Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2019 - Licia

She did not stay that night; instead, she chose to return to Ahtohallan. In fact, she got as far as the outskirts of the camp, before turning the Nokk around and fleeing back towards the Dark Sea. She did not return the next day or the next, choosing the stay away for her own sanity. She did not return until the end of the week, exhausted but alive, for she'd spent her time away scouring the books in her library, her mind preoccupied with Kristoff's words, or curled up on the floor of the ballroom of Ahtohallan, silent, unable to form a sentence that would not sound difficult or needy.

She had completely forgotten that she'd left her bag with the box in it in the corner of her hut. Thankfully, it was in such a far corner, so out of the way, that no one realized it was there.

So when she stepped into the hut at the end of the week, she was surprised to find Hans sitting up; his leg was still in the splint, but he looked better. His color had come back, and he did not appear to be suffering from fever as he had the first week and a half. He looked... normal.

His green eyes roved quickly over Elsa's figure, drinking in the circles beneath her eyes, the anxiety that danced across her face, the way she worried her bottom lip with those beautiful white teeth. Her hair, instead of falling down her back in waves, was pulled over her shoulder in the the same braid she'd worn that day on the fjord, that short strand of hair falling over her forehead again, the way it always did, stealing some of the exhaustion from her countenance. The tunic she wore was off the shoulder, the white material shimmered in the dim light, almost like it was made of ice; it wrapped around her torso, before falling in graceful folds from her hips down. The skirt was slit on the side, and fell just past her knees in a handkerchief pattern; he could see the light grey of her leggings, as they disappeared into her boots, for she wore a pair of simple white boots that came up to just above her ankles as opposed to the flats she'd worn the last few times he'd seen her.

"Beautiful."

Her head snapped up, and he snapped his mouth shut. A moment passed before she made her way over, taking a seat beside him. They sat in silence for several minutes, before she glanced at his ribs. "I..." She swallowed. "I need to check the infection." He nodded, allowing her to undo the binding and remove the ice, frost and snow. Silence fell for several minutes, before her small, cool hands finally pulled away. "There's very little infection left. It should be completely gone by the start of next week." She added a thin layer of each now, wrapping the cloth back around his ribs after removing the moisture and then checking his forehead; the gash was nearly gone as well, though there would be a scar. She made a point of keeping her face as far from his as possible.

Once done, she scrambled back, despite his protests. She couldn't get too close, not after what had happened earlier in the week. Before she realized it, her hand moved back and she slammed it against something hard. Her head jolted to the side, and she was surprised to find her bag behind her.

Right, your bag. You left it here the day you-

Without daring to take a breath, she pulled it open, relieved to see the box still inside, still wrapped in the coronation banner. As she pulled it out, she glanced over her shoulder at him, before climbing to her feet and returning to his side. His green eyes darted to the banner and then back to her face. Slowly, she removed the cloth, revealing the box with the unique design. Hans's green eyes darted to the box before returning to her face. Voice strained, he asked,

"Where... where did you find that?"

She lifted her head; she wasn't too ashamed to admit that she'd gone poking around the massacre site, even less ashamed to admit that she'd taken something from it. "In the caravan you were pinned under. I went back a couple weeks ago to see if I could find anything out in regards to what happened, and after looking through the caravan, I found this." So she hadn't told him that she had pried open the stuck drawer beneath the sleeping nook, but he didn't need to know that. "I can't seem to get it open, and I've tried everything I can think of."

Their eyes met, and he carefully leaned forward. She met his gaze, hearing his breath hitch. "Elsa-"

"That's the Arendelle crocus." She cut him off, pointing to the gold flower at the top. "It's the symbol of my country, my kingdom. I don't know what kingdom the eel is from, and I won't pretend that I'm not curious, but what I really want to know why this has the eel wrapped around my crocus. And why, in all of Mother Nature, do you have it?"

He scoffed gently. "Technically, you have it now."

"I'm serious, Hans." Her blue eyes smoldered as they met his. He watched her, knew she was searching his face for something, though he didn't know what. Finally, she spoke again, her voice thick with barely controlled worry. "Why do you have the box? What's in it? And why is my kingdom's seal wrapped in an eel?"

He swallowed, glancing at the box before meeting her gaze again. He had hoped that by hiding the box in the drawer, he could forget about it; forget about what his family had been trying to do for so long, what his parents had pushed him to do, and his failure... and in turn, forget about the woman who's fate was linked with his. "The eel is the symbol of the Southern Isles."

She didn't flinch, like he expected. She'd suspected as much, and his confirmation only served to cement her suspicion. One question down, two to go. "Why do you have the box?"

A sigh. "That box has been in my family for generations, passed down from father to son."

"You talk like it's important. Like it's some sort of family heirloom."

His eyes shut briefly and he scoffed. "In a way, it is." She waited. A moment passed. "My father gave it to me, when I turned thirteen. Told me that it... it was part of my destiny." He shook his head. "When I asked what was in it, he said that I couldn't open it. That..." He sighed. "That only the..." He stopped, huffing in annoyance as he tried to remember what his grandfather had told him that long ago day. "That the only one who could open the box was the one 'who kept the memories,'"

"Memories?'

He nodded. "The one who can open the box is the keeper of the memories, the deity that walked among the living, but did not see themselves as fully one or the other." His gaze moved down to the two symbols wrapped together, and he reached out to brush his fingers over it. "The Southern Isles eel and the Arendelle crocus, as I was told, was to signify that whatever is in the box belongs to one who hails from the north, to be given by one who hails from the south."

