"I'm here," Elsa breathes into the dark forest. It's four AM. She's alone, this time for certain. She thinks back to the look on Anna's face-no not the one when we were-ugh. She shakes her head at herself. The one right before I left. She closes her eyes, seeing the furrowed brows and wet eyes with that little smile all over again. Elsa opens her eyes and sighs, bending down to tighten the round strings of her short slightly heeled boots. This trip better be worth the trouble I'm putting everyone through.
Woooo-oh, oooooh-ohhh. Elsa's head snaps up and she ties her shoes without looking, standing up quickly with a snap of a branch under her toes. She braces herself for anything. Woooo-oh, oooooh-ohhh! It's coming from the North forest. Elsa's feet start moving without her, each step sinking into the soft dirt, her laces whacking her ankles repeatedly as she runs. The North-end of Arendelle is where that rock creature was, I suppose it was destined for me to meet it again. Elsa rushes through the trees to the bridge that leads to the ice gate she put up with Anna sliding on ice behind her a few months back. She scurries over the wooden rickety bridge and puts a hand on the gate, shoving with her shoulder and hand. This is risky. I'm unsure of what I'll find. It's like going completely into the unknown.
Woooo-oh, oooooh-ohhh!
Elsa grins and her eyes light up, but I suppose that's exactly what I've been itching for. She sprints through the tall grass, immediately noticing fewer trees and much more damaged terrain. She spots the creature easily, it's still just as tall, but it's sitting down next to the fifty-foot waterfall that creates a long path of water which pours over the edge of this elevated forest and down into the water which surrounds all of Arendelle. Elsa follows the water, and after a short amount of time, she's staring up at the creature about four feet from it's chunky hand.
"Hello," she shouts, voice strained. "You seemed to understand me last time. Do you recall?" The creature lifts the hand before dropping it with a KKK-DUNK! The ground rumbles and Elsa swats dust away from going up her nose. "I'll take that as a yes," she mumbles to herself. "Do you hear the singing as well? It's like a w-"
Woooo-oh, oooooh-ohhh! Elsa and the creature look further south down the river.
"Is it always in that direction?!" Elsa can already feel her voice getting tired from yelling. A hard gust of wind rubs against her side and blows her sheer blue train up over her head before it fills itself with yellow and dark green leaves into the rock creature's mouth. The creature's chest heaves as if it's taking in air after a prolonged period without any, and it's mouth stays open before—
"Yes," it answers in a deep-yet-feminine voice that bounces off the ground around them. Elsa raises a brow.
"So are you the wind that's been terrorizing me for the past couple of days?"
"I do what I must," it answers back. The rock creature is looking down at the water, it's hand is swishing around and causing ripples and waves to crash onto the short dark green grass. "It got its intended response from you."
"Why did it need to go that far?" Elsa asks, talking quieter with anger underneath every word.
"All things seem to need to go far with you." Elsa tsks and crosses her arms, putting her weight on one foot. Funny, this thing almost sounds cocky. "Think back to when you were young. There was something I once heard your Mother sing to you and your sister. Your Mother is the key to most things." Elsa drops her hands by her sides and stares up at the rock creature and how it's growing moss on one side.
"My Mother? How would you know anything about her?"
"The wind is always there. I hear and see all. Good luck now. I will listen for Arendelle and tell you if you are needed at any time."
"...Thank you, I suppose," Elsa mutters to the ground. The rock's mouth opens wide and the wind with its leaves, fly back down to Elsa and brush her side, this time gently, swooping in behind her back and touching the light scar it left behind. The wind rubs it again and then it's gone, the leaves falling down near her feet and withering away. "See you," she says to the rock, suddenly feeling ridiculous and really confused by the last three minutes of her life. She sets off further North, and the sun is rising over the peaks behind Arendelle Castle. She looks at it with her lips half curved up, but it isn't a smile. She walks past a row of beautiful pink and yellow flowers and thinks of the garden. She shakes her head, her braid falling over her back.
