Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: So I read ahead, because I just couldn't help myself, I openly admit that. And... I can't give too much away, but I really, really, really want to post those chapters instead of these ones! You're definitely in for a surprise if you stick with it. Like... both a good and a bad one, and a really, really dark one...
Written: 2019 - Licia
The pair spent the next couple days going back and forth to the camp, joining them for meals and helping when needed, and Elsa spent her time doing whatever she did as the Fifth Spirit, but at night, they returned to the alcove, as Honeymaren had suggested. The first couple nights they spent making love, learning each others' wants and needs, discovering desires and enjoyments, finding what turned each other on and what turned each other off. Hans was pleasantly surprised to discover that his wife had a voracious appetite when it came to sex and the pleasures of the flesh; all those years locked away in the castle in isolation- forbidden contact with her unknown-changeling sister, her people, and certainly forbidden from engaging in even meeting or spending time with the opposite sex, except for lessons with her father- had built up a wall of sexual repression, a fear of her own body, a fear of the opposite sex, and a desire to understand the effects of even the most basic of sexual pleasures.
And Elsa, ever the rabid scholar, dove in with both feet, learning all she could during their long, passionate, heated nights, when he pushed himself into her folds, kissed his way down her body, tangled his fingers in her hair and whispered sweet words to her as they reached new heights together, crying for each other as the waves of orgasm washed over them. But always, afterwards, they would lie together, share soft kisses and caresses, sated and content, having turned from carnal desires to pillow talk.
They kept any discussion about the prophecy, curse and what they needed to do out of bed, however, only deigning discussion of it long after both had gotten up, and never back at the camp, when they weren't sure who to trust. Instead, Honeymaren and Ryder had taken to joining them at the lake, and they would discuss the goings-on in the camp, how no one really expected them to be back soon, since it was the first week of their marriage and they were following Northuldra tradition. So it was roughly the middle of the week, when Hans stepped out of the alcove, to find his wife bathing in the lake.
Her long, snow white hair tumbled down her back and floated around her as she floated on her back, eyes closed, enjoying the water below her and the sun above. He leaned against the alcove, arms crossed over his chest, watching her. The peace that settled about her person was one he wished he could see on her every day. Damn this curse and what it's doing to her.
Though Honeymaren had been right- the further away from the river, the less hold the voices seemed to have on them, though they were still there, at the back of their minds, whispering weakly for them to do its bidding. Hans secretly wished they could stay here forever, just the two of them, and the contentment they'd managed to build in these last couple of days, but he knew they couldn't. All too soon, their week of solitude and contentment would end and they'd be forced to return to the tribe, and the pull of the river would get stronger. But for the moment, at least, he would relish the peace.
Making sure she still content in the lake, he returned to the alcove, setting the blankets right and cleaning up a bit, though there wasn't much to do. He righted Elsa's staff, and then shifted the bag with the box, hearing something slide against the wood, muffled scraping as he lifted the bag by the handles. He stopped, kneeling down and returning the bag and box to the ground. After a moment, he pulled out the small bag Elsa had kept tied to her waist, opening it.
Green eyes widened as he stared at the diadem, and after a moment, he pulled it out, quickly examining it. Other than the missing piece, it was fine, but it prompted his curiosity. Gently setting it atop the pouch, he pulled out the tinderbox, and moved to lift the lid. It didn't budge.
A hand on his shoulder brought a cry of surprise and he turned, to find her standing over him, completely dry thanks to her having removed the water from her skin with her magic, dressed in a simple tunic and leggings, her hair down about her shoulders, she was barefoot, and watching him curiously. "Christian, what are you doing?"
The use of their middle names had gone from just being used during their late night endeavors, to whenever they were alone, whispered lovingly with a soft caress or peck on the cheek or lips. He sighed, letting his heart rate slow before responding. He picked up the diadem, standing. "Why is the diadem out of its box?" He asked sternly, a father demanding to know who had allowed the dog back into the house with muddy paws. Her blue gaze darted to the diadem in his hands and then up to his face. A moment passed, before she lifted her chin.
"I took it. The night I left after the ceremony." Before he could even get the choked, startled Why? out, she continued. "I was planning on sneaking- storming-" She amended. "Arendelle Castle and confronting her, but I found Kristoff first. We went up to my palace on the North Mountain, and I showed him the diadem, asked if he'd ever seen it before. It was then that he told me that he's pretty positive that the missing piece is the changeling's crown."
It had taken a while, but Elsa had managed to convince herself that the Anna upon her throne was not her Anna, and had subsequently begun to refer to it simply as 'her' or the 'changeling', and while that had been easier, accepting the possibility that her real sister was, if not with the trolls or in the Fae realm, dead, was harder. Though the more the days passed, the more and more apparent that even if they did manage to some defeat not just the troll queen but the river and break the curse, that there was no guarantee that Anna would be found alive.
