Winter's Echo
Chapter Four - Dive Down Deep Into Her Sound
Elsa awoke only once to nature's call around dinner time and Honeymaren took the opportunity to prepare another bowl of broth for the queen, thinking it best to give her more time before she tried to eat anything solid. The exhausted winter spirit had immediately laid back down after happily finishing it while Honeymaren washed their empty bowls and refreshed the fire. By the time she had turned back around, Elsa had already drifted easily back to dreamland. The Northuldran watched the queen sleep for a few moments, an adoring smile on her lips before she laid down next to her and settled in for the night. She had spent nearly the entire day in the lavvo with Elsa as she slept, adamant that the woman would not wake up alone.
Honeymaren had woken with the sun the next morning and was surprised to find that Elsa had yet to stir. She had been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours now, so she assumed she was correct that Elsa had, indeed, not slept at all - most likely since she had arrived at the forest. She delicately moved around the slumbering spirit to tend to the fire, then froze when the queen groaned slightly. The Northuldran turned to see that the blonde's brow was furrowed, her face pushed into the pillow as though she was cringing away from something. Clearly, the queen was slipping into a nightmare and Honeymaren was not about to let that happen. Though she was loathe to interrupt her rest, the noaide would not let Elsa's subconscious mind attack her while she was there to help.
Honeymaren placed her hand on Elsa's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Elsa," she called to her softly. The spirit stirred but didn't wake, instead grasping fistfuls of the fur she laid upon, her brow furrowing even deeper. "Elsa," she said more firmly, giving the queen's shoulder a light shake. Icy blue eyes opened with a gasp, her head jerking up from the pillow and looking around wildly for a moment. A warm feeling bloomed in the brunette's chest when she saw Elsa immediately calm the moment crystalline eyes found hers and Honeymaren grinned at her. The queen blushed slightly, a small, bashful grin lighting her sleepy features. "Good morning," she murmured, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes and rubbing the sleep away.
Honeymaren smiled widely at Elsa, finding her waking antics absolutely adorable. When the queen caught the Northuldran grinning at her, she laughed good-naturedly and buried her face into the pillow, groaning. "Don't make fun of me, I just woke up," she whined, pulling the fur up closer around her. Honeymaren laughed openly at the tired woman. "I wouldn't dream of it, spirit," she teased. Elsa chuckled and slowly sat up, attempting to smooth down her hair. "I must look a mess," she mumbled as she ran her fingers through her sleep tousled tresses. "I respectfully disagree with you, Your Majesty," the noaide said warmly. Elsa looked up to meet the brunette's eyes, seeing a look there she couldn't quite place that made her blush.
The spirit cleared her throat, glancing away shyly before noticing the light streaming in from the opening of the lavvo. "Thank you for waking me," she said genuinely. "I would have felt guilty if I slept through the morning." Honeymaren smiled, taking the opportunity to stretch as she spoke. "Well, I was going to offer for you to join me today to see a bit about how we live-" she began, but was interrupted when Elsa nodded eagerly and moved to stand, causing the noaide to raise her hand, making the blonde pause. "But," she continued seriously, "you have been sleeping for nearly an entire day, save for when you woke to eat. That means you are going to be a little weak. I will take you, but you must promise to tell me if you are struggling. Can I trust you to be honest with me?"
Elsa smiled at Honeymaren's concern. She had to commend the Northuldran on her clever wordplay; the pointed question reminded Elsa that, should she tell the woman she felt fine to prevent the noaide from worrying, the brunette would find it a breach of trust between the women. A breach, the spirit assumed, that would not be forgiven lightly. "I feel much better, thanks to you, Honeymaren," she replied. "I'm more than ready to be a part of this place, but I promise I will let you know if I need help." Honeymaren smiled at her eagerness and nodded. "Alright, then. Let me take you to my favorite spot to get cleaned up."
Honeymaren grabbed two large pelts and two bars of what looked like soap attached to woven pieces of rope and stepped out of the lavvo, holding it open for the queen. Elsa smiled and followed the Northuldran into the clearing. When they walked past the main fire and started to head into the woods, the wintery spirit raised an eyebrow. "Um...where are we going, exactly?" Honeymaren smiled at the queen over her shoulder. "A place to clean up," she answered simply, purposely not answering her real question. "Don't you need to warm water, first?" Elsa questioned. "I mean, I personally don't mind the cold, but any water you find out here would be freezing for you, wouldn't it?"
Honeymaren grinned and turned around to face the wintery spirit, walking backwards. "You really don't like being kept in the dark, do you, Snowflake?"Elsa blushed at the nickname, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly and turning her nose up at the smug woman. "I do not." The Northuldran laughed and turned back around, walking up to a massive rock. "Don't worry, Your Majesty," she teased. "We're here," she said before disappearing behind it. Elsa blinked and jogged to catch up to the brunette, gasping as she emerged on the other side of the rock.
Down a slight hill was a large valley littered by columns of steam rising from variously sized pools of water. Scattered amongst them were dozens of large, smooth boulders. "Hot springs," Elsa whispered to herself. "It's a valley of hot springs." Her whole body nearly shivered at the thought of a hot soak. The sound of chuckling next to her made her turn her head, finding Honeymaren leaned up against the rock that hid the treasure from view. The tan woman was grinning from ear to ear, clearly pleased with herself and Elsa's reaction. She held her arm out in front of her in invitation. "Spirits first," she teased.