Focus. Why would Mother be a key? Did she HAVE a key I need? Were her thoughts a key? Did she learn something? ...Or was it something she told me? Well Mother told me lots of things, like don't fall for your sister. Elsa chuckles against her palm. Her heels are clicking against each other as she walks with purpose. Maybe she left that out, but it was definitely implied. Elsa hugs herself and walks and walks for hours in one direction, thinking and thinking until her head pounds and the sun is already high up in the sky. Daytime crept up on her fast, but this walk has been anything but quick. This is awful. I have no idea where I'm going or what I'm even LOOKING for! Elsa aggravatedly kicks a rock and shouts,
"Hey! Voice, or whatever you are?! Can you give me some sort of direction or something?! Anything!" Elsa stands still, not making a sound. A minute goes by and there's just nothing. Elsa sucks in a huge breath and rubs her forehead. Then she drops her head and looks around. Is that a fire I'm smelling? Elsa rushes up the brown gravel hill in front of her and holds her hand over her brow to block the sun. A few miles away she sees a small village of only ten or so houses, none of them looking as mechanical or advanced like back home. There's a little fire in the center of it, and if she squints, she can spot some people. "Ok. I suppose that's the way then."
Thirty Minutes Later
"Um-" Elsa's shoulders tense and she turns her head ninety-degrees to see an attractive dark haired girl looking at her with wide brown eyes holding a bow half ready to shoot. "Who are you?" Elsa holds her hands up and pushes herself away from the birch tree she was peeking out from.
"I'm Elsa. Queen of Arendelle." The girl gives her an even more confused look and raises her bow a little higher.
"Then why are you out here? Don't tell me you're tryna scope us out and indoctrinate us into your weird ice cult thing you guys got goin' over there." Elsa lets out a breath of a laugh and drops her hands down to her lap with a dfft.
"I think not," Elsa answers, taking a cautious step forward. The girl drops her bow and looks through the shrubs that lead into their small village. They can hear little kids playing loudly.
"Ugh I freakin' told them not to be screamin' like that. Being a nanny sucks," the girl groans, whacking her forehead with the end of one handmade arrow. She clears her throat and looks at Elsa, straightening her back. "Sorry I should probably be talking to you way more respectfully."
"Don't worry about it," Elsa says with a small grin. A teenage boy pops out from between the bushes making both Elsa and the girl jump out of their skin.
"Hey Honeymaren!" The girl rolls her eyes and he chuckles with his high pitched voice. He looks to Elsa and then back to Honeymaren and hitches his thumb over his shoulder. "Who's this chick?" Elsa hums and Honeymaren shakes her head with bored eyes.
"Queen Elsa." The boy leaps out of the bushes and stares down at Elsa who he's taller than by about four inches.
"The ice one?!" Elsa grins and holds her hand out, making a small replica of her castle within seconds.
"Wow," both him and Honeymaren say in awe. He leans forward and pokes it.
"And it didn't kill me so that's cool." Elsa opens her mouth yet gets cut off by Honeymaren again, who's grabbing the boy by his collar and dragging him with her through the bushes.
"Of course not dumb ass." She looks back at Elsa. "So I don't know what you're doing over here, but do you wanna stay here for the night?" Elsa looks up at the sky, it's most likely around three or four.
"Sure. Thank you." She nods and the boy fights his way out of Honeymaren's grip, smiling wide at Elsa.
"I'm Ryder by the way," he says with sparkling eyes. Elsa nods at him and walks through the tall shrub he's holding open for her. The first step on their dusty land Elsa's confronted with a group of twenty tall people. They stare her down and have their bows at the ready. "Woah guys, calm down." Ryder and Honeymaren take a step in front of Elsa but back down when a shorter woman with pure white hair in a complex braid and long tan clothing steps through the crowd. Elsa steels her features and sniffs once. The woman looks quite old, deep crows feet are under her heavy brown eyes, and her back is hunched.
"Who are you?" she asks with a deep voice. Elsa opens her mouth and is once again cut off-
"We already went over this," Honeymaren groans, slouching. The woman rolls her eyes and Ryder bites his lip, stifling a laugh that makes his eyes bulge.
"I'm Queen Elsa of Arendelle. I'm just passing through and I have no bad intentions. I was not even aware a group of you were out here." The woman wrinkles her lip and crosses her arms.
"No many people do and we like to keep it that way." Her tone is flat and to the point. Elsa can handle that.
