Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2019 - Licia

Elsa looked up from nursing the baby in her arms to see Honeymaren enter the hut, and she chuckled, watching as the other woman struggled to balance the headpiece. "You look equal parts terrified and relieved it's over."

"Can I hide out here for a bit? Everyone wants to keep talking to me and I just... I need a moment." Elsa nodded, and the young woman relaxed, quickly removing the headdress and taking a seat near the entrance.

"You did well tonight." Elsa gently removed her daughter's mouth from her nipple, and turned to her husband. "Sweetheart?"

"What are we going to name you, little ones? Hmm? Got any ideas?" Both women watched Hans gently pace back and forth, the other baby in his arms as he talked softly to her. "Nothing?" Elsa watched from her place among the blankets of their bed as her husband gently bounced the little girl in his arms. The baby had been fussy but hadn't latched on, and so Elsa had given her to Hans, figuring she'd nurse the other little girl first, who latched on immediately. The baby gurgled in response, and Hans cocked his head, raising an eyebrow at his daughter. "Should I know what that means?"

"She won't answer you, unless you can understand baby, that is." Honeymaren chuckled, as Elsa snorted softly.

"I think we're getting there. I still haven't been able to figure out their cries, but-"

"The only one I'm absolutely certain on is when they need to feed." Elsa cut him off as he joined her; she hissed softly, quickly reaching up to gently tug the shoulder of her dress back up before moving to lower the other side.

"You all right, love?"

She nodded. "I don't know that they'll ever stop being tender." He smiled softly at her muttered response. "Trade you? Burp her for me? I want to see if I can get Thea to nurse."

Hans raised an eyebrow. "Thea?"

"Dorothea. This little one in my arm's Iduna."

"When did we decide this?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he grabbed the cloth and draped his over his shoulder before taking the other baby. Honeymaren rushed to help, taking the other one into her arms so Elsa could hand Iduna to her father. Once he had her resting gently against his shoulder and began rubbing her back, Elsa shifted, completely shrugging out of the side she'd since lowered, freeing her other breast, before taking Dorothea and adjusting her hold on the baby as her nipple hardened at the cool air. It took a moment, but finally the little girl was able to latch on and began to nurse. She sighed, mouth tugging into a pucker as she examined the purple veins that settled just atop the skin of her breast, another unfortunate gift she'd received thanks to pregnancy.

"We had the names, but couldn't decide which to use. Honey pointed out that now we can use both. Besides, this little one just looks like a Dorothea. And she is certainly an Iduna." Elsa nodded to the baby against her husband's shoulder. Her husband snorted softly as Honeymaren spoke up, watching her cousin lovingly brush her fingers through her daughter's hair as she nursed.

"How do they name children in Arendelle?"

A sigh escaped Elsa as she raised her head to meet the young chief's gaze, thinking it over. "Most children only possess three names- usually the name of a saint, the name of a family member, and the name the parents agreed on."

"You're the exception." She raised her eyebrows and tipped her head in agreement at her husband's words.

"Six names instead of three." Elsa clarified at the confused look on Honeymaren's face. "I am named after two saints- Tatiana the Innocent and Birgitta the Pious, my paternal Great-Great Grandmother Astrid, and... an ancestor, Elisabeth. I am not the first Elisabeth to sit upon the Arendellian throne, nor am I the first to bear the name-" She stopped, running over the list of Elisabeths she could remember in her family tree. "Charlotte and Louise were the two Mama and Papa could not agree on, so they compromised and used both. I think they did it because I was the Crown Princess, the first Queen regnant to rule without a king by her side in literal decades, and, it sounded dignified when I was introduced to other foreign powers." She rolled her eyes. "They didn't stop to think how it would sound running off the tongue when I got in trouble. There's a reason the servants only ever used my first two names to address me when I was a child. It was a mouthful. Who does that to a child?"

He chuckled. "Well, I for one, am glad they chose to keep Charlotte." He kissed her softly, grinning at her blush, at the secret desires the name hinted at. A moment passed, before Elsa released a slow breath as Honeymaren turned to Hans, ignoring the undertones.

"How are names chosen in the Isles?"

A sigh escaped him, and he gently removed the baby from his shoulder, setting the cloth aside- it would be washed with the rest of the clothing that needed to be done in the next couple of days- and then gently laid the baby girl in the Moses basket one of the women had made for them before the birth, not far away, pushing it gently to start it. Once Iduna was settled and had started to drift off to sleep, he returned to his wife, slipping his arms around her. "Names denote importance in the Isles."

