Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: Written: 2019 - Licia
To complete a Soul Threading, one must give a piece of her soul and a piece of his.
Elsa had already given the river a piece of her soul that long ago day in Ahtohallan, when she'd gone too far into its depths; it already had her sacrifice, it just needed his- and when Hans had forced her to stab his perceived heart, the river had taken it's small share of his soul, which had prompted the darkness to leave Elsa. She held her husband close, not prepared to let his spirit fade-
And Fifth Spirit, unable to watch her pain anymore, decided to step in. She had spent all that time studying the couple; they loved each other deeply, the pain she felt as his betrayal, and his willingness to allow her to be the one that turned her permanently into a Fetch... they had been through so much, endured so much pain, so much heartache, only to now face this- a poorly executed Soul Threading- and complete separation for all eternity. Even though she possessed a half of Elsa's soul, she wouldn't be able to continue her job, because Elsa would never submit, no matter how much she was forced, and if she became a Fetch, that would make Fifth Spirit's job that much harder, because the half of Elsa's soul that resided in her would start to die.
You need a willing soul... and she is not willing... she will never be willing... She sighed. They are more than just destined, more than just tied together by the red string of fate... their souls are linked, what one feels, the other feels, what one suffers, so does the other... but... it's not possible... the threading failed. They cannot be if the threading failed, and he did not sacrifice a sliver of his soul...Unless... And then it hit her, exactly what had happened.
Elsa's admittance to her husband as he faded away- that he was hers and she was his, that they belonged to each other, that she loved him still...
A Fetch can never admit to love, only hate and pain. She was in the process of fully turning, but not quite. There was still that sliver of herself left- the part that was her, that physically was hers, but that truly, had always belonged to her husband... that's what saved her, his willing sacrifice forced that part of herself to break through the pain and admit what she had always felt, what she had probably never had the courage to actually say to him.
Her heart, that kind, loving heart she was known for in Arendelle, was too strong, but it was more than just her heart, it was what lay inside it- the only force that could actually seem to make Fifth Spirit heel, the one thing she herself as an Elemental could not defeat, because she herself had never known it. What she felt for her siblings was not the same to what Elsa felt for her husband.
Love; pure, unconditional, true love.
A moment passed, as Fifth Spirit weighed her options. She had to possess Elsa's soul; she needed a body to be able to continue her work, and Elsa's would do wonders, she knew that. But she couldn't keep all of it, she wasn't that selfish, no matter how much she liked to think she could be. Great Mother had raised her better than that. And what was worse, Great Mother had made her see, and understand the value of humans.
"Without humans, my daughter, we would be nothing more than fantasy. Humans make us real, they give us names and believe in us and worship us as the gods we are. They care for us, just as we care for them, just as they care for their mates and their offspring. Not all humans are bad, we must protect the good ones, and punish those who wish to do us harm."
And Elsa and her mate, Fifth Spirit now realized, were two of the good ones.
She sighed, agitated.
May the Gods damn her for her sentimentality.
With a wave of her hand, Fifth Spirit froze everything around them, before making her way towards the pair. She leaned close, studying them, seeing how she cradled him to her chest, kept her lips gently pressed to his; not an ounce of the blackness remained within her, Fifth Spirit knew that, for she could sense it. Elsa was, once again, pure as the driven snow she commanded.
A moment passed, before she reached out, laying a hand against Elsa's head. Gently, she worked on tugging something from the Snow Queen's form. Without a word, she gently began to pull it apart, until half of a soul stood before her. Fifth Spirit, nodded to the ice. A moment passed; because she was the guardian of Ahtohallan, a wave of her hand could freeze the spirits trapped within the ice in place. She unfroze one in particular, and watched as the someone stepped out of the ice, accepting the other half of the soul making its way towards her. A swirl of light shone, and soon the princess was smoothing her hands down her dress, her body, before she lifted her head, meeting Fifth Spirit's gaze with two surprised blue eyes.
