Chapter Thirteen

Negotiating the trail that helped them cross the narrow end of the crevasse proved time-consuming with eight horses in tow. Tempers were not aided by Feilan's refusal to assist with the fidgety steeds. The mountaineer instead gave terse directions over what route to follow, hoisted her pack, and proceeded to leave the restless herd behind. When Captain Beorn bellowed her name, she merely flipped a hand at him and kept walking.

Shortly after she moved out of sight, the horses calmed enough to be lead along the winding trail. Even Elsa could see the tracks of other horses that preceded their own. She hoped those were the marks of their soldier and his villager guide. When she had a chance, she waved Kristoff to look at them as well. Leaning over Sven's neck, he peered at the snow-torn tracks. He soon nodded and held up a single thumb to let her know it was indeed them.

Suddenly the day seemed a bit brighter.

Feilan was waiting for them in a clearing not far from the crevasse's off side. As soon as she saw them, she swung her pack onto her back and began moving away. They fell into line behind her, Elsa first, leading her four horses, then Captain Beorne leading his four, then Kristoff and Sven. She glanced back at them once, and both humans waved her on.

Taking a deep breath, she rode Snofonn closer to Feilan. The horse snorted, stamped, and began chomping on his bit. When she tried to nudge him closer, he snorted again and actually did a small crowhop, taking all four hooves off the ground a moment.

Without missing a stride, Feilan glanced at them and commented, "He's a flighty one, innit he?"

Voice slightly strained with restraining a fidgety mount, it was all Elsa could do to respond, "You could say that."

Looking ahead again, Feilan grunted, "If yer determined t'keep pace w'me, ye might try actually walkin' 'stead o'ridin'."

Elsa almost growled to herself in frustration. Captain Beorn had no trouble with Krokus, so why was Snofonn giving her fits? Then again, Krokus was a very steady mare, long trained to be a soldier's mount. She would stand still even with gunfire and cannons sounding off nearby. Snofonn, meanwhile, spooked at the soft thud of snow falling. Furthermore, she recognized the fact Feilan had extended an invitation of sorts to her that had not been offered to Beorne.

With a sigh, Elsa admitted defeat and slid off the gelding's back. She smoothed snow enough to catch up to Feilan. Snofonn followed reluctantly at rein's length, the four extra horses trailing behind him.

Behind her, she could hear the snow crunch as Captain Beorne and Kristoff each rode to either side, flanking her. Whatever argument it was between the two men, they seemed in accordance over protecting their Queen. Which, of course, left her with the puzzle that was their guide. And, of course, the greater puzzle of how to have a conversation with her that would get her to open up.

Feilan glanced sideways at the Queen, then stared ahead. "Yer not what I expected in a Queen," she blurted out.

The sudden comment jerked Elsa from her circling confusion. Blinking, she said, "You are certainly… straight-forward."

"Blunt, y'mean," grunted Feilan.

Elsa smiled a little. The mountaineer's tone reminded her a little of Anna's own practical approach to things. "Yes, I suppose I do mean that."

"Good," the mountaineer muttered, staring ahead.

How in all of Arendelle was she supposed to get the woman talking? With a shake of her head, Elsa finally said what was on her mind. "I am not used to someone talking to their Queen like that. There was a woman in one of the previous villages… but she was a mother, and former employee of the castle. Even then, she used proper terms of address."

Feilan jerked her head so it bumped against her pack to gesture behind them. "Yer pet mountaineer don't."

If Elsa hadn't been halfway expecting it, she might have missed the quietly snapped, "Pet!" from Kristoff. There was even a faint snort from Captain Beorne. Trying not to laugh, she said, "Well, Kristoff is an exception. He's courting my sister, Princess Anna."

"So ye've said," the smaller woman grunted.

"Did I?" Elsa blinked several times, trying to recall when and where. So much of the past several days were fuzzy if not outright blank.

"Aye, back at th'inn. Just how hard were ye knocked on th'head?" The question was thrown out in a mocking tone, but those brown eyes searched Elsa's face and head in a familiar way. It took a moment for Elsa to realize it was a manner similar to whenever Anna suspected Elsa of hiding some ailment from her.

"Pretty hard," Elsa admitted despite herself. She tried to remember if they had discussed her head injury in front of Feilan. They must have, she assured herself. Probably just another fuzzy memory. Shaking her head, she decided to redirect the conversation. "Still, I must say it's refreshing."

That caused Feilan to stumble a little. "Being hit on the head?" she said, the thick peasant accent dropping away.

Elsa tried hard not to laugh. "Oh, no! Not that! I mean, how you address me. Or don't. Your… lack of tact, I mean. It's very refreshing."

"Heh," the mountaineer snorted, regaining her stride and accent. "Get a lot o'folks talkin' out their backsides to ya, do ye?"

