Lift the Spirit
Chapter 1: The way I see you
Elsa was sitting against a tree and silently reading a book in the evening light of the Forest, enjoying the last rays of sun enlightened by the warm smell of flowers and distant cooking at the camp. She had chosen to sit away from everyone to have a bubble of relaxation and time for herself, but not too far however, to still make sure that everything was alright. Anna often compared her to a house cat, and she was on point; not too close, not too far, quietly observing and enjoying the peaceful settings. Only the chirping sounds of Nature punctuated her silence, which she loved as she turned the pages slowly, her eyes dancing along the lines of the book set on her thighs as she had bent her legs.
Bruni was drowsy and quiet on her shoulder, only half asleep in the same way she was only half distant from the village. The guardians of the Forest were constantly vigilant; even if then, the moment was devoted to pure relaxation.
She could feel the tiny salamander's belly move with its fast but steady breathing on her bare shoulder, and in a way, it reassured her. Fire and ice surprisingly paired well. As time passed, the sun started to get low and disappear behind the West mountains. At some point, she had to squint to read the lines, and Bruni noticed the tension in her neck. He opened his eyes, blinked and looked at the Snow Queen who was struggling to see words, but wouldn't stop her reading, too stubborn as she had reached an interesting part.
Bruni noticed her frown and peeped, then set his tiny back on fire to give her light. Elsa muttered a 'Thank you', deep in her reading, then once she was done with the paragraph, smiled and waved her fingers to reward the Fire Spirit with fresh snowflakes. Bruni happily chewed on them with crunchy noises and satisfied chirps. He rested his head against her shoulder again, enjoying the forever fresh skin and sighing in content. Elsa flipped another page, when suddenly, a huge sound of explosion resounded in front of them.
Bruni jumped in the air in fright at the loud noise, and squealed when Elsa stood up in a startle.
What the hell was that?
It had come straight from the village, and Elsa could now hear the sound of Northuldra raising their voices, which with the distance, meant that they were screaming.
The Snow Queen's eyes widened, and she dropped her book on the ground. Next to it, Bruni landed in a smooth move, looking at the village with waving nostrils, then back up at Elsa to know what to do.
"That sounded like an explosion, a gun fire even. Come!"
The Fire Spirit chirped in agreement of his participation. If there was a fire, he could take care of it in even less time than it would take for Elsa to put it off.
As they started to run to the camp, the blonde saw that her bare feet would soon meet rocky dust on the path, so she pointed at behind her with her left hand and waved at the ice sandals she had left near the tree. In a swirl of snowflakes, the sandals flew to her, opened their straps, and clipped to her feet as she was running.
She entered the village with a literal and figurative squall, her azure blue eyes darting from one spot to the other to find the source of the explosion. Before she even found it, she noticed that none of the Northuldra actually seemed scared or concerned. Only a few turned to her presence and smiled at her, wondering why she had arrived so fast. Elsa then spotted a few Northuldra talking loudly to a brown-haired one around the fire, and next to them, something that she clearly didn't expected: Honeymaren, standing and watching. Or rather, the opposite of standing, as she was bending in two and wheezing with laughter, while, Elsa now recognized, Ryder was getting scolded by elder Northuldra.
The blonde blinked at the sight of her wife laughing to tears at her brother's clumsiness. She quickly forgot all the adrenaline and urge of the situation now that the possibility of danger had been removed, and that she was blessed with the aura of the love of her life giggling.
"This is not funny." Mumbled Ryder once the elders were gone. "I didn't know that this powder was explosive."
"Why did you even think that this was pepper?" Wheezed Honeymaren.
"I don't know!" Blushed the man furiously. "It's black and it's powder! How is it not the same?!"
"Rule number one, little brother: smell the thing before you pour it into soup."
She then gasped and immediately stopped laughing. "Wait, you were about to put something you don't even know about in the soup that I was going to eat? That we were all going to eat?"
Ryder mumbled and looked down. "I assumed it was pepper…"
Honeymaren laughed nervously. "Well, we avoided food poisoning, thanks Ahtohallan."
He kept mumbling. "I hate when it's my turn to do the cooking for the tribe. I'd rather go take care of the dyes three times a day than prepare dinner."
Her sister stopped laughing and tapped his shoulder in support. "Skills come with time. Everyone has to do everything. You're gonna make it, Ryder, trust me."
"Thanks", he replied, still mumbling.
He eventually rose his eyes to his sister. "You make a great leader. I mean, apart from the moment you mocked me."
Honeymaren grinned and winked at him.
Elsa walked to them, a bit breathless as her panic still had way to go down.
"So that was just a simple explosion? Nobody got hurt?"
They turned to her. Honeymaren smiled fondly at her wife's concern. "No, nobody got hurt. It's okay."
Elsa nodded, and the brunette could see on her neck how fast her heart was still beating, and her nervous nod as she stared at the kettle of soup.
"Where were you?" She inquired. "We actually were looking everywhere for you."
"Oh, I was deep into that novel Anna introduced me to on last Yule. I didn't see the time go by."
Honeymaren looked at the sky, then frowned. "I'm worried for your vision…"
"It's fine, Bruni provided light." Smiled Elsa.
The Fire Spirit, who had been following her and was now staring at the flames under the kettle, chirped up to Honeymaren.
"That doesn't change my mind. You shouldn't read with such little light. What if Bruni hadn't been there? How many times did you read books in evenings without light?"
Elsa crossed her arms. "How many times did you read maps in the main hut after we return from our explorations, with even less light?"
Honeymaren bent her head exaggeratedly. She got a point.
"Yep, I saw you." Smirked Elsa, knowing she won. "See? My vision is excellent."
The Northuldra smiled. "Well, now I'm keeping an eye on you." She said, gesturing back and forth between them with two pointed fingers.
Elsa smiled tenderly. "Glad to see that my wife's sight will never leave me."
Ryder eyerolled. "Are you two done talking about eyes? I'm trying to focus here."