Whole. She was whole again.
The princess opened her mouth, but Fifth Spirit held a finger to her lips and then turned back to the pair before her. This would take a while... it was a slow process, splitting souls two ways- for when Elsa had stabbed her mate, the small sliver of his soul had already vanished, accepted by the river. Contrary to what Elsa believed, the sliver of Elsa's soul that the river had taken that long ago day did not reside in Fifth Spirit, it resided specifically within the ice of the river. The portion that resided within Fifth Spirit was the part of Elsa Fifth Spirit had selfishly taken for herself, thinking she could make Elsa heel to her.
But obviously, she had been wrong.
With a sigh, Fifth Spirit split the portion of Elsa's soul that was inside her, keeping one portion for herself and setting the other free to join with sliver that had been originally left behind. It was then that she split Elsa's soul again, so that there were two pieces, before turning to Elsa's mate and doing the same. Once they were split, she combined the opposite pieces together; it was a slow, careful process, splitting souls, and after a moment, she stopped. There was a pulse, before she felt the light rather than saw it, and once the light was gone, she reached up, pressing her hands to her cheeks, before realizing she had both hands instead of one.
Thank you, Elsa of Arendelle. Now, I will be able to control the river.
She turned back to the pair. This would be harder than she thought; it would also be painful for both. She only knew that Soul Threading was to be used in the most dire of circumstances, that it wasn't just two dying at by the same weapon, but that it required the handing over of a slice of the soul of the one who attempted to use it. But she also knew that the prince had most likely not known that, or forgotten that detail when he drove the knife into both of them; she also knew that he would not so easily give up a piece of his soul to the river that had tormented them so- he, like so many sailors, was wary of inlets of water such as glaciers for their unpredictability- and in that vein, she knew that Elsa had to be the one to do so. That long ago day when the dam had been broken, she'd already given half of her soul to the river- to Fifth Spirit- and so sacrificing a piece of her husband's soul came easy to her.
But then her mate had willingly given himself over to her fury, which had startled everyone, including her. But as soon as he'd done it, Fifth Spirit realized why.
It was done out of love, simple and true.
Love for the woman who had built walls so high, he'd had to scale them to start breaking them down, for the woman who had sat by his side when he recovered after being brought from the gypsy camp, for the woman who had married him without a second thought, who had given him the most beautiful babies he'd ever seen-
Who had allowed him to stand by her side, despite the dangers of the curse.
He was so much more than just her husband and the father of her children; he was her partner, her best friend, her lover and confidant.
He was her soulmate.
After making sure the opposite pairs were together, she gathered bits of the stars and pieces of the stardust they'd been born under, crafted two needles of ice, and then turned to the halves. This wouldn't be easy on either of them; Soul Threadings were painful, and she could not minimize the pain, for the pain- what appeared to her as shimmerings- told her they were still there, that they were still fighting to stay together and hadn't given up.
She turned to the opposite halves directly in front of her. A flick of her wrist, and the needles began to work, weaving alternatively back and forth between their souls, as though working easily through silk, the double needles enforcing the bond. Every so often, one or both would shimmer, and Fifth Spirit would nod in acceptance. Though she had only done this once before, Fifth Spirit was familiar with reattaching limbs and closing wounds, one of the requirements to be allowed entry into peace was that they appear as whole as they could before entering the afterlife, so that it was more enjoyable for them.
Eventually, the pain began to lessen, and the shimmering began to slow until it faded as the last of the thread was knotted off and removed. She then turned to the other halves, and repeated the process, until she stood back, admiring her work. The threads of the stars and stardust they'd been born under were tight and secure; these two identical copies, made from four separate pieces; a piece of her sewn to a piece of him twice over, one for each body-
The light that appeared from Fifth Spirit's work was blinding; Iduna buried her face in Agnarr's chest, the princess turned away, covering her eyes, only Fifth Spirit watched as the light from the stars that sewed them together grew brighter.
