Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: So, quick fact: Icelandic is closest to the Old Norse tongue, so Elsa's translation: Fólk á vorin- People of the Spring- is actually Icelandic, since it's closest to Old Norse. Also, we learn Elsa's full name in this chapter- not just her six names which we already know, but what house she's from (Zani's version, since there are no names given for the girls in the movies, simply 'Of Arendelle', but all Monarchies come from Houses; ie, House of Romanov, House of Tudor, House of Wittelsbach). And as for Elsa's last name- Bekkr and Dalr are both Old Norse, Zani just combined them.

So, Elsa's full last name is Bekkrdalr, but, Zani has here in her notes, "Anna misspells it as Beckerdahl, because she cannot grasp the spelling of the ancient name."

Written: 2019 - Licia

The woman you're in love with just introduced you to a salamander. A salamander. A little blue and fuchsia salamander that can apparently spit fire.

Wait.. love? No, no, no, that wasn't right. There was no way... Hans grinned quickly, completely unsure of how to react to the introduction. What had she called it?

"Third Elemental of the Enchanted Forest and Spirit of Fire."

So, the Fire Spirit.

Oh, right.

This... little blue salamander is a spirit that can spit fire. Great.

He glanced at Elsa, who waited expectantly for him to say something. It took several minutes before he could gather his thoughts enough to produce something that even remotely sounded like human speech. "Oh. He's... cute."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting or fully happy with his answer, before she turned to the salamander in her hands, lifting it until they were nose to nose. "He calls you cute. Clearly he doesn't understand the danger you pose. The danger we five all pose if we're pushed to our limit." Hans watched as she gently began to stroke a finger down the salamander's back; it purred in contentment at her touch, and she giggled softly.

You need to come back to the river, little Princess. You cannot stay, you don't belong there. And the prince... he is simply using you.

Bruni cocked his head, as the thought popped into her head, startling her out of her moment with the salamander. After a minute, she returned to stroking the salamander's back, smiling softly at the creature, even as her blue gaze shifted up slowly to meet Hans' gaze. The two pools of crushed sapphire unnerved him; for the briefest of moments, it was as though Elsa's gaze had bore right into his soul, and he tried to suppress the shiver he felt. For the briefest moment, he felt the contempt that he himself had held for her that day on the frozen fjord. And then just as quickly as the look appeared, it disappeared, for Elsa shook her head, casting the thought aside. She had made up her mind, for the moment at least. Once she had finished telling Hans her story, she and the Nokk would return to Ahtohallan.

She gently scratched Bruni under the chin, before turning back to Hans. He opened his mouth to speak, the image of her sapphire eyes filled with contempt flashing before him, but her voice stopped him. "Right. Where was I?"

Thinking it over, he shut his mouth, taking a couple minutes, before, "The queen opened the gate, and I assume things went well from then on."

She sighed. "Right." She took her time getting back to her story, setting Bruni down and watching him scamper into the fire, before grabbing her cup and taking a sip. Hans waited patiently, knowing it would take a little more time for her to tell her story than he had told his. "A few years after the gates opened, after the queen's kingdom had begun to prosper, the queen began to feel as though... something weren't quite right. She suffered bouts of loneliness, mild fits of jealousy, and had begun to lose interest in things. She pretended, put on a brave face, for her family and her kingdom, but inside, she felt incomplete, as though something was missing. And then, one night, she heard a voice."

He raised an eyebrow. "A voice?" A blush slowly began to cover her cheeks and she ducked her head. Several seconds passed, before he reached out, lifting her chin. "So this..." His green gaze studied her. "Queen heard a voice?" She nodded. "What did it sound like, if you don't mind my asking?"

She opened her mouth, but stopped. "You don't... really want me to... sing it, do you?"

He cocked his head. "Could you?"

"It's just a... a four note aria, that's all. Nothing exciting, just a small scale anyone could play on the piano-" But when she realized that the look on his face wasn't leaving, she sighed. Taking a deep breath, she sang it softly, so that he had to strain to hear, and after a moment, he leaned close.

"I... didn't hear that." She met his gaze, swallowing. "Please?"

After several 'attempts'- and a lot of gentle teasing from Hans- Elsa gave in, and sang loud enough for him to hear. Her voice was rough; it had been years since she'd sung willingly, and it showed, but it was still beautiful. He met her gaze, chuckling softly at her blush, before he reached over and cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over the apple. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. Go on."

It took a moment before she continued with the story. "She went in search of the voice, and somehow, awoke the spirits." Hans raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "They drove the queen and her subjects from her kingdom, into the hills, making the kingdom unlivable, and she left in search of the voice, only allowing her sister and the ice harvester to come along after much arguing and debate. They traversed many, many miles before coming upon a mist, that parted upon the queen's touch. Upon entry, the queen realized they were in the Enchanted Forest. She and her sister got caught up in the wind spirit, before it spit the other girl out. It took the queen using her magic to get the wind spirit to heel. And once gone, all that was left were figures of ice. It was then that the queen and her small party encountered a tribe."

