Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: Did you really think Zani would end the story there? She may have harmed Elsa, but there's still a mystery- actually several- to be solved. This? This was just a setback that needed to be crossed before the pair can go in search of answers. Don't worry, Zani hasn't forgotten about the tinderbox, the legend behind it, or Anna's issues with Elsa... I don't think. At least, I would assume not.
And, according to her notes, the previous chapter went in an entirely different direction before she changed it; she originally had Elsa returning to Ahothallan, and confronting both her mother and the glacier itself, but felt it wouldn't be... she felt it wouldn't keep the tension as much as the ending she chose would. Though the alternate ending to the last chapter may very well come into play later; keep in mind, I haven't read this fully yet. I'm reading it as I upload it, so I'm uncovering everything same as you all are.
Also, pay careful attention to the last little section of this chapter; it's important in regards to the next.
Written: 2019 - Licia
"I need to tell you about my past. I can't hide it anymore. Not if we're going to be married. I love you, Agnarr, and you deserve to know exactly who I am, where I come from."
"Okay. I'm listening."
"Please, Agnarr, promise you won't look at me any differently because of what I tell you."
"Iduna, how could I? Whatever your past, it won't change the fact that I love you, that I will marry you. Nothing could ever change that."
Darkness settled over her; it was a darkness void of stars, void of warmth and comfort, void of life. She sat up, familiar voices having pulled her from her slumber. Slowly, she climbed to her feet and gasped; they stood before her, as alive as she, dressed in the familiar colors of Arendelle. Slowly, she moved closer; they were young, late teens possibly, but just as beautiful as she remembered.
"My blood is not royal, Agnarr. Not like yours. I... I come from a tribe to the North, the North-"
"-uldra?"
"How do you-"
"What other tribe is that far north, Iduna? Look, I know you come from that tribe; and it doesn't worry me." He ran his fingers over the scarf around her shoulders, and she ducked her head.
"It's not just that, Agnarr. I'm not just a common girl, I'm... I'm the Princess of the tribe. The... the second born princess of the Northuldra tribe; my older sister, Yelena is what you call the Crown Princess, my father was the next in line to be chief, probably is by now, our grandfather was the chief- the man your father's men killed."
He stiffened. "Now just wait a moment, Iduna-" But she pulled away, tugging her hand out of his when he reached for her.
"Your people attacked my people that day, your father killed my grandfather. I saw it. When we were playing, I went to hide, came across my grandfather making an offering to the spirits... I watched your father unsheathe his sword, run to my grandfather and strike him down-"
Elsa shivered; just as she'd seen in the depths of Ahtohallan that day, when she'd ignored her mother's lullaby and jumped.
"When the spirits went against us, I found you. You'd hit your head on a rock. You were hurt."
"I don't understand, Iduna, how did we get out? The mist-"
She smiled softly, sadly. "Did you ever stop and wonder why the north wind and I were able to play as we were?" He thought a moment, shrugging. "I have a special connection to wind spirit." She swallowed. "Each member of the 'royal' family, if you will, has a special connection to an element; my father's is the fire spirit, my sister Yelena's are the earth giants, mine is the wind. My mother's..." Sadness flit across her face. "My mother's was the water spirit. She was connected to it in ways no one ever understood."
He watched as she removed the shawl from around her shoulders, slipping it over her hand, to show the diamond pattern. Elsa moved closer, to watch. "Look. Fire, water, earth, air. The four spirits, the four elements, but there's a fifth spirit; it's said the fifth can control the other four, that it's the bridge between us and the magic of nature." She pointed to the center.
"Spirit. The soul."
"Perhaps." She shrugged, as he took the shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders again.
"I heard it, that day, Iduna. The day the forest fell... I heard someone cry out-" She smiled sadly, reaching up to take his face in her hands.
"Forgive me this secret, Agnarr, I just... I didn't want to start our marriage on a lie."
"Oh, Iduna, you have always been forgiven." He pulled her close, kissing her softly.
