she took the mental note to ask her girlfriend about it, aware that the blonde would be inexhaustible on the topic.
"Are there things you ordered that you're excited about?" Smiled Honeymaren, knowing that on the other hand, this was a conversation Anna would be interested in.
All she wanted was to see joy on her face after the hell she had been through. She often made a parallel of Anna having her home and town destroyed to seeing her camp ravaged, and it gave her shivers, so she easily imagined her distress. The stretching lips of the redhead brought happiness back in her heart.
"There's one thing that will be installed by the time I get home." Grinned the Queen. "A soundproof door for the meeting room."
Honeymaren smiled, but then frowned. "Why? Because of confidential business? Are there things that you don't want the staff to hear? I thought that they were trustworthy."
The redhead stared at her with a blink of disbelief, then bursted into laughter.
"What? What did I say?" Reacted the Northuldra.
Anna patted her shoulder. "I thought that you would get my drift, but you absolutely didn't. I'm not talking about… That kind of business." She said, bending her head forward exaggeratedly.
Honeymaren's chestnut irises were lost in confusion, when suddenly she remembered the old discussion with Elsa who had accidentally run into her sister enjoying her husband's lap.
"Oooooh." Smiled the brunette. "A soundproof door so that you wouldn't worry about being noisy if you and Kristoff–"
A freckled hand slammed her mouth, and she stumbled back. Anna had hurt her teeth, and the Northuldra would have been angry at her if she didn't find the redhead's intense blush hilarious.
"Shhhh! Why are you saying it out loud? This is why we use subtext, Honeymaren!" Whispered the Queen in a hiss, her eyes darting around to make sure that no one was around.
Honeymaren observed her gaze with an internal smile.
"Your sister is deep into slumber, you dork." She hummed under her hand. "And she lost her magical bond with the Wind Spirit, so no gossip either."
Anna sighed, and finally detached her hand. "Still. Never do that again. I thought we were friends. I'm gonna stop confessing to you if you're that indiscreet." Mumbled the Queen.
It was an odd exchange. Anna was a rarely embarrassed person, and accusing Honeymaren, the skilled huntress and gentle Northuldra, to be indiscreet, was ridiculous.
The Northuldra wondered what was so attractive about making love in the meeting room.
As the Queen blushed and looked away to hide her cheeks, her eyes fell on the goahti that was surveilled by Northuldra warriors. She knew about the thug trapped in, and Arendellian soldiers would soon come pick him up and lock him in the town's prison.
"Thanks for not hurting the blowpipe guy, by the way." Said the Queen. "He has his rights. Despite being a thug, and I agree that he's an ass and deserves to be punished, he's still a human with rights."
She looked back at her friend. "If it were proven that an Arendellian or a Northuldra had laid a hand on him, it would have big political repercussions."
Anna's serious tone was enough to make Honeymaren speechless and still. The Queen sighed. "Which we really don't need right now." She murmured, her head swimming at all the paperwork she still had to dive into since the Collapse.
She however wanted to reassure the brunette of her opinion, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Trust me, for what he did to my sister, he will be punished. I will make sure of it personally. But through law."
As if on a dramatic cue, a rain started to pour on the Forest. The Northuldra were obviously used to living outside, so without complaining, they hung large horizontal pieces of cloth between trees with ropes to protect the campfires and the group of Northuldra who were carving wood and stretching pelts nearby. Anna lifted her head to the sky while Honeymaren took care of the tea, and stood up.
"I have to do something. I'll join you in the goahti later."
"...Okay?" Blinked the brunette, confused by her change of mind.
It didn't take long for Anna to find what she was looking for; two Earth Giants were casually digging furrows on the edge of the Forest to redirect mud in case the rain got too intense. She waved at them to attract their attention, and jogged to shorten the distance between them. Though, it took way less time for the two Giants to come to her and kneel.