The blonde turned to him, a hand on her hip.
"I could have left you alone. If I didn't get interrupted in my reading." Stared Elsa.
Ryder blushed, now idly playing with the end of the wood spoon.
The blonde then sighed. "I dropped my book on the ground though. I should go pick it up…"
Gale sensed her need and descended from the top of the pines where they were playing with birds, to float around the discarded book and pick it up. They crossed the path back and put it in Elsa's hands.
"Thank you, dear." Smiled the blonde. She then frowned. "Wait, you didn't pick up my bookmark?"
Gale did a twirl in the air that looked like a question mark.
"The bookmark." Answered Elsa. "You know, the little band of paper that was with it? And it has a string attached to it."
An instant of silence passed as Gale chimed in return.
"Why would I use that?" Repeated the blonde, blinking. "Because it's useful! We use it to mark the book! What? No, I can't simply remember where I left at…"
Honeymaren watched with amusement as Elsa continued to explain to the Wind Spirit what a bookmark is, and laughed internally because she loved when the Snow Queen struggled to describe the utility of some objects used by humans to the Spirits. It was especially funny with Gale, because while Nokk was cranky, Bruni inattentive, and the Giants quite literally headstrong, the Wind Spirit loved to tease Elsa about objects that actually aren't very useful.
Elsa finished arguing with Gale until a yawn stretched her mouth, and it was so sudden that she didn't even get to hide it with her hand.
Honeymaren giggled. "Long day, uh?" She guessed, knowing that tiredness was the only reason for the blonde to be this grumpy.
Elsa sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"I got to admit, yes."
Gale chimed in a tender laughter, then brushed her hair. The Snow Queen was too exhausted to even groan at their gesture.
Honeymaren smiled and walked to her to gently circle her hips with her arm. "Come. We're about to serve dinner anyway. You can go to bed right after."
"Don't wanna…" Mumbled Elsa, her hold however warm against Honeymaren.
It made the brunette laugh. "The Forest isn't going to be in danger if you go to sleep early for once, you cute dork."
This time, Elsa groaned at the tease. Honeymaren figured that she had been reading a book to relax from her day, but it was a bit too effective. As they walked to join the other Northuldra around the fire, she could see how the blonde was giving up on her strength and even laying against her wife's body.
They sat down along with the tribe on the trunks disposed all around the central fire, and started eating.
Soon, Elsa stirred a bit. She didn't shiver when she was feeling cold, as one of the assets of being blessed with ice and snow powers by Ahtohallan meant that the cold wasn't bothering - an asset Honeymaren was envious of. Nevertheless, that didn't prevent the blonde to feel uncomfortable when night fell with a particular humidity. The brunette obviously noticed.
"Hold on, I'll be right back."
She gently sit Elsa up, and crossed the Northuldra circle to trot to their hut. Elsa frowned at she wondered why she went there. When her lover got out and held something that she had picked up from inside, she squinted to understand what it was through the blur of the heat rising up from the central fire.
She came back to sit next to her, and prompted Elsa to rest her head against her shoulder again.
"What is it?" Blinked tiredly the blonde, trying to sharpen her sight.
"When you cuddled against me, I noticed the way you rubbed your arms. It's a humid night tonight. Here."
Ryder smiled as he saw Honeymaren unfold what she had been holding, wrapping her wife and her in a familiar brown scarf.
"Our scarf…" Mumbled Elsa.
A flashback came to her mind.
"I like this brown color. You two have chosen well. I can't figure out why, but this color really represent your couple." Complimented Anna, observing her curling herself in the shawl. "Maybe because it's the color of the tree barks, or the hut, or maybe Honeymaren's eyes."
Elsa chuckled. "Maybe."
Anna sat down next to her on the Arendelle's castle couch. She smiled. "Are you alright? I know that this week of mandatory royal meetings isn't fun, especially for you who isn't used to it anymore, and is away from the Forest for all that time."
"I'm fine. Wait, did you think I was feeling down?"
Anna bit her lip. "Well, you used to wear Mother's scarf when you were upset, but as I haven't seen you getting worried for many years, I was wondering what was on your mind. Are you cuddling to it for comfort?"
Elsa smiled, especially at the warmth in Anna's voice. "Yeah. It also smells like Honeymaren, which is a lovely bonus."
She closed her eyes and lowered her nose as the shawl was enveloping her, and she inhaled the unique scent of her wife, which always brought her up in the clouds.
"I like the little reindeers sewed on it." Smiled Anna.
"I made them."
"You did?"
"Yes, just like she weaved the snowflakes and Spirits unity symbols. This is how it's made: every member of the new family make motives that represent someone else. She sewed what she loves about me, I sewed what I love about her."
"New family?" Repeated the younger with a grin.
Elsa nodded. "I'll always remember what Yelena told us… We were picking up berries and licken that day, and she took the opportunity to be alone with us two near a bush to have a private moment."
The redhead dropped her elbow on the top of the couch and leaned her cheek against her hand, listening closely.
Elsa smiled emotionally at the memory. "She said… 'Now that you're a couple, and officially devoted through each other through a lifetime union, you represent a family.' Yes, I said that it was just the two of us, and that we didn't have children, so it was maybe too exaggerated… And she answered… 'Dear, even if you are two people, it's still a family. In fact, many families in the history of Northuldra are just one parent with one child.'"
"This is beautiful." Murmured Anna.
Elsa nodded again, and tears filled her eyes as another memory seized her with soul. "She then added that…"
She gulped as her throat tightened.
"That she had never seen a more lovely couple than ours. She said that we represent what the Northuldra always have represented, and the promise of peace that the Arendellians will forever stand to. The Spirits of Nature and Sami people united eternally. The former Queen of Arendelle devoting her life to who would become the Northuldra leader."
Elsa rose a hand from under the scarf to quickly rub the tear that had fallen from her eye. Anna looked at her tenderly, then at the scarf.
