Chapter 5: Precipitation

Several days later, they didn't get any news from Anna, and it drove Elsa nervous to no end.

When Eydis was walking by her in the castle, she smiled and waved at her, but the Snow Queen was lost in her daydreams.

One afternoon, Kristoff found Elsa in a bedroom, looking at the rain through the window. He was right when he knew where to head to; the blonde always had a tendency towards quiet rooms with windows for introspection.

"Are you upset?"

Elsa saw him enter in his reflection on the glass, so she didn't startle at his presence.

"Why do you ask?" She muttered.

"You're snowing. I mean... It's snowing. Around your head."

Elsa gasped and waved her hand at the thankfully light snow that had fallen on the carpet. It melted right away, and Kristoff stared at her.

"You're overthinking or upset about something."

The blonde looked down and didn't answer anything else than a sigh, not feeling in the mood to share. He tried humor to light up the moment.

"Funny how it's easy to tell the difference between those snowflakes and the ones you make for Bruni. If he were there, I'm sure he would find their taste different."

Elsa chuckled at last. The little guy obviously would. Those snowflakes were created with an opposite mood; instead of given to him as a treat gift, they were falling unintentionally and due to sadness.

"Do you wanna talk?" Suggested the King, coming near her.

"...Maybe." Finally said Elsa.

"About the Spirits being in conflict or Anna going abroad?"

He could hear Elsa gulp.

"Both?"

The blond put a loving hand on her shoulder. She was still cold, but he didn't care.

"I can't tell you much advice about the Spirits. All I can tell, from my raised-by-trolls point of view, is that magic can be very confusing. And sometimes, you might think something is the way it is, and it actually isn't at all. Mom- Hum, Bulda... She reads emotions in color crystals and can sometimes tell future by the way northern lights move, but she once told me that it's sometimes unreliable."

He smiled, happy to support her, then he realized at how his revelation wasn't really reassuring, and he winced when he saw the side look Elsa gave him.

"Uh... I mean..."

He sighed, dropping his head. "Never mind. I'm not that good at helping magic people."

She had a smile at the corner of her lips. "Quite the opposite, Kristoff. I know you care, and it already lifted my mood a bit."

The blond smiled too. Elsa looked through the window again.

"I know that, even if I still can't tell what is going on with Gale and Nokk, I can still count on your encouragement."

"Anytime."

He then realized that she had included Anna in that 'you'. The King scratched his beard before daring to approach the other topic.

"Truth will come in time, I'm certain of it. Anna will do her part, and you will, and everything will fall into place."

Elsa's hand dramatically passed on the glass of the window. "I miss her already. I know you're here, it's not what I mean... And there's Eydis too... But..."

"Nothing's quite like Anna", understood Kristoff.

"Yes." Sighed Elsa, like it was a weight on her heart, even though everyone in her family knew that she had a special complicity with her younger sister. "And I can't help worrying for her, even if I know she's the strongest person in the world..."

"She'll be fine. You know she'll be fine, right? You're the person who has the most faith in her after me."

Elsa's eyes stopped watching the hills in the distance and she smiled to him again.

"Yes, I know. She could hold the entire world with her dedication." She stated, looking proud.

Her expression vanished a bit.

"She's a thousand times more qualified than me to be Queen."

Kristoff wanted to say she was wrong to reassure her, but it actually was an undeniable fact. Arendelle historians had repetitively told him that Anna already had more efficient decisions and better leadership than any of her predecessors on the throne.

A silence passed, and he noted that Elsa was staring at the hills of the East, the direction in which Anna had been heading. He turned to his sister-in-law with a soft expression.

"You know that despite the lack of news, she's going to come back home, right?"

"Yes, Kristoff, I know." Repeated Elsa once again, a bit upset at how he insisted on facts to take her out of her anxiety.

He noticed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude..."

"I'm aware that I'm overreacting and stressed at nothing. But I can't help it."

She sighed.

"Despite our years of separation in the castle when we were young, I always knew where she was. She was safe in the castle, and her safety was literally the only thing that mattered to me. And for the past 11 years, Gale could tell me if something was wrong anytime and almost instantly. They could even get to me in Ahtohallan or the furthest point in the Forest. Without Gale, I couldn't have known about that time you guys fell into a ravine, remember?"

Kristoff winced at the 2 years old memory. That family picnic had turned sour. "We still owe you one for that moment. Without your ice, the wagon explosion would have wiped us all. And I can't blame Olaf, he wasn't even there."

