Elsa drove further along the highway, into the unknown. She didn't quite trust the GPS to get the right address, but there hadn't been any cross streets for miles, so she couldn't have taken a wrong turn. She was singing to herself, since the only radio stations out this far were not exactly to her taste in music. She wasn't much for public performances, but singing in the car by herself was a little secret indulgence.
Rolling farm fields began giving way to hilly woods. She glanced down at her phone. There was no service whatsoever out here. Probably the hills took care of that. Anna's boyfriend- well, now he was her fiance- Kristoff had said he was from nowhere in particular, but Elsa hadn't realized that he was really from this far out in the middle of nowhere. He was nice, though, and since Anna had first brought him home, she had trusted him. He had become a good friend, so even though this wedding was a bit sudden, she had given her blessing and jumped at Anna's request to be her bridesmaid.
"I just wish she would have agreed to ride with me," Elsa caught herself saying out loud. She sighed. Anna would be there, but she insisted on driving herself so that she could pick up a few last minute items, and she wanted to make sure that someone got there on time so that Kristoff wouldn't worry.
"In five hundred feet, turn left," the GPS voice suddenly announced.
Elsa blinked and shook her head. She had zoned out. Lifting her foot off the gas pedal to make sure she had time to turn, she put on the signal despite the complete lack of other cars for miles in either direction. There was a dirt road to the left, but still no houses in sight.
The road was bumpy and rutted, curving this way and that, slowly winding up the hill. The woods began giving way to rocky clearings. Around a rock outcropping, she saw a group of irregular houses, and what she could only guess was a tent for the wedding.
"You have arrived," the GPS informed her.
"That's obvious enough," she muttered at the electronic voice coming from her phone.
She slowed down, the rattle of the gravel quieting down as she pulled to the side of the road at the first house to the right.
Any other cars must be parked elsewhere. She stepped out of the car, and grabbed the dress hanging in the back seat. She needed to find where she could change clothes. Why couldn't they have planned to at least have an overnight before the ceremony? Anna said she'd never been to this place, either, but Kristoff insisted that they weren't allowed to be there until right until the ceremony.
"Who even does that?" Elsa asked.
"Sorry," Kristoff apologized, "it's how my family does things."
"Where are they from, anyway?"
"Mostly nearby," Kristoff shrugged. "It's… kind of their own thing. I guess it's kind of new. I mean, it's not new, don't tell them I said it was new, please…"
"Wait, is this like-"
"It's a kind of a commune, okay? I promise they don't do anything too out there. I know there's that Norwegian movie-"
"I saw it, but it's Swedish, not Norwegian," Elsa corrected, immediately realizing she was missing the point.
Kristoff groaned. "Right… People keep talking about that movie when I tell them about where I grew up. I swear it's nothing like that. I've told Anna about what's going to happen at the wedding, so just… play along?"
Elsa stood by her car holding the dress in its plastic cover, looking around. Thankfully it wasn't raining this week. The place would get entirely too muddy. She could see why Kristoff had brought up that movie. Kristoff didn't give her bad vibes, unlike- she wouldn't think about Anna's ex. She never liked him.
Elsa walked toward the closest house. "Hello?"
She heard some commotion, and some women came out of the house.
"She's here!" several said.
Elsa smiled nervously. "Is this where I can change?"
"Don't worry about that," one woman said, taking the dress from her.
"You can change into that later after the ceremony," a younger woman assured her.
Kristoff had said to go with it. This was for Anna.
They helped her put on a long, plain tunic. This didn't seem that strange.
Now one of them was braiding her hair. This was nice, really. Now there was some kind of veil over her head, and they were blindfolding her. Maybe a little creepy now, but she had promised to be understanding. This wasn't some death cult.
The women led her back outside. Perhaps this was like the idea of not seeing the bride on the wedding day, but more egalitarian? It had been a while now, and maybe Anna was here already. She must be. Someone nearby had started speaking, and everyone else had gone silent. It was surreal, alternating between the people around singing and the one person speaking, and she couldn't tell where Anna even was. Suddenly, someone grabbed her hands and guided them to some others. This was very odd. But she was supposed to go along with what they were doing. More words. Now everyone was saying something in unison.
She could feel people gathering around her. She was briefly blinded by the sunlight as they removed the blindfold and veil. Everyone cheered.
"Elsa?!" Kristoff exclaimed.
She blinked and smiled. "Kristoff, I said I'd be here. Congratulations!"
"But where's Anna?" he whispered.
"Wait, what?" Elsa looked around. Everyone was lining up to shake their hands. A cloud of dust was moving along the road in the distance, and she could just start to make out Anna's car approaching.
"Congratulations, Anna, it's so nice to finally meet you," an older woman smiled sweetly, shaking Elsa's hand.
Elsa looked at Kristoff in a panic.
"Ma, I-"
"I was so worried you wouldn't want to have a wedding with your family," she continued.
"Mrs-" Elsa realized she didn't know anyone's names. Because why would she?
"Oh, Anna, dear, please call me Bulda!"
"Um, Bulda," Elsa almost stammered. "I'm not Anna."
