Creak

The noise chased away sleep from falling. The child shook her head, and hugged her legs tighter. As she did, the child noticed a thin layer of ice forming around where she sat. No, please, no, the child thought. Please, I'm too tired. If I get caught this time, I can't, I can't run.

They'll catch me

They'll burn me

They'll kill me

The child tried desperately to forget the fear. But the more she tried, the deeper it sat. The child squeezed her knees with her arms. The ice was now reaching the wall of the crate she was in.

Creak

Something was close. The child could feel it. I have to stop, please, the child thought to herself, but her ice thought otherwise. It was now sipping through the gap between the wooden panels. The child tried her all not to let out a cry.

Creak

The sound was now right next to her.

The child knew it was the end.

There was no point in trying to hold back her tears.

The crate opened.

The child buried her face between her legs and cried

"Shhhh!"

At the noise, the child lifted her head, only to see a girl (around her own age, maybe even younger?) with a finger against her lips looking around carefully. The girl then turned to the child.

"Hey, what language do you speak?"

The girl spoke. But the child could not understand a word she was saying. Looking at the child's puzzled expression, the girl sighed.

"Not this one, I guess. Come on. Let's get out of here"

The girl held out her hand. The child looked at the girl's face, and then the girl's hands, and the girl's face again, and carefully, held the girl's hand in her own, and creeped out of the crate. The child didn't know why, but something about the girl comforted her. Following her did not seem so dangerous. At least, it seemed safer than being caught by those grown-up men chasing her.

"Now hold on tight, cause I'm gonna run a bit fast… Oh, what am I saying, she doesn't even understand!"

The girl seemed to grumble, but she never let go of the child's hand, even when she suddenly started running. The child tried her best to follow. She was tired, her legs had no strength left, but somehow, she was able to keep up. The girl never looked back, just kept running. When the girl finally stopped, the child realized she was now at a dark alley she had never been before.

"Now, wait here…. No, actually, just, follow me."

The girl knocked the door to the house right before them; the only one that light was coming out from. A moment later, the door opened, and a strange looking man with long, white hair came out.

"Nichego? Where have you been! I spent all evening trying to stop Raisa from going out to find you!"

The man shouted to the girl. The child was startled. She unconsciously squeezed the girl's hand, the one she almost forgot that she was holding.

"I'm sorry, sir. I… happened to hear a few man from the market talk about…"

The girl started talking, and the man eyed her furiously, but the next moment, he stopped her.

"Quiet, now."

The man suddenly closed up to the child. The child tried to hide behind the girl. But the girl led the child to stand in front of her.

"It's okay."

The girl said. The child did not know what she was saying. But it sounded so comforting for a moment, until she realized the thin layer of ice under her feet.

"Ice powers?"

The man said. While the man continued to look at the ice and the child back and forth, the girl spoke.

"Some men in the market were talking about a girl with ice powers and were planning to capture her and sell her to the Chathonese merchants. I actually found her inside the storage of the Chathonese merchants' ships."

"That… is, a very, imprudent act, Nichego. But, I do have to agree… Bringing her here is… a good job, indeed."

The man opened the door wide, and pointed inside.

"Come in. I'll get you some food."

The child looked at the girl again. The girl squeezed the child's hand, and led the child into the house.

"Nichego!"

Before the child could even realize what was going on, a tall girl appeared out of nowhere, and was suddenly hugging the girl.

"Where were you?! I was so worried! Sigurd said you were going to be fine, but there were like, an army of adults running around, and…"

"I'm fine, Raisa. Sorry for worrying you."

"You should be! …Uh, who is this?"

The tall girl pointed at the child. The child moved closer to the girl, and tightened the grip of the hand holding the girl's. The girl did the same thing, while saying, almost whispering.

"It's okay… Raisa's just like you. Only that, she doesn't make ice, she… makes earthquakes."

"I don't make earthquakes! That's a horrible thing to say! Earthquakes hurt people!"

"Then what do you call the…. Ground rumbling you caused two days ago when Hakan almost burnt your doll?"

"…He deserved it!"

"Right, well, just, come."

The girl led the child to a table with chairs, and guided the child to take a seat. While trying to pull out a chair for the child, the girl let go of the child's hand, and before the girl could even touch the chair, the child grabbed the girl's hand again, surprising both of them.

"I, uh…. Yup, well, if that's what you want."