"And Honeymaren and you are close and combined just like the weaving of this scarf."
The blonde smiled. "Actually, the evening that followed, I asked Honeymaren to come in our hut to talk with her. And I asked her if she wanted to weave a familial scarf together."
Elsa grinned. "She melted into tears. I've never seen her cry this much since we did our double proposal."
"Aww. And to say I thought that nothing could top such an awesome thing than the scarf… The story behind it is even better."
Elsa's eyes looked at the ceiling, dreamily. "The day after, we started to sew it hand in hand - quite literally, because it requires mutual work - and it took us several days. But I'm deeply proud of the result."
"No wonder why you always admire it." Grinned Anna.
Elsa returned to present time, now idly playing with the strings ends of the fabric.
"Our scarf…" She murmured.
Despite the clear fatigue, Honeymaren also heard some emotion in her voice, and smiled tenderly as she held Elsa closer, her body now covered by the warm shawl.
"Just relax, okay? It's what you intended to do with reading anyway. Here, have some more soup, and we'll put you to bed right after we finish the meal." Smiled Honeymaren.
After the blonde emptied her bowl, Ryder served another round of soup, Northuldra happily willing to get their bowls refilled. In fact, most of the tribe asked to have some soup again. Ryder's face light up at the flames of the fire. "You do?"
"Of course. It's a really good meal you've made us today, Ryder." Complimented the Sami standing next to him, and many others around her nodded in agreement.
The man smiled broadly, and with tearful eyes, he filled every bowl he could until the kettle was empty. Once he sat down, and watched the tribe eat and drink the soup with smiles as they were all resuming their conversations, he let out a happy sigh.
Honeymaren's hand was on his shoulder again. "See? And with practice, your cooking will be even better."
"Thank you." Smiled the man.
A silence passed, and Honeymaren felt a slow and warm breathing on her shoulder. Elsa had fallen asleep.
For the Queen of Ice and Snow, she actually had a very warm aura when she was peacefully sleeping. Honeymaren smiled tenderly, her heart soaring just like every time she got to lay eyes on her beautiful sleeping wife. She passed a hand in her platinum blonde hair, and caressed her cheek to wake her up just enough.
"Time for us to go to sleep." Murmured Honeymaren.
While Elsa emerged, she turned to Ryder. "We're going to the hut. Good night."
"'Night." Greeted Ryder with a smile.
The Northuldra leader saluted her tribe with warm nods and smiles, then nudged Elsa slightly for her to stand up. However, she was either too tired to do so, or too reluctant. Probably both.
Honeymaren shook her head. "You want me to carry you to bed in bridal style, uh?"
Elsa actually didn't answer, her head tilting back. Honeymaren hold it right in time, and put it against her chest before passing a hand in her back and the other under her knees. The blonde weighed like a feather, so she had no trouble to lift her at all, especially with her huntress muscles. Their scarf now was covering Elsa's body as she walked her wife to their hut - under the tender gazes of some Northuldra who couldn't help but stare - and Honeymaren carefully watched it to not make it slip down as she passed the door and closed it behind them.
"There."
She grinned as she watched her lover.
Even if Elsa rarely drank and therefore rarely was drunk (for she was a lightweight and it happened systematically), when the blonde had a long day, her extreme tiredness made her look like she was inebriated.
One time, Honeymaren was looking for her after a particularly exhausting day, and had found her standing still among the reindeers in their paddock.
"What are you doing here?" She had asked, climbing the fence to join her and make sure that everything was alright.
When she saw that tears were covering her face and that they kept falling, her heart had split in two. What had happened to put her in such a state?
"Elsa, what's wrong?" She had whispered with deep worry.
The blonde then had lifted her arms tiredly with a tearful and disappointed sigh.
"I don't have enough hands to pet them all."
Then she had burst in tears again.
From that day on, Honeymaren had sworn to always keep an eye on her to see when she was tired and avoid such stupid situations. She also had sworn to always try her best not to laugh at her lover's tired craziness.
She gently put her on the bed, and Elsa instinctively rolled in the scarf, the lights of the hut enhancing the brown color of the shawl.
Honeymaren smiled and lifted her head to look at the hovering sources. Floating ice photophores that Elsa had made during the past year were bathing the hut in a light that Honeymaren undoubtedly now associated with the word and feeling of 'home'. Only Elsa was able to turn the blue color into something warm, protective and reassuring. The candle jars had many different shapes, which the brunette particularly loved. Some were rounds, some were squared, some had crossed lines, other had tiles motives, and every time she would spend a relaxing moment staring at them, she would find new intricate details, and her love for them grew even more. There were seven of them constantly floating around in their hut, and Elsa added more if that was necessary.
Honeymaren replaced the candles in them herself, and she quietly laughed at the memory of that one time when the blonde had purposely made a photophore float near the ceiling and made it impossible to reach to change the candle.
She appreciated that, whether Elsa was asleep or not, they would always slowly fly around the hut, and project pretty motives on the walls, the flames inside dancing and forming dreamy moments.
She blew and each every one of them while Elsa laid on the pelts. Then in the dark, she lifted Elsa's body to place her on her side of the bed, and replaced the shawl by the pelts. Even if she looked very comfortable in the scarf, and it was heartbreaking to take it off her arms, Honeymaren knew that she found her tangled in it several times on mornings, so she had the wise measure to store it away. She folded it slowly, admiring once more the motives that Elsa had weaved for her, and put it on one of the wooden furnitures of their large hut. She then went under the pelts next to her lover, and kissed her forehead, then the side of her neck.
Elsa opened drowsy eyes.
"'M'too tired…"
"I know, snømus, I know. But you should melt your outfit or turn it into your nightgown. You spent all day in it, and crossed rivers and climbed mountains with it. Taking it off will make you sleep better."
Elsa moaned a slight protest, but she was right. In fact, her wife was right most of the time. She lazily flicked her wrist under the pelts, and in a glow of bright magic, the white mixture of snow and ice she had been wearing turned into a more flexible and skin-like clothing.
