As always, hope you guys like this chapter! Stay frosty!
Serephina
"When you meant to meet you in the clearing, I thought you meant we would be working in the clearing. Where are we going, Serephina?"
"Well, considering I'm leading you while you're on a horse… I wouldn't be complaining, Elsa." I laughed at the moody queen. The woman was definitely sporting an attitude today.
"I'm just curious where you plan on taking me."
I rolled my eyes and shot her an unimpressed look. She immediately scowled and looked down at the mane of her horse. There was an unusual lost expression within her eyes this morning. "I am taking us to somewhere a little more private for what I want to teach you today. It's not too far away now, your highness."
I wasn't lying. Within a few minutes we reached the spot that I had discovered the other evening. Another clearing, this one significantly larger with soft, green fields was the destination. Farther north, without a doubt we were safe from anyone's line of vision back at the castle. Wildflowers trimmed the space in blooming patches. The entire space glowed with fresh spring renewal, much healthier than the previous space.
"Wow," Elsa whispered in awe, looking around at the surroundings. I took her waist, adding her in dismounting. The whole time she was more focused on the scenery. Her face rotated in every direction, taking in each sensation.
"Worth the extra ride?" I asked, facing her spine partially bared by the low back of her dress.
"Definitely… How do you find all these places? Each one is more amazing than the last."
She turned, and I quickly grinned at the grass, "Guess I'm just lucky that way."
Grass folded over in little lasting footprints as we wandered closer to the center. I tied her horse far away on the outskirts where it grazed lazily. I looked over every inch of our surroundings once more; just to be sure everything was right. When my attention landing on Elsa again, she stood stiffly. Her hands were neatly folding in front of her body. Those big, blue eyes teased me with knowing she had more on her mind than just today's lesson. Elsa fought back whatever was resting on just the tip of her tongue.
"Is everything alright?" I asked letting concern be evident.
"Yes, yes. Of course, I am just curious about what we are doing today. That is all."
"To begin," I started wandering slightly around in a circle, "I hope you took the time to think about what we last discussed?"
I caught her staring off, lost in thought. Loudly, I cleared my throat. "Hmm..? Yes, I did. It actually makes a lot of sense."
"Good. Today, I want to move on to the actually skills themselves. Today I want to help you begin to learn a key feature of not only truly learning to control your powers but unlocking them as well. Detachment." She focused on me, a single eyebrow raised in confusion. So, I continued, "Each affinity is rooted to your emotions and different emotions are more strongly connected than others for each gift. For fire, anger, passion, and protectiveness play some of the biggest roles."
"Ice is fear, loneliness, defensiveness."
"Yes, you speak from experience." It was not a question and she knew it. Elsa nodded her head quickly without meeting my eyes. I was worried about her today. "So do I, you see… it is crucial that we learn to divide our feelings from what we can harness."
The newly realized elemental frowned at me, "Why? Don't they make us stronger in what we do?"
"Many would believe so, but tell me: did you have control when you let your feelings drive your abilities independently?"
"No."
"Lack of control is not strength, though its side effects may be masked as it. We pose the greatest risks to others as well as ourselves when we believe we possess control we don't actually have."
"What do you mean 'ourselves'?" She paused on the word. With a shaky breath, I sighed. My hands shook even more as I pulled away the fingerless gloves that nearly matched my skin tone. Most wouldn't have even noticed I wore them. Probably Elsa hadn't either. Cover free, I turned my hands over before her.
Like erratic stars bursting into spirals of chaotic fire, scars ran heavily across my palm. Ugly starbursts from a day long lost to the past. She gasped, reaching to touch the hideous marks, but pulling back her hand at the last second. "Simply because we wield it, does not mean we are immune to it."
Elsa
I stared stupidly at her scars. After time seemed to drag on with my silence, she replaced her gloves. "How? How could that even happen?"
"That, is a long story. I thought I had control. When I summoned the flame, it lashed out at me as well." Once again, this mysterious woman had me desperate for more information.
"Can… can the same happen to me?" I stuttered starring into my own hands. Around me, the air began to chill. Frost collected lightly in a circle around my feet. Serephina quickly took notice and rushed to me.
Taking my hands in hers, she comforted me, "Hey, hey, hey… don't be scared. Frost is different, but yes. You could hurt yourself, too. I'm going to help you not to."
She rubbed my knuckles between her until I calmed myself. Her touch was not forceful or angry, but instead calm and understanding. Serephina's warm eyes stayed locked onto mine. "Are you alright now?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I managed to whisper. Serephina slowly dropped my hands and stepped away. When she did, part of me dropped too. I felt like a candle just blown out. What really drove me mad was I had no idea why she had this effect on me. The more I thought about her, her smile, her strength; it all just made me want to hold on to her tighter.
"How we detach our powers comes purely from practice and work. There is no correct answer because everyone finds their own means of doing this." She continued, oblivious to my internal feelings. Her moving feet continued to lengthen the distance between us, and I hated it. With her out of my reach, I just felt so exposed.
"How did you do it?" I finally mustered the focus to speak.
"I detached through finding another fuel for the fire I created. Instead of raw emotion, all the flames I can create feed from the air I breathe. The breath, the purely physical act is where my power draws its strength. Just like any other blaze."
"But what can ice feed on? I don't see how I can find anything like you did. Fire and breathing, that make so much sense, but ice and what?" I grumbled to myself.
"Just try, it may take time to find it, but it will come. And when it does," Serephina turned and took a long deep breath. Her back was to me as I watched her arms wave through the air. Each bent and straightened in a captivating movement as each defined muscle rolled beneath dark skin. As her hands lead the pattern, small flames flickered and erupted all around her. In one final motion, her palms gathered near her hip before she forced them up in an arch across her torso. A column of curling, bright flame burned through the air from her hands to the sky.