She stopped when she found herself a few meters away from their smiling faces, and smiled back at her, though it was a sad smile. She took a long breath in to gather the courage to ask what she was about to, until she widened her eyes and clumsily bowed in respect, a gesture that made the two Giants chuckle.
"Well, I may be the other half of the Bridge, I still have manners." Said Anna nervously. "But it's nice to see that you have humor."
She then returned to seriousness. "I just wanted to tell you to keep an eye on her. On Elsa, I mean. Who am I kidding, of course you know I'm talking about her. Just… Take care, okay? I'm actually concerned for you all too."
A hurried movement attracted her attention at the corner of her eyes and she heard a ruffle; Bruni was trying to find a dry spot in one of the Giant's knees to shelter from the rain drops. She chuckled. "You too, pal. You should all take care."
A chirp came from the space formed by a crack in the stone as an answer, and she smiled. Suddenly, the rain stopped, and she jolted at the sudden change. However, the sound of it still remained, and she frowned in confusion as she looked around and saw that there still was a curtain of water masking the horizon and that the camp in the distance still was protecting itself.
"Wait, what?"
She lifted her head, and widened her eyes then grinned as a smiling Giant had lifted his enormous hand as an umbrella above her.
"Thank you, good sir." She joked, and the two Giants had a deep laugh that sounded like a rockslide.
She passed a loving hand along the wet stone of their tibias as they were still crouched to her level, then looked around. "Have you seen Gale? I wish to talk to her too."
The Giant busy protecting her pointed at another part of the edge of the Forest, and his finger was so big that it wasn't very precise; thankfully, Anna could now spot the twirling wind patrolling above the swinging trees and smiled. "Thanks!"
She then placed her hands behind her back for a polite request. "Could I please have a ride?"
The second Giant happily complied, but when he suggested his hand and Anna saw how wet and slippery the stone was, she changed her mind.
"No, actually, that's not a very good idea. If I break my ankle or my wrist, it will just make things worse." Scoffed the redhead, imagining the hectic way she would have to take care of her duties with crutches or without the possibility to write. She patted the Giant's fingers to assure that she meant no offense, and she hoped that he could sense her feelings, then headed to Gale's spot.
As soon as they were in each other's presence, the Wind Spirit went down and gently played with her outfit.
"Do you like it?" Grinned Anna.
Once she was done, the redhead faced her.
"Look, I…" Then interrupted herself. "Oh, you already know what I'm going to say, right?"
The Wind Spirit emitted a tingle, which the Queen knew was a laugh. "Yeah, I know you." She giggled. "Mother must have been served in rumors when she was a child, uh?"
Gale did a playful twirl, and showed that she was not even sorry for eavesdropping all the time. Anna wasn't resentful; it was her role, after all, to watch over the tribe.
"Then the same wish and request apply to you. Please protect Elsa, and protect everyone who protects her. Got it?"
Her last sentence was a bit too harsh, but Gale understood her worry. She ruffled her as a nudge to reassure her then resumed her watch.
Anna smiled, admiring her for a moment, then looked around.
It was now time for her to talk to Nokk, and she was glad to not have found him earlier, because she in fact wanted to finish with him. She knew that Elsa and him spent a lot of time together. Anna may not have a magical bound, she guessed that the horse felt lonely. She remembered the relationship Sven and Kristoff had.
She looked around to spot a glistening horse behind a tree or near the river, but it was difficult in the rain. Putting a hand above her eyes, she walked along the Forest to find puddles, and stopped in front of each of them.
Anna didn't dare to call him; she felt like it was Elsa's thing, and she was stealing it from her. She felt a bit dumb, but preferred to wait in front of the small gatherings of water, hoping to find–
Finally, when she thought that Nokk wouldn't show himself, a puddle's surface rippled, and she beamed. The water rose up, and shaped into a horse's head, which was comical to see as it was the only thing popping from the ground, but Anna didn't laugh as it likely was a form of timidity.