Even if everything miraculously works out and you break the curse, send the trolls back underground permanently and quell the river, trolls- nor Fae- will not give up their prey so easily. They are like the sea; only she decides when to give up her secrets.
"... did you?"
She looked up, Hans' voice breaking her thoughts. "Sorry, love?"
"You didn't put it on again, did you?" She shook her head, quelling his concern.
"No. I don't need to. I know what awaits me, I know what Fate has in store, I don't need to put the diadem on to see it." He seemed to relax at her answer, setting it atop the box, since he could not get it open. Elsa knew it would only open for her, only release its firm hold at her tender touch.
"Good." He kissed her quickly, hands reaching for her waist. "The last thing I want is for you to-"
"I know, darling." She cut him off, reaching up to caress his cheek. "I won't. I promise. All I'm going to do is put it back in the box." He nodded, pulling her closer.
"I think I'm going to go take a dip in the lake, care to join me?" She chuckled softly.
"I just got out. Maybe in a bit." He nodded, kissing her one last time before slipping out of the alcove. Once gone, she turned back to the diadem, picking it up and trailing her fingers over the center, trying to remember what Kristoff had told her in regards to the troll's crown.
"It's looks more like a hair comb than a crown, and is more suited to something you would wear, being the Snow Queen and all. She refuses to wear the Arendelle Crown jewels, and insists the one she wears is entirely appropriate for her. She's freakishly attached to it, afraid to let it out of her sight. I'd say she even sleeps with it on, were I to guess. But it's exactly like your diadem, so it's got to be the missing piece. I bet if we can get our hands on it, we'll find it fits together perfectly."
She sighed. A small part of her itched to put it back on and see the last of what awaited her, but if she followed the story, she knew what awaited her. Kneeling down, she set the diadem in her lap and then opened the box, before settling it inside, as she'd promised. She straightened just as she heard Hans enter the alcove, and turned to see him dressed and still dripping wet. With a giggle, she reached out, holding her hands over his chest, using her magic to pull the water droplets from his skin and clothes, leaving him dry. He nodded to her in thanks, sliding his arms around her waist and kissing her softly. "What's going on in that mind of yours?"
One slender, white eyebrow rose, and he reached up, tangling his hand in her hair, fingers beginning to massage her scalp. She let her eyes close, an involuntary moan softly escaping her throat. He chuckled softly, leaning down and brushing a soft kiss to the space below her ear, before moving to trail a kiss along her jaw, and then moving to nip gently against her neck. Her hands slid up his chest to wrap around his neck, fingers working into the hair at the nape of his neck. Just as their lips met in a deep kiss, the sound of hoofbeats forced them apart, and they quickly exited the alcove, to find Honeymaren making their way towards them.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Elsa glanced at her husband, who kept his arm around her waist. The younger woman hurriedly dismounted as Elsa pulled away from her husband and rushed to her cousin.
"What is it? Did you find something out about the-" It was then that she saw Vanja, still sitting atop another reindeer. The older woman glanced at the two women before her gaze darted to Hans, who stood by the alcove. "Vanja?" Elsa turned back to Honeymaren, who sighed. "What's going on, Cousin?"
It was very rare for Elsa to refer to a member of her family by what they were to her, she usually just called them by their names, with the exception of Hans. When she did, it usually meant one of two things- she was worried, or annoyed. At the moment, it was the latter, as she glanced once more at Vanja, who dismounted from the reindeer. Honeymaren sighed, glancing at Vanja before turning back to her cousin. Quietly, Hans made his way towards the trio, resting a hand on his wife's shoulder. Several minutes passed in silence before Honeymaren removed the bag on her shoulder. She pulled out a set of cups, a kettle and some ground coffee beans. "I brought breakfast. I hope you two didn't eat yet."
"I'll start a fire." And with a kiss to her head, Hans slipped off to start a fire, leaving the three women together. "Honeymaren, what's going on?"
The other girl bit her lip, glancing at Vanja, who went to Elsa. She reached out, laying a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "We have something to tell you. It's about Yelena."
Elsa's face fell, and she pulled away, turning on her heel and joining her husband. Once the four were seated around the fire, coffee made and simple pastries- softened flatbread with freshly made butter, crushed sugarcane found in the forests and berries rolled into thin tubes- a variant of Lefse that Elsa had grown up on- shared between the four, Vanja spoke. She studied the couple for several minutes, gathering her thoughts. "I take it you both are enjoying your time away from the tribe?"
The pair shared a glance, before Hans spoke. "It's been nice, having time away. Things are just... complicated now, with the curse and..."