Tears filled Elsa's gaze as she watched her parents, saw the tenderness shared between them, and just as she reached for them, they faded away, leaving her alone. "No! Wait!"
The darkness enveloped her again, and she turned, searching for something, anything, to tell her where she was. Anything to give her a clue as to where'd ended up. Her memory was nothing but an inky blackness of turmoil, and she could recall nothing and no one-
Screams broke her concentration, and she turned, searching for the source; her gaze landed on something not far, and she hurried towards it, stumbling over her own feet. As she slammed into the firm wood of the foot board, she paled. "Mother."
Iduna was propped against multiple pillows, her long dark hair down around her shoulders, sweaty and sticking to her flushed skin. Gerda, looking much younger than she had as Elsa was growing up, held tight to Iduna's hand. "Something's wrong, I can feel it." Elsa's head snapped to the side, as the midwife spoke.
"It'll be okay, Your Majesty-"
"Do not lie to me, Gerda..." She let out a cry, resting her head against the pillows and sucking in a breath. "Now tell me."
The midwife sighed, glancing at the young handmaiden before speaking. "You're losing too much blood, Your Majesty." Elsa gasped, covering her mouth in shock. Her mother appeared to be no more than nineteen, twenty, maybe twenty-one at most. While she knew it was not uncommon for women to lose blood during birth, she didn't know her mother had been one of them.
Iduna, calm even in the grip of labor, nodded at the midwife. "If something happens-"
"Don't talk like that, Your Majesty, everything will be fine-"
"Listen to me, Gerda!" Iduna cried, bearing down again before resting to catch her breath. "If something happens, you save my baby. Do you all hear me?" Elsa glanced around, now seeing the midwife, the physician and those there to help. "Even..." Iduna sucked in another breath. "Even if I do not survive, you save my child, no matter what! Arendelle must have an heir!" Silence fell. "Promise me, all of you!"
A soft murmur of agreement followed, and Elsa watched as hours seemed to tick by, before her mother turned to Gerda. "Get my husband." Gerda froze. "Gerda, get my husband!"
"He is not allowed in, Your Majesty, and I won't leave you!"
"... you will fetch me Agnarr, and you will fetch him now!" She stopped pushing, sucking in a breath. "Please, Gerda, in case I need to tell him goodbye."
When Elsa turned, it was to her father entering the scene, hurrying to her mother's side. "Iduna-"
"Save the baby, Agnarr. If you must choose, save our child. You save our daughter." He shook his head as she reached up to caress his cheek.
"No, Iduna, I won't chose, because I won't lose either of you-"
"Arendelle must have her heir, even if she loses her queen, she must have her heir." Tears slipped down Elsa's cheeks as she listened to her father make a promise no man should ever have to make, as he kissed her, as the labor continued long into the night. At one point, she watched as her mother stopped breathing.
"Mother-"
She watched her father lean down, holding tight to her mother's hand as he whispered into her hair. "You won't do this to me, Iduna, to us. To our family. I won't allow you to. You come back to me, to our child. You need to be here to help me raise her. Iduna, please. I cannot do this without you by my side. I cannot raise our daughter without her mother, I won't. We need you. Arendelle needs you. Our daughter needs you. I need you."
Elsa bit her lip, confused. How had her father known-
When she looked up next, it was to her mother sitting up, grasping Gerda and Agnarr's hands tightly. Minutes passed, several long, excruciating minutes, before Iduna gave one last push, a scream ringing through the air. Her scream was soon broken by the strong cries of a newborn, and the midwife spoke up. "Congratulations, Queen Iduna, King Agnarr, you have a daughter."
"Give her to me... please..." The color drained from Elsa's face as she watched the midwife lay... lay her... within her mother's arms, newly born and still slick with blood and birth. Slowly, Elsa snuck up beside her father; she was mesmerized by the sight of herself, cradled in her mother's arms. "Oh, Agnarr, she's beautiful..." Elsa leaned close, eyes wide and mouth agape as she gazed upon herself; platinum curls upon her head, skin pale white, blue eyes unfocused as all newborns gazes were. Iduna shivered slightly. "She's... cold."