His humor didn't distract the Snow Queen. Her azure blue eyes were lost in the horizon.

"This is the first time in years that I don't know if Anna is safe or not. And it's nerve-wracking."

"Then forget her."

Elsa turned to him exaggeratedly. "Excuse me?"

The King was about to apologize and change his formulation, though he closed his mouth and stared at her.

"You seem taken aback by her absence. You kind of doubted that a national meeting would take place after she saw the stage of the storm, no?"

"Yes, but I thought that it would happen here, in Arendelle..." Murmured the blonde.

"Oooooh, that's why you're upset. You wanted her to stay here."

Elsa then sighed and buried her head in her hands, groaning.

"I'm such a selfish jerk..."

"No, you're not. Though, I have to admit, that supposition you made in your head was a bit mean for neighbor kingdoms' leaders who you had no guilt to imagine going through the storm until here..." Winced Kristoff. "But I swear you're not selfish, Elsa. You're sincerely one of the most altruistic persons I ever met. And I married someone who keep sacrificing her life for what's good."

A silence followed, and Elsa cried at the thought of Anna's dedication.

"I don't deserve to be her sister..."

She started to sob, and Kristoff hurried to put his hand on her back, slightly rubbing it.

"Hey, hey, don't you dare. She's nothing without you."

He then scoffed at how that sounded. "I mean... Well, you know."

The Snow Queen didn't move. The blond bent his head to find Elsa's gaze and make her look at him, a technique Anna had told him about for when she would have a breakdown. "Elsa."

"What?" She muttered with a sniff.

"You two complete each other no matter the distance. As strong sisters with an unbreakable bond, but also as the Bridge."

Elsa took a moment to let that sink in. "I know."

The King smiled, and he looked through the window along her.

Someone softly knocked at the door.

"Your Majesty... Lady Elsa..." Said Gerda's gentle voice, and they turned around. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Don't mind me, I'm just going to pick up Elsa's empty plate..." She then paused. "But I see that you actually haven't touched it."

Kristoff looked at the meal left on a coffee table by the door.

"Yes... I'm not very hungry." Murmured Elsa.

She had turned back to the window swiftly, and both Kristoff and the maid couldn't tell if it was because she had suddenly seen something in the horizon, or to hide her tears.

Elsa felt guilty for the silence that followed. She turned around again.

"Sorry for refusing those waffles, Gerda. They smell really nice, and it must have taken you a long time to bake them."

"Oh, it's not lost. Far from it. I know a little princess who'll get very hungry after her afternoon lesson."

Elsa smiled at her kindness. "She definitely inherited from her mother's gluttony."

Kristoff giggled in approval.

"I wonder if the languages teacher will quit after teaching both Anna and Eydis." Wondered Gerda. "When I passed by the living room's door an hour ago after making the beds, I heard her ask him to translate 'anvil' in every language he knew."

The Snow Queen burst of laughter, which wasn't very regal, but the servant and the King didn't mind at all; first because Elsa technically didn't have to mind about royal mannerisms anymore, and second because they had missed Elsa's laughter within those walls.

"Her passion for handiwork is not a thing she inherited from Anna, though." Laughed the blonde.

They all chuckled, and Kristoff was delighted to see happiness back on her features.

"Alright then. I'm going to give the waffles to Eydis." Confirmed the maid, and she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Elsa looked at the door with the ghost of her smile still on her lips, and as the rain was getting stronger and stronger outside, Kristoff invited her to go near the fireplace with a gentle hand gesture.

They stood here for a moment, looking at the orange flames, and Elsa missed Bruni's pink ones. She wondered if the tiny Fire Spirit could help her decipher the others' behavior. But she chased that idea of her mind; the Northuldra needed him now, there was no way she would summon him in Arendelle. The Sami tribe needed his magic heat in that storm, and Bruni also was an excellent watchman. Or watchlizard.

Elsa's thoughts drifted to Honeymaren. She hoped that she was alright and took care of her people like she always did.

Kristoff looked at the clock of the room to check time. He then noticed that the blonde's eyes were glistening. However, was it because of emotion or due to staring directly at the fire? He laid against the fireplace's mantel to be aligned with her.

"Are you feeling better?"

"I do, yes. Thank you for your help."

The King frowned and squinted. He knew Elsa enough years to tell when she had something on her mind. Her voice was different.

"Elsa, are you sure that it's all good now?"

"Yes."