'Shy much?' She thought, but bowed at his arrival. She knew that he was even more stubborn than her sister, which was saying a lot, and didn't want to cross him.
"Hello. Do you…"
A sensation of tickling roamed Anna and she felt it on her skin and through her clothes, and she let out a gasp and a shiver. She dropped her jaw as she saw the drops of water that were on her and impregnated her clothes were rolling to the end of her arms and the edge of her shoes, as well as the tips of her hair. Anna lifted her hands and observed with fascination how the drops of water became pearls that shifted and floated in the air, until she was completely dry.
She scoffed when, in addition to the magical care, Nokk also formed an invisible roof above her head, and she felt like she was in a bubble. "Thank you."
She couldn't dare do anything else. She knew his power, and respected him, so she chose not to call him friend, or pet him, or anything. Frankly, he was the only Spirit who actually frightened her, but in terms of charisma.
However, there was something in his attitude, with the way he almost sulked by showing himself in a puddle, that Anna found touching, and she crouched.
"Say, are you crying about her? Is that why it's raining?" She smiled gently.
The magical horse widened his eyes, then looked elsewhere. The Queen grinned.
"It's okay. To be emotional, I mean. Elsa often tells me that you're the strongest Spirit, but you're allowed to feel sad from time to time, you know? It's natural. Hey, as a Spirit of Nature." Joked Anna, also reassuring herself a bit with humor.
The Water Spirit lifted his head with an expression that looked like happy surprise. 'She thinks that I'm the strongest? She never told me.' Seemed to say the horse.
Anna understood, and smirked. "She probably was too shy to ever tell you, or maybe she was afraid to look like she had a favorite among you. As the Fifth Spirit, it would be unfair. Or maybe it was because you would then drop the little modesty you have left…" She teased, and Nokk answered her grin with a frown of his glowing eyes and a jolt of his head, and suddenly all the rain dropped on her normally again.
"ARGH! Sorry, sorry!" Exclaimed Anna, but she laughed too, for that was like someone had thrown a bucket of water at her, and she deserved it.
Nokk seemed to laugh along, and they smiled at each other. The redhead now was as wet as before, but she took the time to talk with him and share what was on her heart. She actually took even more time with him than with the other Spirits.
Later, Kristoff observed his wife make her way back into the camp, and saw her worrying state.
"Do you want to change?" He gently suggested, despite his surprise.
"Oh, no, thanks, I actually wanted to go check on Elsa." Admitted Anna with a sorry pout, squeezing his forearm.
She didn't move right away, though, and he felt some nervosity.
"How about I dry your hair first?" Smiled her husband. "You'll end up catching a cold. And it's probably better to not soak the inside of their goahti."
Anna sighed, unsure.
"It will ease your worries." Assured the King, showing her the way to the house he came from. "Ryder showed me where the towels are."
The redhead melted in his love, and smiled adoringly. She stood on the edge of her toes and kissed him, the feeling of his smiling lips on hers already throwing her doubts away.
"Thanks, Kris." She muttered.
Once in the dry place, he instructed his lover to sit on the bed. He hooked a finger under her chin to exchange a smile with her, then went to unfold a towel from the basket indeed presented by Ryder. He then sat behind her on the pelts, and exaggeratedly ruffled her hair with the towel.
"Hey!" Startled Anna, her red mane going in all directions.
"I'm just kidding. I'm gonna brush them back after anyway."
Anna chuckled. "You're an angel."
He had been right; relaxing before checking on Elsa was a nice idea.
Elsa opened her eyes in the afternoon, and as soon as Anna learned about it and came in to lay down next to her, the blonde shared her opinion about what happened during the attack.
"...This is why the poison of the first dart didn't make me go into a coma or have repercussions." She said, theorizing. "It was meant to target my magic all along. It was meant to hit my ice, not my skin."
Anna nodded on the bed. "That would explain why you were unconscious for only a moment and felt perfectly fine when you woke up."
"Only…?" Repeated Honeymaren, scoffing in disbelief on Elsa's other side.