He furrowed a brow, and she sighed. "They were the People of the Sun." At his deepened frown, she clarified, "The Northuldra. They also encountered-"

"Wait, wait, back up, Els. The... the Northuldra? This tribe?" She nodded, grabbing her cup and taking a sip. "But... how..."

"The Northuldra live in this forest, they live alongside nature, to the point where they only trust nature. They lived side by side with nature for years until the day the mist fell. But they weren't the only ones trapped; Arendellian soldiers were trapped as well. The chief questioned the queen's claim that she wanted to help, when the fire spirit showed up-"

Both turned towards the fire when Bruni poked his head out at the mention of him. Elsa chuckled softly, holding a hand down; the little salamander hurried over to her, reaching out a foot. Steam shot between them, and Hans watched Elsa take a deep breath and close her eyes. It took a few minutes for him to figure out what she was doing, but once he did, he realized that she hadn't cried out and tossed him like she normally did. "Um-"

"I've learned that if I lower my body temperature more, his heat doesn't affect me as much. It feels closer to a normal human's body heat than a burn." She hadn't opened her eyes, but turned towards him.

"A normal human's? Oh, so you mean someone like me?" Hans asked, scooting closer and sliding his arms around her. She sighed, both from the warmth of Bruni in her hands and the slight warmth she could feel through Hans's shirt as he held her against his chest. A tiny smirk tugged at his lips as he squeezed gently, brushing a soft kiss to her head. Bruni watched the pair from Elsa's palm, noticed how his human seemed to drift off to sleep-

"Ouch!"

Instantly, Elsa jolted awake, sitting up and pulling away from the prince, tossing Bruni lightly into the air. He landed back in Elsa's palms, and she glared down at the small salamander, who simply cocked his head. Hans chuckled softly, but kept relatively quiet. After a moment, Elsa created a little swirl of snowflakes around the salamander, who delighted in catching them on his tongue, before she returned to the story. "Where was I? Oh, right. Well, while everyone else fled to the river, the queen battled the fire spirit, putting out his flames and hunting him down. Just as she was about to put him out permanently, she stopped, realizing he was nothing more than a little lizard who spit fire. It took a few moments, but eventually, she was able to tame it. It too could hear the voice that called the queen, and urged her to go North. But before she could, the earth giants passed by- they had developed an animosity to the Northuldra, and everyone was forced to hide. Once they passed, the queen took off to the north, her sister following. The ice harvester had disappeared at some point as well. Eventually, the queen and her sister came upon a ship."

"A ship?" She nodded. "Who did it-" He stopped however, when he saw Elsa lower her head. Her voice choked with tears.

"It was the ship... the ship of the late king and queen. When the mist parted, not only did it let the queen and her party through, but it brought the ship as well- or what was left. After... after much searching, they found a map with an ancient language tucked away in a waterproof compartment. The map showed their route to Ahtohallan, a mystical river said to hold all the secrets of the past." Hans perked up at this. "From what they could figure, the king and queen had been their way to the river to find answers about their oldest daughter when the ship sank." He stroked her cheek as tears gathered in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down, even though she now knew it wasn't her fault, she still couldn't help but feel responsible.

"Take your time."

After a moment, she continued, her voice softer this time. "The queen fled the ship, convinced she was responsible for the deaths of her parents. The younger sister followed, insisting that her sister was a gift, and that she believed she could do anything she set her mind to. When the queen declared she would go to Ahtohallan, the sister automatically assumed she would go with her. Having silently made up her mind, the queen pulled her sister into a hug, even as she silently conjured a small boat of ice to beneath her sister's feet, and then with a stamp of her foot sent the boat careening down the hill back towards the camp site. Once the sister was gone, the queen continued on towards the beach, where she attempted to cross the Dark Sea. It was then that she encountered the water spirit."

"The Nokk?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "After a fight with the water spirit that nearly cost her her life, the queen was able to tame the horse, and it took her to the mystical river. Upon arrival, the voice got louder, and the queen followed it, moving through frozen corridors and gigantic rooms blocked with downed ice pillars. She crossed a chasm by using her magic to create steps, and with each step, felt her magic grow stronger, felt the pull of the voice, until she reached a doorway that, upon entry, was filled with small crystals that formed into a giant diamond that represented each spirit. Upon being placed upon the ground, it was discovered that something was missing, and..."