She purposely wasn't looking up at him, still staring at the fire, the brightness of it reflecting in her eyes.

"I have to go find Kai, so we do an overview of the afternoon. Just don't do anything unwise and stay safe, okay?"

"Okay, I will."

He hugged her, then exited the room.

Elsa's gaze got lost in the flames, her jaw clenched. She had lied to her brother-in-law. She was going to go find Anna.

The blonde patiently waited for the night to fall and Kristoff to go read a bedtime story to his daughter. Then she sneaked out of the castle, crafting herself a hood made of snow and ice to hide her face as she reached to the stables under the pouring rain.

When the servants there recognized her approach because only one person in the world could be wearing such a magically bright white outfit at this time of the day, she noted that her idea wasn't that clever.

Elsa excused herself as she made her way in, and assured them all to not be alerted as she requested for the fastest horse in the stables.

"Do you really want to go in such a rainfall at that time of day?" Asked one servant.

"Your Highness, are you certain?" Worried a stable boy.

"You shouldn't do such a thing." Advised another one.

She forced herself to smile. "Just indicate me the best horse there is, please."

The servants looked at each other, to dedicated and polite to contradict their ex-monarch.

"Alright. This way." Said a hostler.

She followed him to one of the boxes of the back. He showed Elsa a tall horse, who wasn't bigger than the horses on each side of it, but it looked muscular and definitely had an athletic body shape.

"Here's the fastest we have, Your Highness."

Elsa forgot for a moment the urgency of her plan and dove in the sight of the beautiful stallion. It was entirely brown and had an undeniable royal aura, like it had been waiting for this task all its life.

The Snow Queen had a serious face until now, but started to melt in a smile.

"Hello you."

She walked forward, and lifted a careful hand. The horse blinked as it inspected it, sniffed it, and willingly nuzzled in her palm.

Maybe Honeymaren was right. Maybe she had a natural predisposition for animals. It was true that the blonde now felt like she was connected to Nature, and she was persuaded it was an illusion due to the fact she was embracing her magical powers and Fifth Spirit duty. However, she understood in that moment that there was a true link between that horse and her. Was it destiny? Or shared kindness, which was often a starting point on why Elsa spoke to wild animals in the Enchanted Forest?

She kept smiling and gently passed a hand on its head.

"I've never seen you here... It's a new horse?"

The servant saluted her sense of observation. "Indeed. He just arrived yesterday. He's a foal who recently finished his training and education to be in the royal guard. I was there all along his progress. Trust my words, lady Elsa; this is the fastest horse in all Arendelle."

Elsa carefully listened to all he had said, fascinated, but what mattered most than that to her was if the horse agreed to let her ride him.

"What's his name?" She asked, and she hadn't detached her eyes from him since the beginning.

"Rask."

Elsa smiled widely at the name. "...Rask."

She locked her gaze into his. "Looks like you were destined to this day, uh? This is too many coincidences."

The horse lifted and lowered his head like he was actually nodding, and she chuckled. Slowly, very slowly, and only after making sure he was agreeing, she approached her forehead to his muzzle, and softly touched there with closed eyes.

All the servants stared at the scene in awe.

"You're ready?" Murmured Elsa, stepping back.

Rask neighed, so suddenly and powerfully that she actually winced with a smile, and all startled, because the stables had been silent until now with just their calm voices and the sound of the rain outdoors.

Before riding him, Elsa made sure that everything was alright with his health and cleanliness, then she only accepted the bare necessities when the hostler helped her getting him ready. She refused the saddle, telling the servant that she was used to ride Nokk bareback anyway – and being made of ice most of the time, she had been in the most extreme case – and declined the stirrups as well. It was a good thing to make the horse as free as possible for their very first ride.

"I'll only take the bridle." Concluded Elsa.

They all felt surprised by her choice, but nothing really surprised them about the Snow Queen anymore, so they obeyed and helped her to put the harness on. When the bit was put in his mouth, Elsa felt a pinch to her heart, but she had no choice.

After a while and carefully listening to all their instructions, the blonde walked with him outside and climbed up. She took a moment to get used to his size, for he didn't have quite the same proportions than the form the Water Spirit had chosen to take. At the sight of the rain, she stroked his mane.

"I'm sorry for the weather, dear. But I need you more than anything right now. Let's go check on my sister."

The horse twitched a bit, and it felt like a nod again. She wondered if he could actually understand her.

Elsa deeply thanked the servants and asked them to tell Kristoff and her niece that they shouldn't worry.