"We've kind of been feeling... stifled at the camp." Elsa finished, glancing at him. He took a bite of the pastry, sliding his other arm around her waist and pulling her close.
"Something doesn't feel right, being there." Hans added, after swallowing his bite. Elsa took a sip of her coffee. "It feels like we're being watched, reported on. As though the river has... has made spies of the Northuldra."
"Because it has."
The shock on the pair's faces at Vanja's statement made Honeymaren's stomach twist. "I... I'm sorry-"
"Wait-"
"What?"
The startled cry that came from the couple and the looks on their faces would have been funny if not for the circumstances. Vanja sighed sadly and set her cup down. How did she possibly go about saying this? She reached out, taking Elsa's hand. "Years ago, before the mist was risen, back when Yelena was a new chieftain, she made a deal with the river." The couple shared a glance. "She was desperate to help her people, and so begged the river to show her the moment the mist would rise, and what would become of her tribe. It told her that a gift given for an act of bravery would come, and right the wrongs of the current past, therefore freeing the forest from the mist. But it also told her impending destruction to to the tribe, for the loss of the Fifth Spirit."
"Destruction?" Elsa glanced at Hans. "What... kind of destruction?"
"No one knows. But it spoke of the tinderbox and the diadem, the princess drowned in the river and the prince lost to the woods. It spoke of another- one who would leave her crown and kingdom, who had given her life to break a curse, and would be the diadem's true owner. The physical manifestation of the Fifth Spirit." She swallowed thickly. "It spoke of a child born and a mother lost and returned to her rightful place in the river. That her death would return the river its guardian, but it would not stop the tribe's destruction by another race, a stronger race, who deemed themselves superior in the ways of-"
"Magic."
Everyone turned to Elsa as she suddenly realized what Vanja was speaking of. "It meant the trolls, didn't it? And how they want to destroy the tribe for using magic."
The healer nodded. "Yelena asked what she could do to stop it, and the river told her that only the death of physical manifestation of the Fifth Spirit, and her child, could stop the other race. The rive told her it could protect the tribe, as long as it received something in return."
"Me."
Vanja shook her head. "Blood. Blood given by the leader of the tribe, that contained the blood of the one who had gotten away- the same blood who would run through the veins of Fifth Spirit's manifestation- it took a dash of her blood as partial payment, and told her to wait. When the physical manifestation of Fifth Spirit arrived, she would know."
"And I did." Elsa whispered; she met Vanja's gaze, before the healer continued.
"What does that have to do with now?" Hans asked, confused.
"It wants me, doesn't it?" Elsa asked. "The child born and mother lost is me and the baby I will bear some day." She met Vanja's gaze. "But my death won't stop the trolls, will it?" Vanja shook her head. "It lied to her, didn't it?"
"On the physical manifestation of the Fifth Spirit can stop the trolls and drive them back underground. If you were to die, you would be a spirit, bound to the river."
"How do you know this?" Hans asked, skeptical. Even after all this time, he didn't trust Vanja, not fully.
"I was a child, when I followed Yelena down the river; I didn't know what she was doing, but I wanted her to play, even though she was the chief, she always made time for the children. I didn't understand what I saw, what I heard, not then, but I do now. Yelena has been acting strange, especially whenever anyone mentions you, Elsa. I think she is waiting for further instructions from the river."
So, I have to be the physical manifestation of Fifth Spirit, with her power, to be able to drive the trolls back underground. That doesn't make any sense!
"Vanja-"
The healer sighed. "The river has told her two different things- that upon your death, you will become the guardian of Ahtohallan, a spirit forever chained to the river. However, it also told her that in order for you to defeat the trolls, you need to be human, yet possess Fifth Spirit's powers." She bit her lip. "I think, that in its desperation to have its guardian back, the river does not truly know what it wants."
"So it... can't make up its mind?" Hans asked, brow furrowing in worry. She nodded.
"But Yelena-" Elsa started.
"Yelena's only concern is about the tribe; she is the chief, that is her focus. The river... the river would just as soon see the Northuldra wiped out by the trolls than protect it. It only wants for its own selfish needs. And because she paid in blood, she will do all she can to make sure its requests are fulfilled, regardless; it controls her. It will gain its guardian and kill the tribe in the process, if given the chance. A payment in blood is only binding until a sacrifice is made."
"So what do we do?" Honeymaren asked. She'd asked Vanja to explain it to her on the way to the alcove, and she had; it had made her head hurt. Though it did explain why her mother had been acting so odd, especially over the last few months.
Vanja glanced at each of them, taking a deep breath. "We find a way to not only break the curse, but break Yelena's deal before she gets anyone else killed. And once that's done, we go form there."