"I wouldn't," Elsa choked, then tried again, "I wouldn't phrase it quite like that. But… yes."

Feilan snorted in obvious amusement.

Tilting her head, Elsa decided to let a bit of her own curiosity loose. "You said I wasn't what you expected in a Queen, earlier."

"Hmm."

"Well, what do you expect? In a Queen, I mean?" She tried to pull Snofonn closer to rub his muzzle, but the flighty horse only blew air and refused to move forward to loosen the reins.

"I dunno," Feilan shrugged in answer. "Power? Arrogance? Someone more… snobbery?"

"I'm not entirely sure that is a word," Elsa said in a careful yet pedantic tone.

"There, like that. But more so. Way more so. Watch the branch."

"Watch the – oh!" Elsa just barely ducked a wayward branch. A face full of sticky evergreen needles would not have been pleasant. She heard one of the horses rip the offending branch off for a snack.

Feilan stared at the trees in silence for the next few strides, then blurted without accent, "You don't make a secret of your uncertainty."

That caused Elsa to blink a few times. "Excuse me? My uncertainty?"

Their guide ducked her head, studying the snow that fell from her boots as she walked. "You don't have full control of your powers yet, do you?"

"Well, no, but I am learning all the time. Indeed, doing my best to make up for time lost, back when I didn't know the difference repression and self-control."

"There ya go again," Feilan grunted with a kick to the snow. "Most'd lie or even die, before admitting that. Or anything like that."

Thoughts tumbled through Elsa's head for a few quiet strides. After a few moments, she softly said, "Most probably have not nearly lost both a sister and a kingdom in the same day from making that mistake."

That caused the mountaineer to eye her sideways. "Tell me about it?" she asked in an unusually quiet voice that matched Elsa's own tone.

The fabled Snow Queen shrugged. "What is there to tell, that hasn't already been told across the kingdom? I was a fool that gave into fear. If it weren't for Anna, my sister… Arendelle would never have seen another summer. Except, perhaps maybe in my death."

"Dramatic much?" Feilan snarked, then in a gentler tone added, "I'd still like t'hear… yer side." That accent crept back in, just a little bit.

"Maybe," Elsa said curtly. She had not spoken of certain details to anyone, such as the moments in her castle when she was fending off the assassins with a near-animal savagery. Not even with Anna had she been able to talk of those moments, when nothing human seemed to exist within her. She wasn't sure she ever would.

Hearing the sharp tone, Feilan fell silent again. Boots shucked white powder from pointed toes. Behind them a small army of hooves marched through crusted snow. Elsa was struggling to find something to pick the conversation back up when the guide turned her gaze to the sky.

"D'ye think yer th'only one?" she asked in a too-offhand manner.

"Pardon?" Elsa asked, though she had heard the question clearly.

"Ye said ye couldn't control th'snow. D'ye think yer th'only one w'snow power, or d'ye think there's another one?" Feilan's gaze was still on the grey clouds overhead. How she could stare at them without tripping on winter ground, Elsa couldn't say.

Cautiously, Elsa answered, "I don't know. I'm not sure what else could cause snowstorms like the one we were caught in. Yet I've never known anyone else with powers like mine. Or any kind of powers, really."

That brought Feilan's gaze down from the sky. "What else can ye do? Besides control snow, I mean."

"What do you mean?" asked Elsa, startled.

"Can ye control other things? Like beasts? Animals?"

Elsa shook her head once, decisively. "Not that I'm aware of, and not that I'd ever want to find out. Controlling inanimate snow and ice is one thing. Controlling a thinking, living being? No. If I were to have that power… I would be happier never knowing."

"Mind yer step."

"Pardon?"

"Mind yer step. Snow's depressed ahead… usually means a bit of a dip. Could hurt or break a leg if not careful, so mind th'horses." Feilan pointed at an area just ahead where the snow formed a small hollow, then pointed to one side. "Take'em 'bout that way. I'll go this way." Over her shoulder, she said loudly, "Ye two follow either me'r her. Dip in snow. Mind th'horses."

"Gotcha!" Kristoff called back. A grunt could be heard from Captain Beorne.

Once around the hazard, Feilan picked up her questions as though there had been no interruption. "So what else can ye do, then, if not controlin' beasties?"

"Beasties?" Elsa echoed, then shook her head. All this talk of control, and it seemed she had lost control of the conversation. That needed to change, if they were going to find anything out. Well, she thought to herself, the woman did seem to appreciate bluntness. Might as well try that. "We seem to be addressing an awful lot of questions about myself. How about we turn that around, hmm? I think it's your turn to tell me about yourself."

"N'thin much t'tell," Feilan grunted, her accent thickening noticeably. She adjusted the pack so it rode high on her back. "Left home young. N'thin' bad, mind ye. Jes'too many kids at home. Seemed like there're more mouths ev'ry time turned 'round. So left. Became mountaineer, 'cause know th'mountains best. S'good work."

