The challenge of mind, hand, and heart was over. Cutter had won and Rayek had left but Leetah still could not accept what her heart was telling her. It knew that she loved Cutter and needed to be with him. But she refused to acknowledge her heart because she did not believe he was right for her. She watched as his tribemates swarmed around Cutter, offering their congratulations. But when Cutter came to speak with her, she was mean and rude because that was the only way to hide her heart. As she turned to leave, she caught the gaze of one special little elf. Frostbud looked at her with a mixture of anger, confusion, understanding, and sadness.
That night when Leetah returned to her hut, she found the elf sitting there on one of the cushions. She paused and he stood, walking towards her until he was only a foot away. She had to look down at him but found herself mesmerized by the depth of emotion contained in his eyes. Everything was silent for several minutes as each elf watched the other until Frostbud broke the silence with a single word.
"Why?" Leetah was startled out of her quiet contemplation.
"Why what?"
"Why won't you love Cutter?" Leetah turned away, not wanting to answer the question and face her innermost feelings but Frostbud pressed on. "Do you still think us barbaric? We have tried so hard to change your initial opinion of us." Leetah did not answer. "Why Leetah? Help me to understand! Are you afraid of being hurt by love?" Leetah turned to him, eyes brimming with tears, and Frostbud knew he had found the heart of the problem.
"How can I trust my heart and my being to someone I barely know?" Frostbud smiled sadly.
"I do not know. But you can trust your heart to Cutter, for he will take care of you."
"How do you know this?"
"Because I was once asking myself the same questions. You know that I am not a Wolfrider but now I will tell you the story of how I came to live with my tribe." Frostbud told Leetah his whole Life's story, starting at his time as an orphan in his birth village. When he finished, Leetah was crying for reasons more complex than she could understand. But Frostbud understood. "You love him Leetah, and he loves you. Do not continue to reject him because every rejection destroys a piece of him. He does not deserve that; he already bears too much weight. He is still young, forced to grow up too fast. But never does he complain. He is always selfless and kind and caring and he deserves your love and so much more." With that, Frostbud left, leaving Leetah with a great deal to think about.