Anna smiled awkwardly. "You know what I mean. It was barely a nap."
The brunette was about to be offended by how she was diminishing the state of her girlfriend, until she realized that Anna has seen Elsa go through way worse.
Kristoff smiled from the wall he was leaning against with his crossed arms as he observed the three women, and made a joke. Only, the blonde didn't hear it fully; when he started to talk, Elsa noticed that he wore nothing warmer than a shirt. Sure, he was used to cold weather with his ice harvester years. But was it that hot outside? Why did she feel so cold, then? Why was everything so cold? Why did her muscles feel so cold? Was it what Winter was like, to the others?
She saw the others laugh out loud at his joke, without understanding why. It wasn't just because she missed the punchline; how could they be happy?
'I ruined their week. They can't be laughing. How can they smile? I'm making their life so much worse!' She thought.
Sure, she saw how nervous Honeymaren and Anna had been. They had different ways to show it, but she wasn't blind. Anna was the kind of person to stomp her feet so hard while she paced around that the blonde was certain the Giants could sense it. Honeymaren was the kind of person to hide it better, but Elsa could feel, especially with her increased sensibility, that the Northuldra was tense. Very tense. It reminded her of that time when she had been hit by the first dart, the one that would have been as effective as now if it had touched her ice instead of her skin, when Honeymaren had been angry at everything. The blonde knew that this rare behavior from the brunette was when she lost her means and temper, and felt weak, and furious about it. About herself.
Elsa sighed, her heart in a pinch, and she clenched her eyes shut. Her fault. It was all her fault… Tears quickly rolled on her cheeks.
"Hey, Elsa. Are you okay?" Asked Anna.
The blonde sniffed, trying to look away despite her sore joints.
"Y-yeah, I'm just crying with tiredness."
Honeymaren and Anna couldn't tell if that was a lie or something legit, so they exchanged a look, but didn't say anything. Accusing Elsa of lying when she was on the edge was a bad idea, they both knew it.
A silence passed, and the Queen tried to humor things a bit.
"So? How does it feel to be a mere mortal now?"
Elsa scoffed. "I've only ever got cold once in my life, and I was not willing to do it again."
"Do you mean the time when you went too far in Ahtohallan, or the time you had a cold on my birthday?"
"I'm not keeping a good memory from either," said Elsa with a chuckle, "but I am only ashamed of the second one."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Of course you still assume this action."
"Not having this debate again." Insisted Elsa. "Thanks to me, we knew Runeard's plan."
"Yeah, yeah…" Grumbled the redhead, who hated this truth.
"I easily understand that one doesn't want to get frozen to death again." Murmured Honeymaren.
The two sisters looked at her, and she widened her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that…"
"It's okay." Sighed Elsa. "Anna and I have talked numerous times about it."
The Northuldra nodded. "Right, because you have been turned to ice too, that time on the fjord."
Anna turned to her with a curious frown, and the brunette explained.
"She told me about how it felt, to slowly become still as cold creeps on you. You had the same sensation? That must be horrible."
Anna nodded sadly. She remembered when Elsa and her had sat down, in the earliest days of the peaceful years after the Great Thaw, to recall what happened. It was difficult, and included lots of cups of tea and tearful hugs, but it felt incredibly good to let it out.
The Queen could still remember vividly how it felt to transform that way, the sensation forever engraved as a core memory in her mind. Losing control of everything, feeling like she was only a spectator of her own body, and yet trapped in it. And this cold, this horrible cold, that seized every nerve that was still alive in her body until she couldn't feel anything at all…
Yet the dreadful sensation was nothing compared to the heart-wrenching emotion Anna had had when Elsa had hugged in a deep and trembling embrace when they finally talked about her experience in Ahtohallan. The Spirit was apologizing again and again in a muttering sob about how sorry she was for having frozen her heart, now that she had found herself in her place and knew how it truly felt.