Watching their guide from the corner of her eye, Elsa tried a different question. "You mentioned some of the storms you got caught in… and you seem to get caught in quite a few..."

"Are ye all still on 'bout tha'? 'm a mountaineer. I travel in th'mountains. Spend most m'time there. Gettin' caught in storms s'part o'th'job description!" The accent became so thick as to almost make her words unintelligible.

"My apologies, I didn't mean it that way!" Elsa hastily backtracked, "I was just wondering if you were ever feeling anything… strongly… when the storms rolled in."

"Mebbe? Odd question. Don't 'member much afore th'actual storm hit, jes usual stuff. Heh, was even laughin' w'one o'th'merchants. Th'one that lost a horse. Good man, that. Knew some good jokes."

"Oh?" prompted Elsa.

Feilan opened her mouth, glanced at Elsa, and snapped it shut. "Er. Not exactly polite ones," she muttered.

"Oh, so you do know some tact!" Elsa nearly crowed, catching a faint flush to the mountaineer's cheeks. Those must have been some ribald jokes indeed!

"Jes'cause I know it don't mean I gotta use it!" snapped the bristling mountaineer.

Elsa smiled, chuckling silently to herself. Feilan's indignation reminded her of both Anna and Kristoff whenever they were caught in a contradiction. Lost in memories, she walked in silence for several moments before a cough from one of the men reminded her of her obligation. Time to force another conversation. In a tone that even she knew was too casual, she asked, "And any other times any of the storms came up, were you in any particular… strong mood?"

That made Feilan stare at her instead of the trail ahead. "S'weird question t'be askin'."

"I..." Oh, bother it all, Elsa thought. In for a drop of wine, in for a buttload. With a deep breath, she said, "Remember what I said about my coronation night? I was afraid. The fear made the storm, and the more afraid I was, the worse the storm."

The mountaineer turned her attention back to the snow. "So….what?" she muttered. "Ye askin' if 'm magic like you?"

"It was a possibility that had occurred to us," Elsa answered honestly. There was a kind of relief speaking that way, instead of using the usual courtly evasions. She glanced over her shoulder to check on Captain Beorne's and Kristoff's positions, then decided to go for a second buttload. "It could be an unconscious thing, something you weren't aware of." A strange hope, bright and painful, sprang forth in her heart.

Feilan snorted loudly, eyes still ahead. "I know what I'm capable, well enough. No snow powers here. Most I can do w'snow is melt it. Hand or breath or fire, same as anyone else." She cut her eyes briefly to Elsa, then amended, "Most anyone else."

That hope, so brief and brilliant, died with a painful, silent sputter. Her chest constricted about its absence. Its life was so abrupt, Elsa wasn't even sure she could have put words to it. She felt its loss keenly, however, and had to swallow past a sudden lump in her throat.

Unaware of what her words had just inflicted, Feilan continued. "Look, I get it. 'm suspicious. S'why th'villagers call me Storm Crow, really. They joke 'm a good luck charm, but most folks don't like crows. Scavengers, they are, so's people associate'em w'dead things. Bad things" The accent was nearly overridden by the rough scratch that was building in the mountaineer's voice. "Ain't no way t'prove m'self otherwise 'cept by gettin' ye t'yer castle safe as I can, as promised. An' fer all ye know, 'm doin' tha jes t'gain yer trust."

Elsa walked a few steps in silence. That painful emptiness in her chest was rapidly becoming numb. Speaking around the numbness, she stated, "Sounds like you're not very trusting, yourself."

"No reason t'be," their guide growled.

A few more steps without response, then Elsa tilted her head. "But doesn't there have to be some trust, between yourself and those you guide?"

"What're ye on about?" Feilan snorted.

"They have to trust you to lead them true, and you have to trust them to… well, to..." Elsa floundered, trying to think of how a guide would have to trust those she led.

This time Feilan's snort was more amused. "Trust'em not to rob me in m'sleep?" she offered, then humphed softly. "Eh. I s'pose that's so."

"That," the young Queen observed, "sounds like a lonely life."

Snow sprayed ahead of them as Feilan kicked a small drift. "Sometimes. Sometimes s'blessing." The pack lurched on her back as she hunched her shoulders. "Best get back on yer horse, Highness. C'min' up on some earth's easier fer horses t'walk than most people."

"Feilan, I-"

"It's yer ankles, Highness."

Taking the ungentle hint, Elsa stopped Snofonn. She watched Feilan forge ahead, puzzled by the sting of her title coming from the mountaineer's mouth. With a sigh she mounted Snofonn and waited for Beorne and Kristoff to swerve close. "Feilan says there's rough terrain ahead," she said before either man could question her. "Advised me to get back on my horse or else risk broken ankles."