"That's normal, Your Majesty. It often takes a few moments for newborns to adjust to being out of the womb." But Elsa knew that the chill her mother spoke of would never go away, for it was a part of her; her skin would always be slightly cooler than most, because of her powers.
"I'm just grateful you both survived." Agnarr kissed Iduna's head, as the midwife and the other servants slowly cleaned everything up before excusing themselves after checking both mother and child. Only Gerda remained, Iduna's ever faithful handmaiden, who would someday rise to be housekeeper. "What shall we name her, now that we know-"
"We have always known, Agnarr." Iduna whispered, tearing her gaze from the babe in her arms. "Gerda," The younger woman waited. "Alert Father Wilhem, please. Tell him Arendelle's heir has just been born." Gerda nodded, curtsying with a soft promise to do as told before leaving. Now alone, Elsa watched her father take a seat beside her mother, before she moved to do the same, perching on the edge of the foot of the bed.
She would not deny that she was entranced by the sight of herself in her mother's arms, the care her parents took in getting to know their newborn. Had they always been this caring, this gentle and loving? And this was before her powers had even manifested-
You were a gift, rewarded to Mother by the spirits for her selfless act, for her bravery that day. That's why you have your powers. You were a gift.
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she watched her mother, saw the tenderness she used with her oldest daughter.
"She needs a name, Iduna."
"We already agreed on a name, Agnarr, remember? We agreed on several, as is custom."
Her father sighed, standing and beginning to pace, and Elsa now saw where she got her nervousness from. "I know, but we could not agree on her first name. Remember? What name did you like again, darling?"
"Elisabeth." Iduna whispered, never taking her eyes off the baby. Her husband nodded.
"And mine was Charlotte. And neither of us were willing to eliminate Louise-"
"Still aren't." He chuckled softly, and Elsa grinned. "So, what do we do? We have two names for Arendellian saints, as is custom, my grandmother's name, and three we cannot choose from. What do you suggest we do, my darling wife?"
A moment passed, before Iduna finally spoke. "Use all of them." Agnarr started, and Elsa's eyes widened. "It is common for children to have more than one name, yes?"
"Well, yes, but normally, royal children have... three or four names, not... not six. Well... other monarchies have done the same, but... but Arendelle has never-"
"We have three names for specific reasons, and three we cannot agree on, but do not want to eliminate, so why not use all of them? It is a simple solution."
He sighed. "And how shall we order them, then? Six names will not roll of the tongue easily."
A smile tugged at Iduna's lips as she studied her daughter. "Elisabeth," She gently stroked the baby's cheek. "Elisabeth Astrid Birgitta Charlotte Tatiana Louise, Crown Princess and Heir Apparent of Arendelle."
Agnarr briefly rolled his eyes with a grunt of annoyance and Elsa turned to him, before turning back to her mother. "That is an awfully long name for a such a little girl, Iduna."
"She'll grow into it, Agnarr."
"But Elisabeth? Even that is a mouthful. Do you really expect to hear her nannies calling for 'Elisabeth' when she goes running through the gardens? Or if we're to have another child? It will be difficult for them to say, and if you ask me, she does not look like an Elisabeth. Elisabeths are stuffy old women who prefer to nitpick the youth and scold mercilessly. Our daughter is not an Elisabeth."
Elsa giggled softly at her father's response; clearly, he felt the same way she did about her name, and wasn't afraid to fight her mother on the point.
"She doesn't have to answer to her formal name, Agnarr. Do you, when we are alone?" He husband quickly shut his mouth. "You are right though, despite her name, she is not an Elisabeth." Elsa leaned close, studying her mother, and after a moment, Iduna looked up. She let out a soft gasp as her mother's gaze locked on hers, and scampered off the bed, hoping her mother hadn't seen her, but Iduna didn't take her gaze away; instead, it followed her. It was as though she could sense her oldest daughter's presence in the room, and after a moment, she smiled. "She is an Elsa."