The action of her bringing down her palms in a wide circle disbanded the fire. The wild array of vibrant light reduced to smoke and the ash of a few unfortunate leaves. My mouth hung open from the sight. She just did that, with no effort required. When she faced me again, she was as calm as ever. "Want to give it a try, your highness?"
Cautiously, I stepped forward. Serephina shifted herself so that she remained close behind me. "Just attempt something small to start. Focus on it and avoid memories and emotions. Search for your new source."
"Are you sure you want to stand this close? Just in case?" I asked nervously.
"It takes a lot more to scare me off. Have faith." Her trust in me sadly didn't help my confidence. I stared down at my hands. I pictured a little Olaf forming in my hands, just like the real one I had made long ago. Focusing on the image, I chewed my lip and felt a small tug in my gut. This is it; maybe I actually can do this. I pushed my hands out once, but only a couple small flakes fell into the air.
I was crushed. There was nothing there to support the magic. I grew frustrated. Taking a deep breath, I tried again. Just a small flurry… anything. My hands flicked out, but again nothing. "I can't do it," I shouted. Balled into fists, my hands fell to my sides. Tears filled the corners of my eyes. In a wave of frustration, ice spiraled out around me accompanied by an arctic wind. Behind me, Serephina slid back with the gust. I turned, instantly terrified that I had hurt her.
"Oh no, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to honest."
"It's okay, it's alright." It wasn't until she pulled me close to her chest that I realized I had tears rushing down my face. Her hand stroked my back as she softly whispered, "It takes time Elsa. You're doing fine. What is going on?"
"I—I don't know. I'm re—really sorry." Everything about me felt so torn as I hiccupped my answer. I was embarrassed for breaking down on Serephina's shoulder. She was so tough and here I was blubbering like a little girl.
As if she could read my mind, she continued, "I know how frustrating these things can be. As amazing as we can all become, our lives are often rocky and difficult before… almost like a sacrifice to balance the gift. You are strong and can learn just like we all do."
"Thank you," I mumbled pushing myself back. At an arms distance, I forced myself to meet her eyes. She looked so forgiving and so welcoming compared to the first time we meant. Perhaps we had both changed.
"You know what I think you need."
"What?" I asked drying my face.
"A break… I think you need to meet an old friend of mine."
When Serephina was leading me through the trees, both of us seated atop the borrowed horse, my arms tight around her waist, I wasn't expecting our destination to be a small trading post. I assumed that I was going to meet a family member or friend from her home. I was not expecting another horse. Sure enough, as we arrived we both dismounted just as we had done many times before. She waved to two large men speaking on the porch of the post as she led me to a separate building. "Come on, she's in here."
She pushed the door open and ushered me in. I was hit immediately with the strong scent of earth and hay. The entire room seemed almost to carry a lazy atmosphere. I began to really relax and moved a little closer to Serephina as well as became more aware of the constant presence of her hand on my lower back.
"Epona," Serephina called out gently. Nothing happened for a moment and then the old mare gradually emerged from the shadows. She clopped over to Serephina and pushed her nose into her chest. Serephina curved around her long head. Her face pressed into the silky hair of the horse's mane. As her fingers slid over velvety skin, I could just see the connection between the two. "Yeah I missed you too. This is Elsa."
The mare turned her eyes toward me. They shinned playfully as the horse looked me over. Epona the horse snorted at me before bobbing her head crazily up and down. She then turned and trotted away towards a makeshift bunk at the far end of the space. "I hope that was a good sign."
She laughed loudly and beautifully. In this setting, her happiness reached all the way to her eyes. The fire elemental looked so at peace here. When she felt this way, well… let's just say she had never looked more beautiful. I didn't know why I felt this pull towards her. I had never felt it towards another woman before. But this sealed the deal. Everything I had possibly felt confused over before was crystal clear.
So I took a chance. My hands moved automatically. One lightly grabbed her shoulder, turning her towards me. The other rested on her neck pulling her face towards mine. My lips kissed hers, incredibly light at first but still a unique electric spark drifted between us. She pulled away immediately, and I let her. She stepped away with her hand pressed to her mouth.
"I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have," I began apologizing as she looked at me. Our eyes bore into each other's.
"You know what you are doing right?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, for the first time in a long time I am completely sure of what I am doing." Serephina silently contemplated something, her brow furrowed. I would ask about it later but I only wanted her close to me again.
"Good." All at once, her body slammed gently into mine. Her lips rested on mine, just as gently but far more passionate. I wished so desperately that this had been my first kiss. Every part of me felt warm and electrified but I was also unbelievably comfortable. No other thoughts crossed my mind besides how she felt against me. Her hands drifted between my rib cage and my face. My rested right over her collar bones. Our kiss deepened and I just wanted more of her. I couldn't get enough. My hands drifted lower with a sudden rush of courage.
But her hands caught mine at a critical moment. Panting, she broke the connection between our mouths. Our foreheads leaned together just as she laced her fingers into mine. "Let's slow down… please. I don't want you to, regret anything later."
I kissed her cheek softly, "I never could, but I understand."
"You know that what this is, it isn't always accepted," she sighed, brushing loose strands of my hair back. Her voice was filled with pain, like it was really hurting her to be this close to me. I knew right then that someone had burned her before.
"I don't care. This is what I want. We'll figure out whatever comes." I smiled into her eyes. This was the start of something entirely new as she smiled back. I still knew little about her, but I wanted to learn more. She curled around me in another embrace. In her touch, as loving as it was, held an element of fear.