"Importance? Meaning-wise, or-"

He shook his head. "The name of a son born to be king is more important than the name of a son born to be nothing more than a lowly prince. It is all about... grandeur and splendor and how history will perceive a king's rule. When it got to me, my mother wanted something important; she felt that my survival was... a gift from the Gods, and so chose Johannes." He wrinkled his nose. "She chose Christian because she liked how it sounded. My brothers had difficulty pronouncing my name, so they shortened it to Hans. In the Isles, you are addressed by your first and middle name, regardless of your status. By the time I was old enough to remember, I had been Hans Christian by all in the castle. When I hit my eighteenth year, I chose to change my last name-"

"To Andersen."

He nodded at his wide's words. "It's a variant of my mother's maiden name. Though only in secret. Up until a few years ago, I was still a prince of the Southern Isles, and therefore still had to bear the last name of the ruling house." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I have never been happier to be an Andersen; I feel closer to my mother, having taken her name."

"Johannes... Christian... Andersen." Honeymaren was startled at the length of his name, and then wrinkled her nose. Johannes didn't really seem to fit him. Perhaps because he had been 'Hans' to her for so long. He groaned in annoyance. He understood the significance of his first name, but that didn't mean he couldn't hate it. He had been 'Hans' for so long, that even when Elsa called him 'Johannes' in a fit of temper, it still startled him, for he was rarely ever addressed by it, much like Elsa's given name of Elisabeth. Though the couple had gotten used to using their names- mostly middle- as special, tender terms of endearment, something special shared between only them. She tried it again, smiling at the second try. "Hans. Christian. Andersen." Yes, that sounded much better.

"Sounds like the name of a writer." Elsa grinned. "I still prefer Christian though." She met her husband's gaze, lips curving into a wiry smile. He rolled his eyes. "I still prefer 'Christian' though."

"Hmm. Interesting. I still prefer Charlotte." She giggled softly at his words, tilting her head up. It was a sweet, simple peck shared between the two, before Elsa pulled away and turned back to the baby nursing at her breast. Honeymaren watched, a small twinge of envy tugging at her heart. She never realized how she wanted something similar.

"And your children?"

The pair shared a glance. "In Arendelle, the children of the monarch take the name of the parent that sits upon the throne." Elsa said. "In my case, Bekkrdalr. If I somehow manage to regain my throne, they will be of the House of Bekkrdalr."

"What about your married name?"

Elsa shook her head. "I would be the ruling monarch of Arendelle. My married name may be Andersen, but that is not the house I belong to."

"And in the Isles, children born of the reigning king take his last name, unless they are born of illegitimacy, then they take their mother's."

"Except you." Elsa clarified, and he nodded.

"Could you... combine them?" The couple shared a glance before Hans shrugged.

"Not a bad idea."

Elsa bit her lip. "It still wouldn't change anything. My girls would still be of the House of Bekkrdalr. That is the house I was born to, and by extension of me, that is the house they were born to. The only way they could take their Papa's name would be if the rule was changed, but that rule had been in since the line started. Arendelle has been under the rule of the House of Bekkrdalr for... centuries. It would be exceedingly difficult to change such an old, honored tradition." She glanced down at the baby as she nursed, rocking gently back and forth, one finger tapping gently at her nose. "It's not as if I don't want my girls to have their Papa's name, I just... it's complicated."

"It always is among royalty, and former royalty." Hans replied, resting his chin against his wife's shoulder and watching their younger daughter. "How are children named in the Northuldra?"

Honeymaren sighed. She'd never really thought of it, before. A moment passed, before finally she spoke. "From what I understand... a child is given a name based on what the parents believe their personality may be like. Or what they may be drawn to later on, as far as a craft or trade. Mother told me once that she believed Ryder would become a great warrior, and that... my name came to her in a dream not long after getting pregnant with me about this... sea-locked kingdom and this... spring kingdom and the tribe, and that my name was meant for 'a great Chief, who would one day form a strong alliance with a kingdom to the south, a kingdom of Spring, who married into the sea kingdom, but who's blood came from the North, and who's emblem symbolized a a winter flower.'" She rolled her eyes as the couple shared a glance.

"You mean... Arendelle?" Elsa asked; she adjusted her hold on the nursing infant. Honeymaren shrugged.

"I guess... I don't know. Why?"

"Because... Arendelle's symbol..." Elsa glanced at Hans, who immediately moved to search for the banner. Several minutes passed before he pulled it out and handed it to Honeymaren. She glanced at him as she took it. "Is the crocus. They're the only flower known to grow and thrive in winter, and are often considered the first sign of spring."

The girl glanced at the banner, studying it carefully. A moment passed, before she spoke. "This better not be-"

"Another damned prophecy?" Elsa finished for her, and she nodded. "We're hoping it's not. And if it is, hopefully it'll simply mean that I get my throne back."