"D'ne." Muttered Elsa, and just like that, after the casual miracle, she fell back to sleep.
She instinctively shifted as Honeymaren laid loving eyes on her, letting her spoon her with her back turned to her.
The Northuldra happily obliged, and as her eyelids went heavy as well, she felt Elsa's hand move under she pelts, and she smiled when her fingers touched the blonde's wrist covered with a leather band; it hadn't left her since their wedding day.
Well, 'wedding' was the word Anna kept using. In Northuldra culture, it was more of a union ceremony. However, Honeymaren liked the Arendellian culture as well. She lifted Elsa's left wrist to look at the leather bracelet closely, with her own left hand so she could see her ring at the same time. They had chosen to mix their traditions; Elsa had crafted her a tailored ice ring with her magic, and Honeymaren had knitted her a leather bracelet. Many times, her friends from both the tribe and the kingdom had underlined how this exchange perfectly represented their now iconic couple.
She had loved the way Elsa had reacted tearfully when she had learned that Northuldra symbolized their marital union with handfasting, tying hands together to show their engagement. When she learned that it was a literal knot to prove their link in any meaning of the term, and that the two members of the couple had to wear it for the whole day of ceremony and never break it, she was already excited and picking up leather colors.
The brunette smiled at the memory, and delicately put her hand back to where it was, next to Elsa's face on the pillow, where she liked to place them.
Honeymaren kissed her neck one more time, then closed her eyes.
She frowned as she suddenly heard a munching sound, and lifted her head to look at the bottom of the bed, then to the entrance of the hut. Near the door, Elsa had discarded her ice sandals, and was too tired to remember to melt them. A mischievous salamander had grasped that rare opportunity and was happily chewing on the ice loops and ornaments.
"Bruni!" Scolded the Northuldra in a whisper.
The Fire Spirit popped some sparks in surprise as he saw that he was busted, and widened his eyes when he saw Honeymaren's deep hazelnut ones staring at him in the dimmed light. With a little snarl, he took one of the sandals in his teeth and walked backwards off the hut with the magic shoe in his mouth, taking his snack with him outside.
Honeymaren puffed and shook her head. She let her head fall in the pillows next to Elsa, and curled against her. The gluttony salamander surely would come back once she falls asleep to steal the second shoe. It didn't matter, she thought as she cuddled with a smile. Elsa would make new ones in the morning anyway.
When Elsa woke up, Honeymaren wasn't next to her. She patted the empty pelts, blinking tired eyes, then once she saw that her wife was definitely not there, she let her hand slide along the furs, like she could still feel her energy under her fingers.
She sat up and looked at the empty space with a quiet sigh, then around the room. She pouted when she saw no trace of her.
She saw by the light passing through the wood that at least half of the morning had passed already, and she understood that she had been even more tired than she thought. She stood up, then stirred and stretched, and walked to the toilet set in a corner of the hut to wash her face. In a spin of ice and snow, she then crafted herself a simple deep blue outfit, slightly reaching purple colors, and it was similar to her Fifth Spirit gear, minus the light ice armor pieces and double train. She couldn't find her sandals, but just shrugged and crafted new ones. She opened the door of their hut and enjoyed the unique air of the Forest as it caressed her face and invaded her mind. Gods, she thought, this would never get old.
Elsa walked for a few seconds in the camp until something caught her eye.
"Kristoff?" She frowned when she noticed the blond hair and beard shining in the morning light on someone who was talking with a few Northuldra.
Her frown turned into a grin when he turned and she saw that indeed, it was him.
"Hi, Elsa!"
"Hi!"
They hugged warmly as a greeting, and she smiled.
"What are you doing here? I like the impromptu visits, but I'm curious."
"I had a delivery for Leaifa. From the gem cutter. His assistant broke his leg and he had to delay the delivery, which I heard about when I passed by the shop yesterday. I suggested my help."
Elsa puffed.
"Don't you have King duties to attend to?" She smirked, teasing him.
He knew she was, so he simply shrugged. "I like a break sometimes. And I actually needed to go up North to check on the ice harvesters post, so it was on my way."
Elsa then registered what he had said. "Wait, you went to the gem cutter store? Ohhh, so you found an idea to celebrate your 10-year anniversary with Anna."
The blond man blushed. How did he let something so important slip his tongue not even a full minute after meeting her?
"Please don't tell her."
"Of course I won't." Eye rolled Elsa. "I know what a surprise is. Don't tell me what jewel it is, I want the surprise too. She's gonna love it."
"You don't even know what it is."
"I just know she's gonna love it, because it comes from you." Smiled Elsa.
Kristoff smiled back, but soon Elsa was distracted, and she looked behind him and turned on herself to stare at the whole camp.
"Have you seen Honeymaren?"
The King bent his head. "For someone who lived reclusively for a good part of her life, and is the most introverted person I know, I'm surprised that you can't serenely wake up without her by your side."
Elsa held her arm, looking a bit nervous, and he knew he hit home. He pointed at a random spot.
"She's at the center of the camp, preparing breakfast for everyone."
The Snow Queen lifted a sarcastic eyebrow.
"That's a really bad lie."
"Why?"
"Well, first, it's way past time for a breakfast. Second, it's not even Honeymaren's turn to make breakfast. And even if it were, it doesn't smell as nice as the following hours after she cooked."
Kristoff was stunned. "Waow, you two really are married."
Elsa shrugged playfully. "You know the deal."
Her face then suddenly turned serious. "Now tell me where she is, Kristoff."
She sounded a bit desperate behind that scold. He sighed. "Fine. She's in the glade, in that direction, down the hill. She wanted to pick flowers to craft you a flower crown. Happy? Good, now I ruined her surprise."
"Thank you!" She chirped happily.
The blond man shook his head as he saw her go.
"There's no need to keep picking the flowers." Smirked Elsa. "I know what you're planning to do."
