Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2019 - Licia

Her first instinct- the one she didn't follow, because it wouldn't be right for her to do so in front of Yelena- was to slap him.

But since that was out of the question, she climbed to her feet, stalking out of the hut and past the chief, the coronation banner still in her grasp. The rest of the tribe watched as the Fifth Spirit began to pace in agitation, an occasionally icy blast shooting out from her hands, barely missing people's feet. Bruni, up in Elsa's hair, watched the ice blasts with interest before hopping down onto her shoulder.

"How dare he... what am I doing here? What about him?" Honeymaren glanced at her brother, before cautiously stepping towards the annoyed Snow Queen, hands out in surrender. "When that pompous, bloodlusting bastard was sent back to the Southern Isles, he was supposed to stay, not leave, so how did he get out? If he weren't already badly damaged, I'd have broken-"

"Elsa?" The elemental jumped in surprise, turning and lashing out; Honeymaren jumped back in time, as a blast of ice shot out of Elsa's palm and dashed across the forest floor, little jagged ice cycle spikes appearing in some places. She glanced at Honeymaren, but didn't utter a word of apology; instead, she returned to her pacing, occasionally glancing at the banner in her hands, brushing her fingers against the yellow crocus that was the symbol of the kingdom- her kingdom. For no matter how many years she spent in the Enchanted Forest, as the Fifth Spirit, the Guardian of Ahtohallan, Arendelle had been her home for the first twenty-four years of her life; it would always be hers. Anna may be queen now, but Arendelle belonged to her, for she was the true-

"Spirit!" Elsa ignored Yelena, continuing to pace.

"And how exactly did he get-" The more upset Elsa got, the more snow started to appear; first as haphazard flurries, now as continuous drifts. Like the other elements, when one was out of balance, it was best to bring the balance back as soon as possible, but since it was Elsa who was upset- "Hey! Give that back to me, Gale! That's not yours! It's mine!"

Gale tore the banner from Elsa's hands, carrying it higher and higher until it was completely out of Elsa's reach. And try as the young woman might, she couldn't reach, no matter what she did. Instead of stopping the snow, it just made Elsa more upset, causing the snow to fall harder. Yelena, having finally picked her way through the snow drifts, reached out and grabbed the woman's shoulders, causing her to turn to face her.

"Spirit!" Elsa's gaze met hers, and she slowly began to calm. Gale, sensing the change, lowered the banner, and Elsa snatched it out of the air, before absentmindedly turning her attention to the snow about the camp, which she promptly made disappear with a wave of her hand. Once the banner was safe within her hands, she looked up at Yelena. "I take it you remember who he is." Elsa nodded once.

"And you evidently don't like him." Honeymaren added, crossing her arms over her chest. Elsa didn't reply. She glanced at the others, realizing none of them would speak until she spoke first. Taking a deep breath, she turned and began pacing yet again, slowly this time as she spoke. Bruni still sat upon Elsa's shoulder, hoping for another snowstorm so he could run and play.

"His name is Prince Hans Westergård of the Southern Isles. He is the man that showed up at my coronation, wooed my sister, took over the kingdom after I fled, and then tried to behead me!" She cried, her blood beginning to boil. The wind picked up, and snow once more began to fall. The others in the tribe quickly took shelter, peeking out to watch the conversation between the chief and the Spirit. "What is he doing here? Why is he here? How did he get here?"

"You know the answers to that, Elsa, Yelena replied softly. "You found the-"

"I don't mean the camp, Yelena! I mean how did he get out of the Southern Isles!" She screamed, stamping her foot. A familiar sheet of ice in the shape of a snowflake, Elsa's signature, appeared as the snow continued to fall. "When we came to find the voice two years ago, Hans was still serving out his punishment! He was sent back after is was discovered what he'd tried to do and... I don't know what his punishment was, but he was supposed to serve it until his penance had been reached! By law of Arendelle, set down by my great-great-great-Grandfather King Njål, any man who attempts assassination of a ruling Arendelle monarch- male or female- shall be forced to serve out his penance, whatever is seen fit, for the remainder of his natural life! So how did he get out?"

It was very evident by now to Yelena that this realization that the man, badly wounded in the hut had somehow- someway- managed to escape a life of forced penance for her near assassination that day on the fjord, upset Elsa greatly. The snow that appeared began to swirl; the temperature continued to drop, and frozen fractals began to appear on every available surface. It was becoming clear that this was just pushing Elsa's anger further. The young woman's anger continued to grow, and she soon began to shake-

And then Gale swept Elsa off her feet; the Snow Queen crashed to the ice beneath her, knocking the wind out of her long enough for her to lose her focus on the realization that Hans was being treated by her tribe. Bruni jumped as Elsa fell, and scurried towards the cooking fire pit he'd hidden in earlier. Catching her breath, Elsa looked up. "What was that for, Gale?" But the wind whirled around her, grabbing her wrists and yanking her up. "Hey! Stop! Put me down!"