Elsa's brow furrowed. "It... wait... are you saying this was supposed to be a... like a wedding gift?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know." She narrowed her gaze, and he held up his hands. "I swear, Elsa, I don't know what it was meant for, that was just the legend. And according to the legend, there was a box that held mass wealth guarded by three monstrous dogs. Any who found the box would have wealth beyond their wildest dreams. It was found by a soldier. He lived vastly off the wealth of the box. When he heard of a princess locked in a tower, he summoned one of the dogs and asked it to bring her to him. They spent many nights together, and the King and Queen grew suspicious. When they found her, they took the soldier away to be executed in the morning. He asked a boy to bring him the box for one last smoke, and unleashed the dogs. The King, Queen, their council and the executioner were then torn apart by the animals, and the soldier and the princess were reunited."

"That's horrible."

"That's the story of the tinderbox." He shrugged, glancing down at the box in her lap.

"What's the legend for this one, then?"

"Supposedly, according to royal legend, after the soldier and princess were married, he summoned the three dogs from the box, and asked them to patrol the land, to find a place for he and his wife to live, to build their own kingdom. One of the dogs, according to legend, found this beautiful land to the north, near the mountains, but it was already inhabited by a strong and graceful kingdom, known as the People of the Spring. They kept looking, finally coming across a very small island, tucked into the south seas. It was secluded, and the couple decided it was a good place for them to build their kingdom-"

"The Southern Isles." He nodded.

"Their kingdom prospered, despite it's seclusion, and the couple went on to have two sons. When the oldest son reached the age to marry, he was told to find a bride. A grand ball was thrown, all the royals of the surrounding kingdoms invited. It was at this ball that he fell in love with a girl from a neighboring kingdom; the Crown Princess of the People of the Spring."

"People of the Spring... where have I heard that before?" Elsa turned away, her mind working a million miles a minute. Hans watched her, seeing her brows knit in confusion. She had heard the name, but she couldn't-

"Remember, Lisbet, our people's history has always been tied to nature. You may possess powers over ice and snow, my darling, but you will reign over spring, not winter. Our people have always welcomed winter because we know that spring will arrive not long after; our country is very much like the crocus- we thrive even though winter is upon us."

"People of the Spring... Arendelle!" She turned back to him, blue eyes wide. "Our symbol is the crocus because we thrive in winter, where other kingdoms don't! Could the other kingdom be Arendelle?"

He shrugged. "It could be." Now that he considered it, the crocus on the box made sense. He thought a moment, trying to remember the rest of the legend. "They fell in love, and planned to wed." He met her gaze. "But before the wedding, the princess was stolen by a witch, taken to a river and drowned."

"Why?" Elsa couldn't believe it, usually, in most stories, the villain needed a reason-

"Because her mother had been the original owner of the tinderbox; the soldier who found it had found it in a tree on the witch's property, and instead of giving it back to her, had beheaded her and fled with the box. The witch's daughter was trying to get back what was rightfully hers."

"But why drown the princess?"

"Because she was the beloved of the soldier's son. She couldn't get to the soldier, but if she could end the one thing his son loved more than life itself-"

"She would get the box back." Elsa finished, and he nodded. "But it didn't work, did it?"

"No, it didn't. The girl drowned, yes, but she did not die. The river she was drowned in possessed the memories of every living being. She returned as a spirit, and became the protector of the river. The witch, meanwhile, returned to the prince and told him of his beloved's death, bringing the scarf she'd worn as proof of her demise. When the prince saw the scarf, he was heartbroken and handed over the box immediately."

"What was in the box then?"

"The dogs had been returned to the box, but they no longer guarded gold and coin. The prince had commissioned a diadem for his bride, as a wedding gift, crafted of ice and frost, with a single crocus in the center, to signify her homeland. It was said that he put the diadem in the tinderbox, so to give it to her on the eve of their wedding. But upon learning of her death, the box sealed itself, so that no one could open it and steal the precious gift. The box was engraved with five symbols, the crocus and the eel, to signify the joining of the two kingdoms."

"But because she died-" Elsa stopped, something crashing into her thought process. "Wait a minute, I'm confused. Did she die or not?"

"According to legend, though the girl drowned, she returned to earth as a spirit, and because she came from the People of the Spring, that meant she was connected with nature; she was said to possess the power to usher in spring, and make things grow. Her return, as legend tells it, awoke the spirits of the forest, and she was given ultimate power."

He watched her brow furrow, her mouth pull into a pout before the ends of her lips tugged downward. The look made his stomach twist and he swallowed. "Ultimate... power?"

"The power to command the spirits, to control not just the spring, but all seasons, and the power to control all the elements on earth. She was akin to a goddess living among mortals, but, because she was drowned within the river of memory, she was forever bound to it- allowed to wander the forests and towns, but never stay, always forced to return to the river. And because the river possessed memory, it was dangerous, and so she became its keeper, its guardian, forced to keep those who wished to seek answers away, for memories can be just as dangerous as life itself."

She glanced down at the box, thinking. "What about the prince? He found her, didn't he?"

Hans nodded, reaching out to brush his fingers over the wood. "He did. He found her, and he was thrilled to find her returned. He wished to bring her back to his home, where they could rule when the time came, but because she was bound to the river-"

"She couldn't follow." Another nod. "So what happened?" He met her gaze. "To the prince? If she couldn't leave, did he stay?"

"He begged and pleaded with her, and she finally informed him of her fate- that she was no longer human, and could not leave the river she had died in, for she was bound to be its protector for eternity. He gave her the box, but she told him to take it back to his kingdom, to give it to another girl who would become his bride, but he refused. He gave it to his adviser, promising to return for it, and went to speak to her. They argued, and she turned on him."

Elsa swallowed thickly, half afraid to ask what he meant by it, but she could see it in his eyes. "She killed him."

He nodded. "She did."

"Why?"