Honeymaren startled at her presence, her hand going over her heart at her sudden voice coming from the top of the hill. She gave her a stare, then resumed her actions with a sigh.
"If you don't want it, I can give those beautiful purple windflowers to another woman of the tribe."
Elsa scoffed at her fake threat and approached. "I want it. Please keep going."
Honeymaren wasn't planning on stopping anyway, and well intended to give her wife a flower crown with purples and blues that seemed to be tailor made colors for her.
"How did you know I was there?" Frowned Honeymaren, though that frown was also due to focus as she tied the stems together.
"Kristoff told me. He kind of ruined the surprise."
"He ruined the surprise or… You begged him to tell you?"
Elsa blushed. "Second one."
She gulped and remained silent.
"You got that feeling of loss again when you woke up, uh?" Guessed Honeymaren. "Snømus, I'll never leave you. I'll forever be by your side. We're married, remember? That's quite literally in the contract."
Elsa smiled. "Yeah. But you know me."
"I surely do. Well, now I know that mornings isn't the best time to make surprises. Noted."
"I love your gift idea, though. It's really nice. And it smells nice as well."
She sat down next to her to sniff through the other fresh flowers that Honeymaren had picked and put in a basket, and could be of use in the village.
The Northuldra smiled at her close presence. "And you know what else smells nice?"
"Hmm?"
"You in the morning."
She leaned for a kiss, which Elsa returned in a smile.
"I didn't even bathe yet." Giggled the blonde.
"Oh, don't worry, you don't smell terrible. Ahtohallan certainly gifted you that eternal scent of licorice mint along with the package."
Elsa eye-rolled with a smile and they kissed again. They next spent some time in silence, Honeymaren neatly crafting the flower crown, and Elsa observing tenderly.
"There. Bend your head."
Honeymaren put the flower crown in the platinum blonde hair that drove her crazy in love, and admired how they looked almost yellow in the beaming sunlight. Elsa gave her interrogative azure blue irises.
"So?"
The brunette's cheeks filled with admiration.
"You're gorgeous. It suits you well."
"Thank you. You're the one who picked up the flowers."
"I know exactly which colors enlighten your face the best, I have to admit." Said Honeymaren.
Elsa smiled. "You know, it's a bit unfair that you don't have one too."
She flicked her wrist. "I'll recreate the same color tones."
Honeymaren chuckled happily as she felt something weight in her hair, as well as heard some ice crafting crunches in her ears.
"How do I look?" She smiled when Elsa was done, knowing that she had just made a magic ice flower crown for her to match the real one.
"Breathtakingly beautiful. Like every day."
"Okay, I was about to call you show-off, but 'flirt' is replacing it now." Said Honeymaren, and Elsa smirked.
"Hey, want to come with me later to move the herd of reindeers to a new grazing?" Asked the brunette.
"Sure. I'll just have to warn Nokk first. You know how whiny they can get when they learn that I rode a reindeer without telling them."
Honeymaren laughed. "I couldn't tell who's the most dramatic Spirit with you two in the group."
Elsa shook her head.
"Don't shake your head to hard, you're gonna make it fall!" Complained Honeymaren, adjusting the crown on her head.
"Then don't say stuff that make me shake my head." Teased Elsa.
She melted in the caring touch and eyes Honeymaren had as she kept focusing on the flower crown. That deep concern reminded her of the day before.
"Sorry for falling asleep like that yesterday." Mumbled the blonde.
"Never apologize for it, love. You're actually adorable when you're drowsy."
Elsa nudged her lovingly.
"What? It's true." Smiled Honeymaren. "There's just one thing I'm sad about. You didn't get to sing a lullaby to me."
"I'm not gonna sing a lullaby to you every night." Eye-rolled Elsa.
"Sure you will. You have a very beautiful voice. I want it to fill all of my dreams. I swear, sometimes I wonder if your voice isn't magical as well."
The blonde smiled. "It's funny, Isak said the same thing the other day when I sang him a lullaby to sleep. You really think I have a beautiful voice?"
"Elsa. Seriously?"
The Snow Queen thought for a moment. Then she remembered how all the animals in the Forest loved to listen when she sang to the Earth Giants. One day, she would have sworn that every noise of the woods had stopped.
"...Maybe that it's true, for how many times I received the compliment."
"Of course it is. If a five year old boy can tell you, then it's true."
"Isak doesn't really count. I'm his aunt, and he pretty much worships me, just like Eydis did when she was his age."
Honeymaren cuddled closer, nudging her nose with hers. "And don't I count? I also worship you, with all the more fervor."
The blonde grinned with a blush. "Okay, I suppose that it is true then."
They kissed, softly, then deeply, until they actually remembered they were humans and supposed to inhale oxygen. They gasped in giggles, and touched their foreheads together, resting in this position.
"I love this field."
"Hmm-hmm." Smiled Honeymaren, closing her eyes like her, soothed by the vibration of her voice through her head.
"It's away from everything. Like we are cut from the rest of the world. We don't even hear the village or the waterfall nor the river from here."
"I know. That's why you like it so much. Maybe that's why those flowers are so beautiful. They grow in a quiet place."
They opened their eyes to look at the flora surrounding them. Elsa blinked. "Wait, was that a figure of speech? Did you refer to the flowers only, or…?"
Honeymaren grinned. "It's open to interpretation."
"You hopeless romantic brat." Chuckled Elsa.
"You're the one who heard a figure of speech, you bookworm."
Elsa lifted an eyebrow, and waved a finger. The ice hoop of Honeymaren's flower crown got smaller, and teasingly squeezed her head.
"Aow! Hey!"
The blonde giggled and put it back to normal. "Watch your words."
"Alright, alright." Smirked Honeymaren. She then kept her stare. "Keep cool."
A silence passed, and the brunette insistently pointed at her magical flower crown made of ice. "Get it?"