"I understand," Elsa states firmly, nodding once. "I'll just pass through then." Elsa takes a step back toward the shrubs but Honeymaren and Ryder raise their voices.
"Wait!" they shout, giving each other worried looks.
"Can Queen Elsa at least stay here ONE night?!" Ryder begs, literally dropping to his knees. Honeymaren lifts him by his collar and he slaps her hands away after standing up.
"Come onnnnn," Honeymaren whines, touching the older woman's shoulders. "You know the weird stuff that can happen here in this forest. She could get totally screwed dude!"
"Watch how you talk," the woman warns, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"DUDE," Honeymaren says louder and more obnoxiously, making Elsa grin. Reminds me of Anna a little bit. "She can stay at me and Ryder's place." The woman looks at Ryder who nods like a happy puppy.
"If something goes wrong, it's on you." The woman turns to the rest of the people and waves them down. They immediately drop their bows. "Let us continue our work." She walks away without another glance at Elsa who's standing out like a sore thumb in this bland village. All colors are just tan and more tan. The brightest thing here is Ryder's light blue eyes.
"She's a real stick in the mud," Ryder whispers. A shoe is whipped at the back of his head and he shrieks. "Sorry Yelanna-I mean SIR-I mean Mamm! Ahhh." Elsa laughs and Honeymaren looks at her with a sly smile.
"Hey, jerk-off," Honeymaren kicks Ryder's shin and he huffs, rubbing at it with his other foot. "Go get us food. Are you into rabbit?" She looks to Elsa. Elsa shrugs and blinks once.
"Rabbit sounds fine."
"K great. Go." Ryder looks a little sad about that but he does what she says anyhow. Honeymaren points somewhere to their left and says, "Let's go back to my place. Not that that sounds weird or anything," she coughs awkwardly, turning her head away. Elsa raises a brow and follows after her. She feels eyes peering into the back of her head as she walks, feeling the tension lessen once the leather curtain of Honeymaren's home made of almost only wood swings closed. Elsa pauses, trying not to be obvious about her wondering eyes. "Go ahead, look at my lame stuff and be sure to touch everything possible." Elsa shivers feeling an intense sense of dejavu. Didn't Anna say almost the exact same thing before? ...Weird. The home only has three rooms; the main one they're in now with a fur rug at the door and a small two person table with a deer antler candle. Then the room to the right must be Ryder's, but she can't see in. Honeymaren is leaning against the doorframe to her room that has hundreds of red and brown beads on multiple strings that hang as a makeshift curtain.
"My sister would love a curtain like that," Elsa says, trying to say at least something to get rid of the uneasiness she's sensing from Honeymaren.
"Maybe I can make her one," she says, looking at her worn and calloused hands. "Anyway, let's talk in here." Elsa follows again, and she's shocked by the bright colors and the sheer amount of art on the walls. Her bed is in the center of the small room, and the wall just behind it has nails with beautiful hand done dreamcatchers hanging from them. On top of that, she has a pile of drawings stacked up on a wobbly looking desk. Honeymaren follows Elsa's line of sight and knocks on the desk. "This was the first thing I ever built. I was five," she smiles at it, her eyes downcast. "My Dad died but I remember making this with him still."
"My Father is also…" Elsa doesn't have to finish. Honeymaren gives her a sympathetic look and holds up a drawing. Elsa reaches for it carefully, only touching the edges. It seems to be charcoal only, depicting an incredibly realistic reindeer. "This is quite good," Elsa says with a surprised flex of her brow. Honeymaren smirks.
"Ryder is a reindeer freak. He talks to 'em. Weirdo."
"The coincidences are stacking up," Elsa says with a smile, setting the paper down on top of a tree drawing. "My sister's ex-boyfriend is also a reindeer addict. He and Sven go everywhere together."
"Ugh so does Ryder and Rex. I swear they got something else going on if you know what I mean." Elsa brings a hand to her mouth and laughs. Honeymaren smirks and Elsa feels like she's being stared right through. There's a softens on the girls face that feels sort of unfamiliar. It's… kind of like I'm being hit on. Elsa shifts uncomfortably and looks out the small window, watching more children playing and throwing dirt. Her eyes drift back toward Honeymaren who's still looking out the window. She's pretty, Elsa thinks. Her eyes are a light brown with specks of gold. She has a beautiful tan complexion with brown but nearly black hair with straight across bangs. Elsa's eyes lower to her breasts and Elsa snaps her head upward, shunning herself. Honeymaren's watching her from the corner of her eye with a smirk and Elsa blushes. She looks away to hide it but it's no use with such pale skin.