The snow began to drift gently, what with Elsa's attention occupied elsewhere, and the Northuldra slowly came out of shelter to watch as the wind spirit swirled faster and faster around the young woman, never letting go of her wrists. A small tornado- Gale's form to deal with interlopers or intruders to the forest- appeared, carrying Elsa away. The Snow Queen let out a shout as she tumbled within the tornado, unsure of where they were going and wanting to simply be put down. Without a word, Yelena and the others in the tribe hurried to follow the two elementals, arriving at the river.

They managed to reach the rocky cliff in time to see Gale unceremoniously dump Elsa into the water with a screech. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Yelena couldn't help a small chuckle at the sight of the Protector of the Enchanted Forest sitting in a shallow part of the river, her long snow white hair a windswept mess, cheeks flushed, and looking green. Slowly, the banner floated down, landing spread across Elsa's lap and into the water. A moment passed, as Elsa swallowed thickly, before,

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Gale, now calm, came over to dance about Elsa, tugging at her hair and skirts. She tugged at the banner, but Elsa grabbed it. "No. Leave that alone, it belongs to me." But Gale persisted, yanking the banner from Elsa's hands and throwing it over her head. Elsa, too out of breath and nauseated to move at the moment, reached up, tugging the banner down. "Oh, now you want to play?" Finally getting her bearings back, Elsa stood on shaky legs; Gale ducked between them, throwing up Elsa's skirt in the process. "Hey!"

She looked up at the sound of footsteps in time to see Yelena and the others hurry towards her. All were concerned, though Yelena held a look of mirth within her eyes.

"Are you okay, Elsa?" Ryder asked, and Elsa huffed. They had seen the spirits battle before, but ever since Elsa had come, rarely had she been involved. She was usually the one who broke up the fights, for it was her job to keep the balance. So to see Elsa scooped up by the wind spirit and thrown about like a child's rag doll before being tossed in the shallow end of the river, was a surprise to everyone. But clearly it had done the trick, and calmed her down.

The Snow Queen stopped rubbing her neck and turned to Ryder. "Depends. Does the nausea from being tossed around in a tornado cancel out the throbbing pain from being tossed in the river or not?" He stared at her, and she waved it away. "Never mind." She passed by Yelena and the rest, still clutching the banner, and climbed atop the hand of one of the earth giants, who set her, along with the rest of the Northuldra, back on the ground near the camp. She nodded in thanks, but didn't follow the others. Instead, she stayed rooted to the spot, holding the banner, gaze locked on her hut, where he lay, just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

Honeymaren reached out to lay a hand on Elsa's shoulder, but the young woman jerked away, striding through the camp towards her hut. She wanted so much to turn tail and run, but something in the back of her mind wouldn't let her. You are a Queen of Arendelle. We don't run, no matter how badly we want to. We stand and face our fears, no matter how frightened we are. She snorted. Where were you at my coronation, or did that not count?

She got no reply.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out, hesitating only a moment before grabbing the flap of her hut and slipping inside. Hans looked up when she entered, and for several minutes, neither moved, nor breathed. They just stared at each other, unsure of where to begin. She held the banner in her grasp, studying him in silence. Hans, for his part, didn't know if it was actually Elsa, for the last time he'd seen her, she'd been crouched on the fjord, broken down in tears, awaiting her fate. And then she spoke, and he knew it was her.

"What, in God's green earth, are you doing out of the Southern Isle?"

It was more accusation than question, more hiss than actual speech. She stood as regal as she had the moment she was crowned that day, except she wore no crown, no Arendelle insignia, no full skirt or magenta cape. Instead, she wore a long white, sleeveless dress over a pair of light grey leggings. That once platinum blonde hair was now white as freshly fallen snow; no longer was it tied up around her head, or hanging in a messy braid down her back. It flowed freely in a sheet of white silk, slightly curled and soft as fresh snow down her back. The last time he'd seen her, she'd been twenty-one, perhaps more innocent than her sister, but in a different way. Now though, she looked older, possibly twenty-five or twenty-six, and there was a maturity about her that came with time.

He tried to sit up, but the pain in his ribs worked against him, and he sighed. She didn't move, she was too busy studying him. Now that she was standing over him, she could see that it was true, and not just a cruel trick of the mind; he looked haggard, worn down, as though life these last few years had dealt him a horrid blow. She couldn't say she wasn't happy he'd obviously had it rough these last few years, but she wasn't sorry, either.

"It's a long story, Elsa." He replied, swallowing thickly. She never took her eyes off him, and refused to move.

"Long story?" She scoffed, shaking her head. "Shorten it for me." Her gaze flicked down to the banner. "And tell me how you got this! This was from my coronation-"

"I know it was. You gave it to me."

The shut her up.

She started, eyes widening and mouth dropping. "Wh... what?"

"Nearly six years ago, at your coronation, you gave all the visiting dignitaries and representatives a banner, to remember the day. I was one of them." He swallowed, wincing at the pain in his rib. She stayed silent. "As for why I'm not longer in the Southern Isles..." He swallowed. "Let's just say that my brothers exiled me about six months ago. Said they didn't want me there anymore, national shame that I was." He turned from her, but something about her caused him to turn back. "Why aren't you in Arendelle?"

Just then, the flap of the hut opened and Yelena and the healer came in to check him over and clean his dressings. Elsa took this as a good time to flee.