Only Fifth Spirit knew that she had to keep her own soul separate, that the sacrifice of the one who had saved the forest needed her spirit to still reside within her, for she was the Fifth Spirit, the living, physical embodiment, the lost element of the Enchanted Forest. But she also knew that it was only Elsa's ultimate sacrifice- giving a piece of her husband's soul willingly to the river, to complete the threading that her husband had attempted- that could return them to the physical world.
It was the tiniest of loopholes, but Fifth Spirit had figured it out, weaseling it slowly out of the river over her millennia trapped in Ahtohallan- the Fifth Spirit did not need to be entirely bound to the river, if pure, true love and willing sacrifice was committed. Fifth Spirit did not just belong to the river, she belonged to the Forest, to the People of the Spring and the People of the Sun and the People of the Sea if they so desired her; she belonged to the world, for every living thing possessed a tiny piece of her.
She was that elusive element Aristotle had waxed about, and religions prayed over, that Satan collected and the Egyptians had deigned important enough to build elaborate rituals for.
She was Soul.
And she was more than just Aether, more than just the Fifth Element.
She was as physical as she was ethereal, and she needed more than just one manifestation.
She needed to be able to walk on the earth, to be able to interact with nature, with the other elements, with humans. She needed a physical manifestation, and she had found one in Elsa, the wife of the former Southern Isles prince, the daughter of the House of Bekkerdahl, the princess of the Northuldra, the rightful queen of Arendelle.
She made her way towards the couple. Yes, Elsa would do nicely, as her physical counterpart. The piece of the Snow Queen's soul she'd claimed that day would help her to continue her work on Ahtohallan, and the piece of herself within the Snow Queen would keep her tethered to the river, but she would be allowed to come and go as she pleased. Only one of them need be tied permanently to the river, and Fifth Spirit had dedicated her existence to Ahothallan from the moment she was born.
Elsa had a life among the living, a husband who loved her and children to raise. A kingdom to rule and many, many more years to live before she returned to Ahothallan for good. With a gentle wave of her hand, she broke the light, passing her fingers over the couple, who never broke the kiss, never feeling her touch.
Good. Better they stay connected until they are safely back where they belong. They could become lost from each other if they part now. She trailed a finger down the side of Elsa's face, gaze going between the pair. "You are my manifestation as much as I am yours. You will be the part of me that resides in the physical world. You are now the bridge your parents once were- the physical and the mystical, the bridge between the worlds- this is your birthright. Because of you, and your sacrifice, I can control the river." She gently caressed Elsa's head. "It's time for you both to go back, you have a life to live. Together." She tenderly brushed a kiss to Elsa's head. "Thank you."
Then, she stepped back, allowing the light to once more envelope them. With a soft nod and a wave of her hand, they faded away; back on the inlet's bank, the air crackled; a sound similar to the shattering of the sound barrier was heard and felt, startling everyone.
"Where did they go?" Iduna demanded, turning on the Fifth Spirit. A moment passed, before she turned to meet the former Arendellian queen's gaze, and Iduna started, shocked to see her daughter's features staring back at her. "Elsa?" She shook her head. "What... what did you... what did you do with them..."
Fifth Spirit smiled softly. "They do not belong here, not yet. They have a kingdom to take back, a troll to defeat, and children to raise." She turned to the princess, who stood silently, waiting, though for what she wasn't sure. A soft smile tugged at Fifth Spirit's lips, her blue eyes lighting at the Crown Princess. She held out a hand. "Come. Your fiancé is waiting for you."
Tears appeared in the princess's eyes. "... he is?"
She had felt the man's arrival not long after Elsa's husband had appeared, for her beloved was the descendant of the lost prince. Fifth Spirit nodded, and after a moment, the princess reached out, taking her hand. She glanced back at the form Arendellian king and queen, giving them a small smile, as she walked the princess to the depths of Ahtohallan, towards the peace that had eluded her so long.