As they mentioned Ahtohallan, Elsa suddenly widened her eyes and gasped. Both women and Kristoff jolted in alarm, ready to help, but saw that Elsa hadn't moved. However, she looked devastated.
"Anna, did you see Olaf before Gale picked you up? Was he with you?"
The Queen frowned. "No, I told you I was in a meeting with Kristoff, why would he– Oh my goodness."
Elsa winced as she understood.
Honeymaren was lost. "What? What is it?"
Anna put her hand on her mouth in shock.
Elsa gulped, hiding her sadness with a joke as she turned to her lover. "You're the one who saw me naked when my magic vanished, Honey. I supposed you figured it out."
The Northuldra frowned, then her face saddened. "Oh no. Well, maybe… Maybe he just turned into a regular snowman? And you'll be able to bring him back to life later? How is the weather in Arendelle?" She asked, her voice increasingly high as she talked.
"That's… Not how it works." Winced Elsa, however amused by her rambling.
Anna sighed as she had her head buried in her hands. "Please… Not again…"
Elsa's heart split in two. "Hey. Anna. Look at me."
The redhead peeked at her between her fingers.
"I'll bring him back as soon as I can, I promise."
She bit her lip at her own choice of words. 'Promise' triggered bad memories for both of them. "As soon as I can talk with Gale, I'll ask her to bring him back and I'll rebuild him."
Anna whined with devastation. "It was playground day… He was on his way to the school to play with kids…" She grieved, feeling sorry for them. "They'll be so worried. They need his joyful visits since the Collapse. They lost friends of their age…"
"I know, Anna. I know." Assured Elsa, sharing her emotion. "But there's nothing I can do."
Anna looked down. "I know that too."
Honeymaren then had to cope with a long silence from both sisters. The remark on Olaf had dampened the mood. Right on time, Ryder knocked to the goahti, and Kristoff turned to the door to open it.
"The reindeers are ready." He announced. "I picked the fastest ones."
Kristoff winced, and turned to the women. "Well, we can't delay our return forever… It's time for us to go."
Anna sighed, and the two lovers turned to her.
"I'm so sorry… We have to head back for that inauguration, and the journey still takes a lot of time. Reconstruction is important, and it's not just aesthetically, it's for safety too…"
Azure blue eyes were on her, and she gulped before continuing.
"It's important to me to go take care of it. I don't want the people to think that the town is left behind after the work we did at the castle. They deserve to see outcomes too."
"Of course." Understood Elsa, smiling to reassure her.
Anna quickly placed a hand on the pelts above her sister's hand. "I'm sorry for leaving so soon. I would never leave you if I didn't know that you'll be taken care of thoroughly here. I swear." She added, and she gave a tender stare at Honeymaren.
They both melted at her words. "I know, Anna. It's okay." Assured the elder. "Feel free to take your time once the inauguration is over to talk with the Arendellians. I know it matters a lot to you."
They exchanged a smile, but Anna still hesitated to go.
"Hey." Whispered the blonde gently. "This won't be like that time with the broken ribs. I promise."
She assembled all of her strength to lift her hand out of the pelts and put it in hers.
'Gods, she is so lovingly warm.' Thought the blonde, impressed and emotional at her younger sister's radiance, but she bit her lip to not show anything.
Anna nodded in silence, emotional at the effort, but also at the memory of Elsa's fall and broken ribs all those years ago. She rubbed her thumb over her hand gently, and it tickled the blonde.
She gave a tender nod to Kristoff who observed with a smile. He had been worried about her too, back then. She was certain that Elsa's accidental fake news about her so-called death had marked him too.
As Elsa started to say goodbye, she suddenly froze and stopped mid-sentence, her nose scrunching up.
Anna wondered what was going on, until her sister answered her by sneezing, then sneezed again several times in sequence. When she was finally done, she sniffed, and felt pathetic.
"I'm ridiculous."