She sighed, grabbing the cup and gulping down a mouthful. Hans watched her, worried. But just as he opened his mouth, she stood, still grasping the cup, moving quickly back and forth, a small trail of frost beginning to coat the ground with each step. Something about this particular part of the story was causing her anxiety. He was about to tell her not to worry about it, that she didn't have to continue, but she spoke up then. "The queen stepped into the center of the diamonds on the ground, and suddenly... suddenly all the memories of the past were exposed to her. It was then that she discovered that the voice which had called to her was her mother's from when she was a child, that the North Wind had imitated her mother's aria, and called the queen to Ahtohallan. It turned out, that the queen not just a young woman with powers over ice and snow. The queen, herself, was actually a spirit- a gift given to the queen's mother for her bravery, for saving the queen's father when they were children before the mist fell over the forest."

He watched her take another gulp of the hot liquid, wincing as it slid down her throat. "Elsa-"

"She was what is called the Fifth Spirit, the bridge between magic and nature, able to command and control the other four spirits. Once her full powers were revealed, the queen was then shown key moments from her past- and of her parents' pasts. But one in particular caught her eye. Of her grandfather, the King, demanding the full might of his army to come with them when they met with the Northuldra."

"Elsa, you don't-"

"She ignored her mother's warning, the warning in the lullaby, and followed the figure of her grandfather." Her blue gaze moved to stare at the liquid in the cup. In the dimness of the fire, it looked akin to the blood she was no longer sure pumped through her heart or ran through her veins. "And so she jumped, into the heart of Ahtohallan, where she witnessed the beheading, the assassination of the Northuldra chief by her grandfather. But... but she'd gone too far... she began to freeze, and only had enough strength left to send her sister a message of the truth of what had happened, before she completely froze to death."

Hans hissed softly. Though he'd never experienced extreme cold, he'd heard accounts of men who had frozen to death, and the agony they'd felt as their bodies gave in to hypothermia. To think the young queen in Elsa's story had suffered the same fate-

"Her sister apparently received the message and destroyed the dam that had angered the spirits, because the queen awoke in the tunnels and caves beneath Ahtohallan, in the care of the Nokk. After several minutes, it took her back, and she was able to save her kingdom from the tidal wave of water set to destroy it. Upon reuniting with her sister, she revealed that she herself was the Fifth Spirit, and that she and her sister were both the bridge, because her mother had two daughters, that they would continue to protect the kingdom and the forest together. The ice harvester proposed to the younger sister, who accepted, and the queen-"

She stopped, glancing once more at the liquid in her cup before downing it in one swallow. "The queen abdicated in favor of her sister, and chose to stay in the Enchanted Forest." She swallowed thickly against the lump in her throat. "Things went... okay for a year or so... the queen adjusted to her role as the Fifth Spirit. But even so, she began to feel that something was missing, and that same feeling she felt in her kingdom began to come back, in full force. And then one day, she heard the voice again. It led her to the remains of a gypsy camp; she found mainly bodies, but there was one survivor. He was brought back to the camp, and after several days, the former queen finally realized who the man was- the disgraced prince who had tried to kill her at her coronation."

He lowered his gaze, and after a moment, she resumed her pacing, and continued with her story. Hans listened, as intently as ever, but something itched at the back of his brain. She had given up her throne for her sister, but, according to Elsa, her sister was a troll changeling, so that meant an impostor sat upon the throne of Arendelle... and Elsa seemed to be just fine with that fact. But the longer she spoke, the more and more it was becoming clear that she was anything but okay with such a development. If anything, Elsa seemed to have forgotten that the person who was supposedly Anna wasn't Anna-

"... I didn't realize that- the queen didn't realize-" He swallowed his smirk at her small slip up. She sighed. "It took a fall from the water spirit after a revealed secret and a visit from her parents for the queen to understand what had been hidden from her for most of her life- that her sister had been stolen away as a child, and been replaced with the changeling, and that the legend that the prince had told her about was not legend at all, but fact- fact tied to her family, and that the death of each blonde child within her family after the death of the Crown Princess that long ago day was due to the curse; all drowned in one way or another."

"Wait, what?" She looked up, meeting Hans' gaze as he stood. "What do you mean the legend is real?"

"Do you want me to finish the story or not-"

He was before her in two strides; in even less time, he'd taken her face in his hands, meeting her gaze. "Elsa." She sighed, ducking her head, only for him to bring it back up, green locking on blue. "What do you mean the legend of the tinderbox is real?"

She cocked her head, brow furrowing slightly. No! Deny it! Deny it right now! He will only seek to take you away from the river, from me. From us. You belong to the river, to us. You have always belonged to us, little Princess. You are the Fifth Spirit, you control the rest, you protect the river, you are bound to the river. Remember that, and return! Return to me! To us! Protect us! Protect the river!

Those soft, pink lips of her scrunched into a pout as her brows furrowed deeper, the small wrinkle between her eyes becoming even more prominent. "You act like you don't know it's real, Hans."