She then tapped her ankles against the stallion's sides, and they dashed forward on Arendelle's cobblestones in the dark of the night. As wind whistled to Elsa's ears and rain gushed on her hood, she felt a deep sensation of freedom. Only then she noted how much she had missed this; riding along the hills, taking in the fresh air and the power of her ride with the sound of hooves under her.

She grinned in happiness, her heart also filling with joy as she knew she would be much happier once she would be sure that Anna was alright.

In a few minutes, they were out of the village, and were crossing at full speed the countryside lands of the East toward Hitiheimr.

If she were able to connect with Rask's soul as she did with Nokk, she would congratulate him on how fast he was. The young horse was clever enough to see obstacles in advance, jumping over tree trunks and other accidents that had happened due to the storm. Hopefully, the path was mainly clear, and as her sister had underlined it a few days ago, the road to the Eastern kingdom was easy, for how many times it had been traced by merchants. Despite the heavy rain and mud, her stallion pierced the night like an ice arrow that Elsa would shoot from her bow as she hunted. It was perfect.

Soon, Elsa felt glad to have accepted the bride, for she realized that she had the reflex to ask the horse mentally to turn right or left, before remembering she actually was supposed to tug the reins for directions.

She missed Nokk terribly. At least, with them, she didn't use force during rides. They had become more than just fellow Spirits; the Water one had a unique connection with her, being a one of a kind friend and ally, and she tried to forget them as she was on this 'normal' horse. Nevertheless, Elsa couldn't deny it: the riding sensation was completely different. It was odd to not feel Rask's needs, sensations, and mood. Elsa loved to know how happy Nokk was when they were racing against Gale down the valleys, how sassy he was when he saw a young Northuldra fall off a branch, or how caring he was when he bumped his back to help her stand after a long tiring day.

As she thought again about Nokk's and Gale's friendship, Elsa frowned. Sincerely, how and why did the two Spirits get so angry at each other? As far as she could remember, she had never seen them going further than teasing.

She shook her head as she remained focused on the trail. Unlike when riding the Water Spirit, she couldn't let them do the job entirely and rest on their back from time to time.

A few hours later, something shiny attracted her eye in front of her, and Elsa gasped when she spotted something in the mud of the lane.

She briskly tugged on the horse's reins to make him stop, and he neighed in surprise and pain. She couldn't apologize for the reason of her eagerness, but felt terrible for hurting him.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pull that hard. I'm very nervous." She whispered to his ears, gently stroking his neck.

Rask forgave her, yet snorted to show his disagreement.

Elsa put him to a complete halt, going down and patting him as she slowly walked to the shining object. What was something like this doing in the wild?

Her eyes squinted through the curtain of rain as she approached, feeling instinctively attracted to the object. Dark clouds were hiding most of the moon, and there was no thunder, so Elsa only had little light. She only then realized that she had been riding in complete dark, too focused on heading straight forward to need a lantern.

The Snow Queen stood above the tiny glossy thing, which seemed less and less natural as Elsa inspected it, and she twirled her wrist to create a glow of blue magic. A snowflake the size of her fist popped from her palm and brightened the whole path, giving her a better vision of it and reflecting in Rask's curious eyes.

She crouched and touched the solid object with her fingers. The blonde felt that it was made of metal, and took it off the soil with ease, thanks to the rain softening it. Elsa's ice sandals were covered with it and her white pants and trains weren't much white anymore, but she didn't care. Her focus was entirely driven to the item, which was larger than she expected as she lifted it.

Turning it in her fingers and approaching the light of her magic to it, she rubbed her thumb over the motives and used the rain to take the dirt out of it, making it shine even more. She frowned with confusion, tilting her head. It was something familiar, yet that she felt like she hadn't seen much... It was the size of her hand and had a curved shape, and when she revealed the seven tips all decorated with embedded crocuses, she squealed in a loud gasp.

Her azure blue eyes widened, along the glow of her snowflake, which become more intense at her distress.

Author's Note:

This chapter was shorter than the others because I use it as a transition, a pivot point ;) For what, you may ask, as you're already busy grabbing my collar and yelling at me for such a panicking cliffhanger? Oh, you shall see.

Let's say that we reached the middle of the fic and that we kind of enter the second movement.

Twist: there is more than two movements in the story. MWAHAHAH.

Don't look at me like that, you love my flangst. Don't deny it.

The readers of UTFK know what I mean. You haven't got it already? Check my profile for the link!