Elsa would have loved to eye roll and dismiss her joke, but she couldn't help but smile. Her wife rarely made puns, so she appreciated them deeply. She sighed for the effect.
"Hanging out with Anna doesn't make your humor any better."
"I get my bad puns skill from my sibling", laughed the woman. "Ryder is impossible."
"He should honestly have a contest against Anna. I wonder who would win. I mean, who would be the worst."
They laughed openly in the glade.
"You know, I also get that bad humor from you."
"Me?" Said Elsa, her eyebrows lifting.
"Don't act surprised, dorky snømus. You have the nerdiest humor."
"You laugh at my jokes!" Remarked Elsa, feeling a bit betrayed.
"Because we're married and I respect you. That doesn't mean they're good."
Elsa huffed. "So it's out of pity?"
"More out of politeness." Grinned Honeymaren.
The blonde crossed her arms and pouted. She didn't for long, however, because the brunette laughed and bent to her to kiss her with pushing lips. She made her fall back in the grass, then circled her face and body with her hands and forearms, hovering over her, which was a posture that turned Elsa completely weak and could make her give in to anything. Honeymaren obviously knew it and noticed her smiling blush.
"It's out of politeness because I don't always understand them." Continued the Northuldra.
"That means they're too advanced for you", teased the blonde.
"Well, ouch. Though who on Earth can understand a joke about Orion's pants?"
"That's because it's a belt! Orion's belt!"
Honeymaren shook her head. "Who can make the link between greek mythology, clothing and a freaking constellation, baby?"
Elsa pouted. "I thought it was obvious."
The Northuldra leader kissed her on the forehead. "For your brilliant brain. Not mine."
The blonde gave her a bashful smile. She then lifted her head to capture her lover's lips, then when Honeymaren had her eyes closed, smirked and rolled on the side, knocking over her arm, and the brunette lost her balance. Elsa giggled as she fell on the grass.
"You little minx…" She muttered with a smile.
"Come on, we have to go." Smiled her wife, standing up and checking on her crown.
She offered a hand to her wife so she could stand up too, and Honeymaren was about to tug her so she could fall next to her. Nevertheless, the blonde was clever, and she infused a warning cold in her hand as a 'don't you dare' dismissing sign.
They laughed together and walked hand in hand to the Sami village, Honeymaren's other hand swinging a basket full to the trim with flowers.
Halfway there, they almost bumped in Kristoff, who was visibly looking for them.
"Kristoff! I'm not thanking you for betraying our secret." Reproached Honeymaren teasingly.
"He can't resist my pressure." Smiled Elsa.
Their smiles vanished when it was clear, by his pale face, that Kristoff wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"Something very bad happened."
"What?" Panicked Honeymaren.
"What happened?" Asked Elsa on the same tone.
Then some details that had escaped them until now became striking; Kristoff's cheek was scratched with a bright red cut, his coat was open, and his forehead covered with sweat and tree dust.
"Kristoff, what happened?" Frowned Honeymaren.
"You didn't hear us calling for help." Guessed Kristoff.
"No." Said the couple in one voice, and in this word, the man understood that they were also reproaching him to still not say what had possibly put him in such a state and why he still wasn't leading the way to run back to the camp.
Which they suddenly all did, without confer even, for how obvious it was to do this next. They followed Kristoff, adrenaline and panic fuelling their jog as they crossed the woods to their beloved camp.
"We were under attack." Simply said the King, under breath, as they finally reached the edge of the village.
The hill they had stopped on allowed to have a view of the Sami camp below, and it offered the two women a sight that brought their breaths and hearts to a halt.
Whatever had attacked the Northuldra had done it strategically, it was the first observation that one could make. Whoever was behind this was human without a doubt. The Northuldra had sadly been attacked by predators numerous times in their existence, even since Elsa lived there, but it always had a messy organization. Here, it was so orchestrated that it ripped them apart. Huts had been destroyed, crafting tables broken, personal belongings were sprayed everywhere and the paddock had been put down.
It was a warning. A sinister and clever warning.
But something else hit Elsa to her very core; magic. There was magic in the air, undoubtedly, floating around as the rest after its use.
"Magic. The attack was magical." She muttered, struggling to say words with her state.
Honeymaren suddenly disappeared from her side, and hurried to the people, dropping the basket of flowers that she had been holding. Elsa turned to the King in confusion.
"Kristoff, why didn't you call the Spirits? Anna taught you how to do the call. Why didn't you-"
"It didn't work. Many of us tried. Unsuccessfully. So we resumed to fighting, figuring out it was the only solution."
Elsa got her breath taken from her again, and she could only stare at the scene with terrorized eyes.
Honeymaren was running from one Sami to the other, checking on them, asking what happened, getting news from everyone, making a list of who was injured… Or worse.
She was running around frantically, and two things broke Elsa's heart: the mood that had switched from Honeymaren's flirty teasing and happy face to the utterly panicked she had now, and the visual fact that her ice flower crown had fallen back in her movements, now stuck in the back of her hair. Elsa gulped and immediately waved her hand to make the crown disappear in a swirl of snowflakes, and Honeymaren didn't even notice, too busy running around and helping with the bodies.
Elsa reached up to her crown, and took it off. She stared at it with tearful eyes, and many emotions passed through her as she held the crown, and threw it aside.
The flowers fell among a pile of broken wood and dirtied furs and cloths, the remaining of what had once been a hut and had been destroyed like half of the village.
She ran to join her wife, who was next to Ryder.
"How can I help?"
Honeymaren gestured at the Northuldra they were helping lift on a stretcher.
"We have to bring him to the healer. He broke his knee when a tree fell on his hut."
Elsa recognized the Northuldra named Lavhas despite the dirt on his face and the scrunched eyebrows he had at the pain, clenching his jaw to not scream. She got struck by the detail that he lived at the other end of the village. The attack had been that wide?
"Elsa!" Called Honeymaren, taking her out of her thoughts.
"Sorry. On the count of three. One, two, three!"