The redhead chuckled as she wiped her sister's nose with the handkerchief given by Kristoff. "You're sneezing for the first time in 25 years, of course you would say that, you drama queen."
Elsa sighed at her tease. "It's not exactly the first time I'm sneezing. But due to the cold? Yes. By the way, you should have told me about how weird it feels. The shiver just before."
Anna puffed. "How and when was I supposed to approach that topic? Like, hey Elsa, wanna sleep over tonight? Also, I must tell you that sneezing is accompanied with a shiver. A perfectly relevant fact I should slip to you now."
Elsa gave her a stare, and Honeymaren laughed.
The redhead grinned. "I gotta say, it's odd to see you sneeze without it being accompanied with messy snowmen boggers."
"I just find it odd that she sneezes from cold air at all." Admitted Kristoff before Elsa could reply.
"Hey, are you coming?" Grumbled Ryder, opening the door again. "My friends are growing impatient."
They laughed, as he clearly mentioned reindeers and not actual people.
A few minutes later, Elsa felt a heavy emptiness when Anna's and Kristoff's voices vanished in the distance with a faint sound of hooves. She looked around and felt very lonely all of a sudden, in the goahti that seemed bigger than it ever did before. Which was odd, because while Elsa had found it very small on her first weeks living with the Northuldra, she actually had gotten used to it well, and had optimized the space since she shared it with another person. Now why did it feel so… Wide? And what was this emptiness about? It wasn't the one due to the lack of magic, thought the Spirit, who could perceive the sad sensation of having a part of her missing, like a gone companion. It was something else. How come she, of all people, who lived reclusively all of her childhood with little contact with others, and found herself recharging her mood in tranquility, now felt grieved again? Why did she miss the banter, the noise, the presence?
And then it hit her, the exact second the flap opened and Honeymaren stepped in. The emotional exhale Elsa let out didn't escape the brunette.
"I missed you." Murmured the Spirit, her voice a bit wavy.
The Northuldra lifted an eyebrow, but didn't choose to be sarcastic. Elsa clearly had been sad.
"I've only been out to hug them goodbye. It was a very short time."
"Still, I missed you."
Honeymaren comically pointed at her chest in fake confusion, and the blonde chuckled. "Me?"
"Come close, you idiot." Said Elsa in a voice that let her girlfriend imagine that she would have stretched her arms out, or pat the covers next to her, in a regular context.
"Always." Smiled Honeymaren, jumping lightly.
"Always?"
"I'll always be close to you." Clarified the brunette as she wriggled herself under the covers.
Elsa melted at the gesture, though she was a bit confused. "What are you doing?"
"Pretty sure it's obvious. I'm gonna sleep with you."
Elsa blinked. "Didn't we just wake up?"
"A bit more rest will do some good to both of us."
The Spirit wondered what she meant, but she could sense that the Northuldra would prefer to not approach the topic. She wasn't even negative but rather realist as she imagined that she had a short night, like Anna.
Honeymaren naturally spooned Elsa's back as much as they could, her right arm over the pelts that covered her girlfriend's body.
"...Honey?" Mumbled Elsa after a moment.
"Yes?"
The blonde gulped her emotion away. "I love you. So much."
Honeymaren smiled, her untied hair tickling Elsa's neck as she cuddled closer. "Me too, mitt lys. Me too."
The Spirit easily fell into slumber, despite her belief that she didn't need sleep, because Honeymaren's protective aura lulled her.
Author's Note :
I've always had the headcanon that if Elsa ever lost her powers, it would be exactly like that; with those feelings roaming her skin, her sense of unease, her physical and mental loss of balance... If WDAS serve us powerless!Elsa in Frozen 3, I'll be all ears (and eyes? help I'm French, english sayings make no sense lol) about her reaction.
Oh and tbh I'm quite surprised that drama-lover-me didn't bring the "What if Elsa wakes up without her magic one day" thing earlier in my fanfics. Though it was a bit teased in Lift The Spirit hehehee.