Run, little Princess. Run, now! Back to the river, back to me! You must protect me! The water is waiting, calling, you must return! You must! You are bound to me and me alone! You command the spirits, but I command you! Run! Now, little Princess! Come back to me! Back to us!

He shook his head. "That's because it's not, Elsa. It's just a legend."

Come back to me, little Princess. Leave that disgraced little princeling where he stands, flee, now, and return to us. Return to where you belong.

She backed up, pulling out of his grasp, blue eyes wide. A moment passed, before she shook her head. "No, it's not. It's real. Very, very real, and I'm tied to it. I'm the descendant of the mad queen. I'm the last of my family's princess's to possess blonde hair. The trolls, they wanted me. They want me and the diadem, to take over Arendelle." She shook her head when he reached for her.

"Don't you get it, Hans? Your country's legend is my country's history. The lost prince was from the Southern Isles, and the drowned princess was from Arendelle. My mother's people are the People of the Sun, and my father's are the People of the Spring. You've studied Arendelle, you know my country's history as well as I do. My father's ancestors came to rule the Eagle Valley in Year of the Great Spring, which is where we acquire our name- Fólk á vorin. You know as well as I that my country was settled by Vikings. And while Arendelle may have had many monarchs, my family has ruled the longest. Do not tell me you don't remember the house I am from, Johannes of Westergård."

He winced; it had been years since he had heard his family's name- most simply called him Prince Hans, back when he'd still had his title, or simply Hans. Honestly, hearing the name of his father's house always made his stomach clench, but coming from Elsa's beautiful lips, made him half sick. The House of Westergård was as noble- or tried to be- as any other house within the Scandinavian monarchies, no matter the bloody means it had taken to get his exile, he had chosen a rearranged version of his mother's maiden, House of Andreasen-

"Andersen." She raised an eyebrow. "It's Andersen. I refuse to be a part of such a despicable house ever again." He met her gaze with a sigh. "Johannes Christian Andersen formerly of the House of Westergård, Your Majesty." He bowed slightly, and Elsa chuckled softly, despite the voice in her head.

What are you doing? Do not entertain the little princeling another moment! Run, now!

She backed up, the cup dropping from her hands. Something was making her nervous, but she couldn't figure out what. All she knew was that the voice in her head was telling her desperately to flee. A moment passed, as he straightened, and Elsa caught his gaze, before she turned to run, but Hans, recognizing the movement, grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to him. His mouth found hers, and he drank deeply from her. Instead of fighting him as she had once would, she sank into it, savoring the taste of him. Her free arm wrapped around his neck, and he slid his arms around her waist.

No! Get away from him! Return to the river! Return to me! You belong to me!

"Elisabeth Astrid Birgitta Charlotte Tatiana Louise of Bekkrdalr." She pulled away in confusion as the words left his lips as they parted. "That is your full name. You are of the House of Bekkrdalr, that had rightfully ruled Arendelle since the late-fifteenth century. You were not the first Elisabeth to take the throne; you are named after the first Elisabeth, the White Rose of Arendelle-"

"You mean Elisabeth the Brave-"

He chuckled softly. "That is not what she was called in the Southern Isles. She was the White Rose of Arendelle, who built up trade between Arendelle and the Isles to what it would become before your coronation, who stretched out a hand to any country who requested assistance-"

Elsa furrowed a brow. "She only lived to reign eight years-"

"Before she was found slaughtered in her marital bed."

Elsa winced. She remembered learning the very basics of Elsa I, as she had called the portrait of the sixteen-year-old queen who she herself bore a striking image too- for Papa had insisted that the monarchs of the past could teach the monarchs of the future much about how to rule a country. But technically, she wasn't the first. She was the first Elsa to rule, but not the first to bear the name. That honor belongs to the princess drowned in the river, the one who's death started all of this.

A moment passed, before she spoke next, her voice tinged with curiosity and fear. "H... Hans?"

He reached up, brushing his knuckles across her cheek as he studied her. "What is it, my dahl?"

She started at the name, before biting her lip. Should she tell him, what the true curse was? That every blonde little girl born to the House of Bekkrdalr was destined for a terrible drowning death? That she herself had drowned at the bottom of Ahtohallan, because she had ignored her mother's warning? That though she had always secretly longed for marriage, for children, she feared actually being with child- that she would give birth to a little girl with her hair and eyes, that would one day meet the same fate as every other blonde-haired, blue-eyed princess of the House of Bekkrdalr? But you died that day in Ahtohallan, therefore, you cannot have children, so there is nothing to worry about.

Slowly, she released a breath. And then, without a word, she reached into the bodice of her tunic and pulled out the letter. Once unfolded, she handed it to him; his green gaze darted to the letter, and then back to her face as he slowly took it. The tinderbox may be just a story to him, but he needs to know what exactly is going on. And best to start with Anna.