With the help of Honeymaren, Ryder and another Northuldra, they placed Lavhas on the stretcher, and brought him to the healer's hut.
Thankfully, this one had been only partially destroyed. However, it was getting filled with more and more patients.
"We can use my hut as a secondary station. I live alone, I have plenty of space." Suggested Gaddja, a woman who lived two huts away from Honeymaren and Elsa's.
As they all encouraged this idea, Elsa inhaled in a gasp and scoped the place, searching for their hut. It was intact, thanks gods, just like the ones surrounding it. It was one of the rare spots of the camp that hadn't been touched.
She let out a sigh. Suddenly, a scream echoed in the woods, and they all twirled around from the entrance of the medical hut. In fact, Honeymaren almost slapped Elsa in the face with her braid, but none of them cared.
Someone was kneeling next to two unconscious bodies in the middle of the mess, and all eyes were on them, for they had just been discovered under a pile of heavy wood that several of the strongest Northuldra were lifting up and clearing.
"Domma! Simma!" Cried the grieving woman, and she burst into tears as she collapsed next to the two corpses.
Honeymaren ran to them, and Elsa followed. When they saw the man and the boy that had been crushed to death, Elsa's heart leaped in her chest before crumbling, and Honeymaren clasped a hand on her mouth to hide a screaming from her side. Both women couldn't help but kneel, one more heavily than the other.
Honeymaren rubbed her hand over her mouth, her jaw trembling. What kind of loathsome and dishonored person would do such a thing? Her heart cried the loss of two of the people of her tribe, and her eyes trembled at the passing of a father and his son.
She clenched her fist in the dirt to calm her trembling hand, then raised it to close their eyes that had been forever fixed in a stunned expression. The Northuldra leader then comforted the mourning woman with an embrace. After a few minutes, the woman, who Elsa knew was one of the most fierce of the tribe, stood up, and went to get two pelts to cover the bodies.
Honeymaren stayed on the ground, falling from her kneeled position to drop on her backside.
Elsa came closer to her and passed a hand along her back to calm her down.
"I don't understand… Why didn't the Spirits do anything?" Asked Honeymaren.
That was a really good question, in fact one of the first Elsa had asked herself. Even if they couldn't be called for some reason, they had to come and help. Gale always was floating around and could have alarmed the others. She turned to her wife to answer that she didn't know, when something hit her with a delay; the tone Honeymaren had used to ask that question. Reproach. Was she blaming her directly? Like it was her fault?
"Honey…"
"Why didn't they do anything?" She hissed, pain and anger weighing on her heart.
Elsa immediately crouched to be next to her, passing a hand on her shoulder.
She stared at the dead child the other Northuldra were taking care of, and her soul trembled.
"Honey, I don't know. I sincerely don't know."
The brunette clenched her fists in the dirt again.
"Call them."
"I…"
"Call them." Ordered the leader, planting her hazelnut eyes in hers. In the light of day, they appeared orange like amber, and Elsa could almost see fire in it. "I'm in no condition to do the call."
Elsa gulped and nodded. It was certainly difficult to sing the Spirits call with a tightened throat like she had at the moment.
The Snow Queen however didn't have to sing a single note; she was mentally connected to the other Spirits. She closed her eyes and focused.
Something odd happened. Something odd that had never happened to her. She could feel the four Spirits' energies and presence, but they didn't answer back. With a frown, and still closed eyes, she insisted on her mental call, trying to understand.
Honeymaren noticed the wrinkle on her wife's face, and calmed down her nerves when she saw that something was wrong on the Spirits side as well.
"I don't get it..." Muttered Elsa.
"What?" Inquired the Northuldra leader, her anger towards the Spirits now replaced by worry.
"They… I can feel their emotions, but… They all feel shame. Deep, deep shame.
Honeymaren frowned. "Please explain."
Elsa was a bit happy to see that her tone had changed; the commander in her wife had pushed her anger aside to analyze the situation properly.
"They... " Elsa closed her eyes again, focusing on what her fellows were expressing. "They feel ashamed because they couldn't help."
"How come?" Wondered Honeymaren.
Pretty much nothing could stop the Spirits, that was common knowledge.
"They can't touch them. They couldn't touch them during the fight."
"Them?" Repeated Honeymaren. "Who's them?"
Elsa was frustrated just as much than her. "I don't know, Honeymaren! I'm translating as I go! I can't tell!"
"The monsters."
They jumped at Kristoff's voice behind them. He had followed the conversation, also craving for answers from the Spirits for their absence.
"Monsters?" Shivered Elsa.
"They were actual creatures. I'm not making an exaggeration. They were entirely black, menacing, with a humanoid profile but horrible features. They were large, so large. Larger than Aillun. And taller than most of us. Taller than me, even."
He made short sentences, but yet had retrieved a normal breathing. Elsa inspected his face. Whatever those beasts were, they had haunted him. And not many things could frighten her brother-in-law. She forced herself to have a gentle voice despite the devastating situation.
"Kristoff… Do you want me to have a look at your cut?"
"If you want. It wasn't made by the creatures, though." He assured. "I was trying to hurt one of them with Nilan, and we did a scissor attack, but the creature suddenly turned small and Nilan cut me on the cheek with his spear. He apologized plenty afterwards, but it wasn't his fault. Actually, if it wasn't for my reflexes, I would be blind right now. So kudos to that guy."
He trembled, and Elsa retracted the hand she was about to hover around his injury. "No, it's not you." He smiled sadly, assuring it wasn't due to Elsa's cold touch. "I just remembered the way it reformed."
"They can reform?" Gasped Honeymaren, turning from the corpse she had been staring at to the King again.
"Yes, and change their shapes. They are made of a sort of thick black ink. None of us managed to hurt them, they are not physically impacted by our attacks. It's just like trying to kill smoke. Or goo. Or gelatin. Or... "
He shivered again, and Honeymaren put a warm hand on his shoulder to settle him.
