Chapter 2
Two months. She still couldn't believe that, two months ago, she had been the Queen of Arendelle and had no idea about the truth of her powers. She hadn't even known the Spirits. So much had changed.
She stepped out of her ice-tent and into the Northuldra camp. The sun was barely peeking over the mountains, turning the morning sky a rosy shade of pink. No one else was awake, but this didn't upset her. After the endless lists of duties, meetings, and responsibilities that came with being Queen, she enjoyed the peace of the Forest.
Yelena, after she announced her decision to become the fifth Guardian of the Forest, had invited her to stay with the Northuldra tribe. She'd agreed, eating every meal with her mother's people and sleeping in their camps. Still, she spent a lot of time in the Forest with the other Spirits. She'd been so distracted by her mission the first time, that she hadn't allowed much time for sight-seeing. Now that it was her home, she wanted to see every wonder the Spirits could show her.
That didn't mean she wasn't lonely at times, though. Anna, the new Queen, wrote to her regularly about how everyone in the kingdom was doing, and they met often enough (in either Arendelle or the Forest), but she still didn't get to see her sister as often as she wanted. While she had her friends in the Northuldra tribe, there was always a sense of…tension. They followed the Spirits, after all, and she was one of the Spirits. It was hard to be among them and not feel like everyone's eyes were on her.
She shook away those feelings. She knew it was just a bit of homesickness. She was happier in the Forest than she'd been in a long time. She started walking towards the campfires, and felt something skitter across her foot. Or, rather, someone.
The Fire Spirit, which she called Bruni, looked up at her, cute as ever. The Spirit was barely the size of her hand, resembling a blue-and-purple salamander. He'd be completely harmless if not for the fact that he could control fire. Luckily for everyone, he was incredibly friendly, and (ironically) loved the cold as much as Elsa did.
"Good morning." She greeted him quietly, trying not to wake anyone up. He chirped and licked his eyeball in response. She smiled a bit wider and pointed to the fire pits from the night before. "Think we could help them out?"
The Fire Spirit blinked, and the pits all ignited. Warm, purple-tinted fires burned merrily. A few Northuldra (early risers, like Elsa), left their tents, pleasantly surprised to find fires already waiting for them. She thanked Bruni before she moved to help prepare breakfast.
It was after everyone had eaten and started preparing to move camp that Gale appeared. The Wind Spirit was the first being of the Forest to befriend Elsa. Their playful nature never failed to bring a smile to the Ice Spirit's face, and that morning was no different.
"Good morning, Gale." Elsa was about to say more when Gale suddenly swooped around her and started to lift her up. The woman, used to the Wind Spirit's antics by then, just laughed. "Alright, alright, is there something you want to show me?" She got her answer when she felt a gust of wind pushing her from behind. "Okay, I'm coming."
She waved goodbye to the Northuldra, and went with Gale. Considering her fellow Spirit's fun-loving nature, she knew that whatever they wanted to show her was bound to be something interesting. Her thoughts were seemingly confirmed when the Spirit didn't bother to mess with her hair or lift her up as they usually did. They simply pushed a bit from behind now and then, telling her which way to go.
She'd had no idea what to expect when she got to Gale's destination. But when she saw the creature, lying in a pile of snow, she froze.