Trying her best not to look reprimanding to the child, who was still startled by her own actions, the girl pulled the chair out with one hand, and led the child to sit on it, while sitting next to the child on another one.

"Here, have some soup."

The white-haired man from earlier placed a bowl and a spoon in front of the child a few seconds after she was seated. The child looked at the bowl and the spoon back and forth, until the girl picked up the spoon and scooped up the soup for her.

"It's not poisoned, trust me."

The child looked at the girl for a moment, and as the girl tried to hand the spoon to the child's hand that wasn't holding hers, the child took the spoon into her mouth and emptied it, and just looked at the girl again.

"….Okay. Not how I was expecting this to be, but, well."

"Is she your doll, Nichego?"

"No, Raisa. She is not Nichego's doll. She is someone like you"

The answer to the tall girl's question came from the man. He was looking down at the child sharply, as if trying to look through her.

"Wait, isn't this soup for Nichego? She didn't have dinner!"

"I'm sure that Nichego ate something while she was out. Right, Nichego?"

"Yeah. I picked up some things here and there while going around. The sailors from Royaume thought I was a daughter of a Chathonese sailor or merchant, and gave me two bars of chocolate."

"Chocolate is not dinner! …..Did you eat them all?"

The girl giggled, and pulled something out of her pocket and gave it to the tall girl. The tall girl squealed.

"Don't tell Hakan and Orungan. That's all I have left."

"Remember to brush your teeth before sleeping, Raisa."

"You don't have to remind me! I'm not a kid, Sigurd! I'm eleven years old! I'm older than Nichego!"

"Sometimes, I find that fact very hard to believe."

The girl muttered to herself while continuing feeding the child. The child did not give any attention to what was happening, other than the girl, the food she was feeding, and her hand she was holding. When the child realized the bowl was empty, the tall girl was not around anymore.

"Well, food's been taken care of. So…. What now, sir?"

"It's late. She should sleep. She can sleep with Raisa. I'll go tell her."

The girl nodded and stood up, leading the child to do so, too. The man came up to the child, and tried to guide her, only making the child whimper and hide behind the girl.

"Come. I'm just trying to get you to bed."
"Sir, I think…. She's been chased by grown-up man like you, and…. I think she just feels more comfortable with me, than with Raisa, since I'm the one that just saved her from being caught by those man while sitting inside a box."

"Yes, but she can't sleep with you. You don't have a bed."

"I'm pretty sure she slept in places worse than the floor of our common room. Just, at least tonight. She needs time to get used to all this. And I don't think she'd get a cold for sleeping on the floor, considering what her powers are."

The man did not seem satisfied, but didn't say anything more. He just sighed and shrugged. The girl faced the child.

"Now, let's get ready for bed. Well, not, bed, since we won't be sleeping in one, but, you know, sleep."

Several minutes later, after the girl guided her to the bathroom and gave her some clean clothes to wear, the child was lying on the floor of the common room of the house, still holding the girl's hand. Even while preparing for the night, the child tried her best not to let go of the girl's hand.

"I'm turning the lights out now. Keep an eye on her, Nichego."

"Yes, sir."

"If she seems uncomfortable, get her to sleep in Raisa's bed."

"Yes."

"Don't disturb her when she sleeps, like snoring or moving too much."

"Good night, sir."

The lights went out, and the child literally jumped into the girl's arms, shivering. The girl seemed startled for a while, but regained her composure a few seconds later.

"It's alright. It's okay."

The girl tried to soothe the child, but she knew this was no use. The child didn't understand what she was saying, making her words seem pointless.

"Hey, look at me."

The girl pulled the child away from her a bit. The child stared at the girl for a while, and as her eyes began adjusting to the darkness, she was able to recognize the face she had gotten so used to, even if she had just met the girl about an hour ago.

"Sigurd is not going to like this…. But, whatever. He never liked me, and I never liked him anyway."

The girl took something out of her pocket, and the child could hear a small cracking noise. The girl opened her mouth a little, gesturing to the child to follow, and as she did, the girl placed something inside her mouth, which she began chewing almost immediately. The taste was something the child had never experienced before, but it didn't mean that it wasn't good. It was heavenly, actually, and even in the darkness, the girl seemed to have seen how much the child liked it, as she was breaking down another chunk while giggling softly.