Elsa sighed in despair. "That makes them impossible to fight…"
And that's only at this instant that something blatant occurred to her. "Wait, how did you eventually got rid of them if you can't hurt them?"
"We didn't. I was about to come get you, and they fled right when you arrive."
The two women blinked. Before Elsa even finished registering what that possibly understated, Honeymaren was up on her feet, and looked all around her at her people.
"Nothing will harm you as long as we're here. I swear by it. We'll make watch turns. I take the first one."
The Northuldra nodded, smiling sadly. Elsa blinked at her wife's statement, which wasn't the direction she thought she would react, then her heart filled with love and pride. Damn, did she love this woman.
The leader smiled to Kristoff as she stood, and walked closer to check the King's state.
"Is he okay?"
"It's really just a scratch. A deep one, but it's superficial. You'll have a pretty scar for months to talk about." Smirked the Snow Queen, soothing his pain with a fresh spray.
Elsa then startled.
"What?" Startled Kristoff too, concerned for his cheek.
But Honeymaren knew that facial expression. "The Spirits."
"They're calling to me."
Elsa closed her eyes and focused, in a way to answer. They all were expressing their deepest sorry about what had happened, to which Elsa replied with a sincere forgiveness from her heart, but at the sole condition that they helped her understand why they didn't help the Northuldra for the first time in their existence.
The four Spirits then united to explain in a concert of emotions.
Elsa frowned at the last feeling she received from them, and that she had to translate in words to Honeymaren and Kristoff. She was a bit confused by the appellation, but nodded anyway to thank them. She opened her eyes.
"They are able to tell me why they couldn't participate to the fight."
The two humans were attentive. "So?"
"Dark magic. The creatures… The beings they couldn't interact with… They are made of dark magic."
The death ceremonies that followed to mourn the departure of a father and his son were just as heartbreaking on Elsa's point of view than to see the number of Northuldra that got injured. Honeymaren and her could have helped, but they didn't. Of course, despite blaming herself in most of situations, Elsa still knew when she actually couldn't do much; here, it simply was because they were away the moment it happened.
As the wife of the tribe leader, she however felt deep frustration; that joyful behavior in the flower field had cost a great price to the camp. She said that this glade was beautiful, well she knew already that there was no way now that she could ever stand there again without feeling shame.
In that instant, her emotion matched the other Spirits, and she could feel their sad harmony in her soul.
The ceremonies had ended, and several hours had passed where everyone checked on everyone's state and healed what hadn't been healed, including both psychological and physical pain. Kristoff had left now, and some Northuldra were already building new huts, like the tradition encouraged to do. Better drown sorrow in actions.
Honeymaren and her were now walking away from the river where they had sent the two corpses float then lit them with a blast of flaming arrows, and the boats were still gleaming in the horizon.
"They knew."
Elsa turned to her wife's words, that had drilled the silence. They were filled with rage, and accentuated with her sadness and helplessness.
"The person who did that. They knew you were away, so they could attack."
Elsa was about to reply she was thinking the same thing, then she noticed the nuance. "...Me?"
Honeymaren turned to her. "If you had been there, you would have been able to stop them."
"I… I don't know, Honey. Those creatures, whatever they are, they seem powerful and fearless. And if they're made of dark magic, there also is no way for me to interact with them, that apparently is a Spirit rule."
"You also are powerful and fearless."
Elsa frowned. She was in no mind for compliments. Or was Honeymaren simply desperate? "Did you not listen to the last part of what I said? I can't interact with them. I didn't even know dark magic existed before this very day."
"The Spirits can't, I'll admit it, but maybe it's not the same for the Bridge. You're the Fifth Spirit, Elsa. Surely you can do something."
Now that sounded desperate.
"Honey… I wish I could. Sincerely. But…"
The brunette's hazelnut eyes saddened with betrayal. She had failed her people, and now her wife told her that she gave up hope.
Surprisingly, not because the situation didn't lead to it but because Honeymaren rarely did, she collapsed into tears, and turned to Elsa to hug her tight. The blonde was shocked, but instantly wrapped her arms around her, and held her close as she rubbed her back.
"It's okay. It's okay. The danger is gone."
"I couldn't... I couldn't protect them…" Hiccuped Honeymaren on her shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
Elsa clenched her eyes shut at the acknowledgement that the leader had bottled up her emotions until now, and they ended up exploding.
"Shh… You simply weren't there. As I did. Whoever bastard did that… They're gonna pay."
Honeymaren chuckled wetly in her back. "Language."
Elsa smiled when she heard the happiness come back. "Sorry, not sorry. Hey, look."
She parted the hug delicately, and held her wife's shoulders. Honeymaren quickly rubbed her eyes to make sure that no Northuldra could see her in that state.
"Yes, they purposely attacked in our absence. But you know what that also mean?" Smiled Elsa.
Honeymaren lifted her eyes as she tenderly pushed her brown hair away from her face, and rubbed the tear furrows that remained on her cheeks.
"It means that they're scared of us. They know we both are a threat to whatever they have planned."
Honeymaren gulped. She couldn't help but be objective. "Or that means that they made this a threat to us. And that next time, we're the target."
Elsa's deep blue eyes stared intensely at her.
"Well, we'll be ready. We'll be ready, Honey. I swear we will."
The brunette inhaled longly, retrieving her serious and determined state, then nodded fiercely.
"Oh, we damn will."
"That's my wife." Grinned Elsa.
Author's Note:
A great start for a big adventure!
Phew, I can't believe I wrote such a long first chapter. I think it's the first time I do 9'700 words on a first chapter lol. Consider this a tv series pilot! I plan to do this fic in a format similar to episodes, with cliffhangers and plots intertwining the same way.
That means that there will be some time separating the chapters, but I know you guys are patient :D
Do you like it so far? Comment and share! :D
As usual, if you like my writing style, check out "Untangling the Frozen Knots novel" on Google ;)