"Interesting," Honeymaren mumbles, scratching the back of her neck. Ryder taps the window and winks. "Oh look. He did what I said." Honeymaren walks toward the main room again, smiling back at Elsa. "Let's eat, shall we?"
The night comes quickly, and Elsa's impressed by how easily she's becoming involved in these two's stories. In Arendelle she often felt burdened when people decided to speak to her (if they didn't run the other way or ignore her). Anytime someone came up it was to complain or ask for something. She understood the use for that, and she typically acted on it immediately. But here, being in an environment where people are talking to her just to talk, it really warms her heart. Ryder seems to be the more flamboyant of the two, telling his stories by acting them out. He even took Elsa out to see the reindeer the village keeps. She was impressed and talked with him about Sven and Kristoff. Ryder was excited to hear that "another believer" was out there and declared that he and Kristoff will be best friends one day.
Then there was Honeymaren who started off being the more loud and playful one, but as the night dwindled down and more people in the village headed to their homes, she got quieter. Ryder yawned and stretched his back, saying his goodnights and bumping his fist into Elsa's before going to his room. Elsa and Honeymaren were alone in the center of town, sitting side by side on animal fur in front of the firepit whose smoke snakes through the trees and into the purple and indigo sky. Elsa catches Honeymaren giving her a similar look as she did earlier and Elsa finally questions her.
"That look…" Elsa starts, patting off the dust on her boots. Honeymaren watches Elsa's hands and leans back, her palms flat on the ground behind her.
"I dunno what it is. I just feel different with you." Honeymaren suddenly sits upright again and gives Elsa a sheepish grin. "Not that I'm being weird or anything. Hah."
"Define weird," Elsa says slowly, crossing her ankles in front of her. Honeymaren lifts a hand and does some sort of motion before dropping her hand back into her lap.
"I dunno. You seem cool. I like you. But it kinda feels like I already know you? Or something like that. I… I dunno." She sucks her teeth and shreds her fingers through her bangs, messing them up and then fixing them again. "Anyhow, we should like, sleep. Ah but then that means you're leaving in the morning, right?" Elsa nods. "That sucks. Nevermind. We can stay up." She looks at Elsa and tilts her head side to side. "Unless you're tired. That's fine." Elsa was tired. She'd been up since about four AM, and she had been up much of the night with Anna. She gets red thinking about that part. But something in her didn't wanna turn over just yet.
"I can stay up," she answers, smiling at Honeymaren who brightens up. They don't say anything for a little while, just staring into the fire that's fizzling out. Honeymaren throws a stick in and starts humming.
"Where the North winddd, hm hm hmmm. There's a river, full of hm hm hmmm." Elsa leans closer and starts in with,
"Where all is lost," Elsa sings, "But all isss fooound." Honeymaren grins and Elsa's eyes widen.
"My Mother loved that rhyme. Sang it to me every night. It's got a creepy side to it though." She sticks her tongue out and makes a bleh sound. Elsa thinks back to what the wind was saying. Bizarre string of words but I should be used to that by now. Ok. Think on that again. North wind meets the sea. River. Memories. Olaf says… water has memory. Hmm. She puts a hand to her chin.
"Lie the answers… Dive down deeper," Elsa mumbles, the song coming to life again in her head with her mother's voice.
"But not too far, or you'll be drowned," Honeymaren finishes. The Queen's eyes widen.
"That's it," Elsa says out loud.
"What is?" Elsa stands and Honeymaren watches, scratching her head.
"What I've been looking for."
AHHHHH! Comes from somewhere in the forest. Honeymaren jumps up and two people in nearby homes rush out with their bows half naked. Elsa doesn't think, she just moves, rushing toward the scream.
"Woah hold on!" Honeymaren watches her new friend sprint and she sighs worriedly before running to get Ryder and their weapons.