"Raisa won't be so upset that I have another one whole bar since I gave her one, but if Hakan and Orungan find out? They are gonna be furious."

The girl slipped another chunk of chocolate into the child's mouth. The child continued eating, while staring at the girl's now clearly recognizable face. She couldn't remember the last time she was so comfortable with anyone. After her mother had been killed by those men who were trying to capture her, the child had been alone. But now, she felt like she was back together with her mother, in her arms, while she was singing her a lullaby in a language she could not understand, calling her….

"Bisa."

"Huh?"

The girl was taken aback. She didn't expect the child to say anything soon, and she didn't expect it to happen while she was giving her chocolate secretly when they were supposed to be asleep. The fact that she didn't know what the child was talking about just added to her confusion. The child seemed to notice this, so this time, she pointed at herself and spoke again.

"Bisa."

This time, even though it did take her a few seconds, the girl realized the meaning of the child's words. The girl followed the child's gesture, and pointed at herself.

"Nichego."

The girl – Nichego - grinned. And the child – Bisa – knew that the sun had set hours ago, and it was night, and it was dark, but somehow, she felt like this was the brightest sight she had ever seen in her life.

"….sa."

"…"

"….isa!"

"….."

"Bisa!"

"….Alright, alright! I'm awake!"

Sitting up from her bed, Bisa growled toward the owner of the voice who just woke her up. She couldn't remember the last time she had that dream, but it was her favorite memory yet, and she really didn't want to be interrupted from it. If it wasn't for the fact that the most important part of that memory already happened in the dream, Bisa was sure she would have lost her temper.

"Come on! We're almost there! We need to see it when we land!"

Watching Raisa literally jump up and down inside their small room, Bisa internally growled again. This boat(others called it a ship, but ships were definitely bigger than this one, so Bisa always called it a boat) may have survived more than a decade of traveling between several countries, but having a 5'8 human jumping while on board was definitely not a good idea.

"Why? What's so special about this darn country? It's not the first time we land on some new place."

"It's Arendelle, Bisa! It's the closest kingdom to Northuldra, where our parents most likely came from!"

"Unlike yours, Raisa, I have no clue that my mom is from that North-whatever."

"You know that lullaby that we all do!"

"My mom could have picked the tune up somewhere."

"You have powers!"

"Sigurd said that he never met an ice spirit."

"Oh, come on! Don't be mean!"

"Hope you're not fighting."

A familiar voice interrupted Bisa from adding another aggressive remark to Raisa's complaint. The tenderness of the voice she had gotten so used to suddenly made her feel a lot better about having to be awaken from her favorite dream, but a realization brought a sudden discomfort afterwards.

"Not fighting. Bisa is just being mean."

"…Whatever."

Lying down once again, Bisa pulled the covers up to her head. She could still hear Raisa complaining about having to see the landing altogether, but after a few minutes, she could hear footsteps walking away from her.

"Bisa."

As the soft voice called her name, Bisa tried her best not to sit up again and meet the eyes of the owner of it. She just - couldn't

"We're almost there. I know you might be tired with Raisa jumping around all day around you but… Even if you don't see the landing, we do need everyone when we patrol around the kingdom."

"…"

"Be up by then, please."

"…"

"And…. Please, don't pull up your covers. I know the effect heat has on you. Don't want you to get sick."

Once again, Bisa heard footsteps walking away from the room, and when she was sure no one was around, she sat back up with a deep sigh. The realization that hit her a few moments ago, lingered around her like the sunlight coming through the window and filling the room, and started slipping through inside her.

Eleven years. That much time had passed since Bisa met her. During that 11years, Bisa herself changed a lot. Her hair, which used to be so short that it was near being bald, was not long enough to reach her hips. The language that seemed so strange to her now became more comfortable than the one she used as a child. She no longer looked for shorts and light shirts for clothing, and instead chose dresses that Raisa often called 'excessively revealing'.

But her…. She was the same. Her black hair always remained to be short enough not to reach her neck. She always checked in on Bisa and the others, even on days she was being exceptionally rude to her. She still wore black for most of her clothes, even when the sunlight was too hot even for Hakan. The only thing that changed about her… was how she was called.

"Niche."

As if whispering that name itself was a torture, Bisa buried her face into her knees, another realization coming down to her heart.

Even with her other changes, the feelings she had for her, was the only thing that did not change with herself.