Kristoff nodded. "I was about to say something, when I saw you stop your horse. Can tell by the way the snow gets all stubbly up ahead. Glad to know she noticed that."

Captain Beorne frowned thoughtfully. "Did she say anything else… of import?"

Elsa shook her head slowly, then peered at each man. "You didn't hear our conversation?"

"Only some of it," the Captain said with a shrug. "For the most part, both of you were speaking in low tones."

Kristoff also shrugged, lifting his hands with his palms up. "I wasn't listening all that closely. Been tryin' to keep an eye and ear out for any possible predators." He gestured to Elsa and Beorne's strings of horses. "Even as tightly grouped as we've been, those guys could be pretty tempting. Guess she didn't have much to say, huh?"

Casting her eyes to where Feilan forged the trail ahead, Elsa asked absently, "Are all you mountaineers so… blunt?"

That made Kristoff laugh. "Pretty much? Comes from spending most of our time alone. That, and animals value honesty." He leaned forward to pat Sven on his neck. Both mountaineer and reindeer smiled happily.

"And you think people don't?" Captain Beorne asked stiffly.

Kristoff shrugged and evenly replied, "Good people do."

Elsa thought she was going to have to intervene between the men again when a sharp whistle pierced the air. Horses startled and whinnied, hooves trampling the snow. Hands scrabbled for reins and knees pressed against equine sides. A few moments later, with order reestablished, all three people began looking around for the source of the sound.

Feilan stood a startling distance away, fists on hips. "Now that I've got yer attention," she shouted, "mayhaps ye'll get a move on? There's a stand o'trees a ways ahead I'd like t'reach afore dark, if it pleases yeh?" Without waiting for them to follow, she spun about and stalked through the snow.

"Good people?" Captain Beorne quipped.

"Good doesn't always mean nice," said Kristoff. "Just like nice doesn't always mean good." He bumped Sven's sides with his heels so man and reindeer took off across the snow to catch up with Feilan.

They set up camp among a thick stand of pine trees. Once again Elsa cleared the snow, although she was aware of Captain Beorne's flinch whenever her snow brushed him. She was also aware of Feilan's steady stare. Even Kristoff jerked his head in surprise when she moved some snow he was about to brush away. Only the animals seemed indifferent to her magical assistance. In their own way, they were even grateful as she cleared enough ground for them to forage.

Both mountaineers eyed the sky above and predicted more snow. Captain Beorne responded by unloading the small tent materials from various saddlebags. Elsa startled Kristoff further by requesting he teach her how to set up her own tent. He seemed both puzzled and pleased by the request and set to guiding her through the process. More often than not she could feel the stares of the other two members of their party as she struggled with pegs and rope. Once she was done, she stood back to view her accomplishment.

It was ragged and lopsided, but Kristoff pronounced it usable. In an odd way, Elsa was pleased he didn't try to improve her work. She turned to Feilan. "Will this be acceptable shelter?" she asked.

The smaller woman jerked her head back like a startled horse. "What?" she blurted.

Elsa gestured to the tent. "We don't have enough tents for all of us. I thought we would share this one? Or do you have one of your own?"

"I jes use th'snow," Feilan grunted, then looked around the cleared sight. "Or I usually do. But blankets'll do."

"Don't be ridiculous! You'll freeze!" Without realizing it, a commanding note creeped into her tone.

The smaller mountaineer bristled. "I know how t'take care o'm'self, Highness. Ye c'n ask yer pet mountaineer, if ye don't b'lieve me. Blankets catch heat. An'it won't get that cold!"

Elsa drew breath to issue a command when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Startled enough to create small snowflakes about her, she turned to face Kristoff. The larger mountaineer glanced at the glittering bits of snow, then met Elsa's eyes. "She's right. Our leathers and the blankets will keep us warm enough. You and the Captain, though, will probably be better off sleeping in the tents."

"I…," she started, but honestly wasn't sure what to say.

Kristoff chuckled. "You take care of an entire country. Let us take of ourselves." He patted her shoulder and walked over to Sven.

Elsa reached up to touch the shoulder he had patted. She was still so unused to physical contact from anyone other than Anna, it could chase all other thoughts from her mind. It took her several minutes to recover thought. With a start she looked around. Captain Beorne was busying himself with his tent, his broad shoulders stiff as he worked. Feilan was staring steadily at her, her round, sharp-boned face oddly devoid of expression.

"I…," Elsa tried again.

"'m gonna start us a fire," Feilan grunted. "C'n bank th'embers so they'll be warm fer th'mornin'." Without further comment she began walking the parameters of the camp, picking up stray bits of wood that had been caught up in Elsa's earlier snow cleaning.

It was beginning to look as though the evening would be as tense as the midday rest had been.

Lovely.