Elsa grinned and jogged down the hill, Honeymaren following her at a more sedate pace. She was happy to watch the queen excitedly walk amongst the different springs, occasionally laying her hand against a warm boulder and closing her eyes blissfully. "Psst," she called the queen's attention to her, jerking her head to the left to indicate the blonde should follow. Honeymaren led her to a particularly large spring, laying one pelt on a boulder nearby. "I'll be over that way," she said with a smile, pointing to a large boulder several yards away. "Come and get me when you're all done, alright?" She held up one of the ropes with a bar of soap attached to it and offered it to Elsa, who took it with a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Honeymaren smiled and nodded, turning to walk away. "Honeymaren," the wintery spirit called after a split second hesitation. The brunette turned around to glance at the queen questioningly. "I mean it...thank you," she repeated. "Not just for this," she said, gesturing about the valley. "But for everything. For last night, for helping me when I was beyond help, for...for everything. Thank you, Maren." The Northuldran smiled warmly at Elsa's heartfelt gratitude and the nickname. "You're most welcome, Elsa. I care very much about your happiness." Elsa's smile fell a bit at that response. "Because I'm the fifth spirit," she said more than asked. Honeymaren smiled, reaching out to gently lift the queen's chin. "No, Snowflake," she reassured her. "Because you are an amazing, talented, kind, and worthwhile person that deserves to be happy more than anyone I've ever met." Elsa smiled, lowering her gaze shyly for a moment before looking earnestly into warm, brown eyes. "Thank you," she said again.
Honeymaren smiled at Elsa one last time before turning around and giving the blonde some privacy. "Enjoy your soak, Your Majesty," she called over her shoulder. The queen smiled to herself, watching the Northuldran walk away to her own private relaxation. Once she was out of sight, Elsa turned back to the inviting water and grinned in anticipation. She slowly waved a pale hand down her body, her icy outfit dissipating as she did and dipped her toes in the warm water to test the temperature. Slowly, the winter spirit waded into the hot spring, moaning in pleasure as she sank down onto a natural ledge that left the water as high as her chin. It was perfect, she thought as she closed her eyes and let the hot water melt away the tension in her muscles.
For the first time in longer than she cared to admit, Elsa's thoughts drifted to truly random, unstressed pondering as she began to wash herself. She wondered if Nokk had the potential to suddenly appear in one of these hot springs, or if the earth giants preferred the hot or the cold, or if Bruni even liked water. Shouldn't Bruni and Nokk be mortal enemies, being fire and water? He seemed to adore her just fine. Who would win should a catastrophic battle take place between the two? Elsa giggled at the image of a feisty Bruni spitting a poorly aimed fireball at an unimpressed Nokk.
Thinking about the other spirits reminded Elsa about the story Honeymaren had told her about the origins of the Northuldra and the woman called Noaide. Honeymaren had said that a noaide was a healer, a protector, and a leader. She wondered to what capacity the woman was a leader of the Northuldra. Elsa had been given the impression that Yelana was the leader, but couldn't recall a time when the older woman hadn't deferred to the noaide's judgement. Even on the day they had met, it was Honeymaren that had addressed the party, demanding Anna lower her icy weapon. The story about the noaide being imbued with special gifts from the spirits that gave him or her an innate ability for connection and healing certainly helped to explain why Honeymaren could always seem to anticipate what the blonde needed, even when she herself had no idea.
Elsa dunked her head in the spring and began washing her hair, painstakingly cleansing the tresses that pooled around her; she wanted her hair to be as soft and silky as possible should Honeymaren decide to run her fingers through it again. Her own fingers froze mid-stroke and her icy eyes went wide. Where had that thought come from? Though her face was already red from the heat of the spring, she was sure she now more closely resembled a tomato than a winter spirit. Elsa shook her head furiously, rinsing the soap from her hair and stood, wading back to land - this hot spring was relaxing her a little too much. She dried herself roughly with the pelt Honeymaren had left and quickly waved her hand, replacing her icy outfit. The antsy queen flung the pelt she had used to dry herself over her shoulder and made her way over to where she had last seen Honeymaren.
She squeezed the excess water from her hair as she walked, muttering to herself. "We're just friends. She's just trying to make me feel welcome and I'm just missing Anna. That's it. I'm not attracted to her, I'm just...I'm just confused from all that's happened." Elsa heard a splash and paused, coming to a stop next to the large boulder she had seen the Northuldran disappear around. The winter spirit looked around for the source of the sound. She didn't see anything, including Honeymaren. Just as she was about to call out for her, a large splashing sound came from the spring several yards in front of the boulder she was next to. She turned around just in time to see Honeymaren's head break the surface of a much deeper pool, gasping for breath. She immediately swam for the shore, dragging a thick bundle of long, deep green grasses along with her. Just as Elsa instinctually began to move to help, the dark-haired woman found the bank of the massive spring and stood up in the thigh deep water.
Elsa froze where she stood, her heart leaping into her throat as her face burst into flame. Water flowing from dark tresses ran in rivulets down the Northuldran's beautiful, sculpted curves. Dew drops made perfectly smooth, tan skin sparkle in the sunlight, collecting in tiny dimples at the elegant curve at the base of the brunette's spine. Honeymaren turned slightly, giving the queen a clear, unobstructed view of the noaide's nudeprofile and the blonde squeaked, ducking behind the boulder she was next to just as the woman turned her head in her direction. Elsa put her hands on her burning face, her breathing heavy and her heart beating wildly in her chest.
"Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods, get ahold of yourself Elsa!" the queen whispered to herself in a panic. She closed her eyes tightly, but the image of the gorgeous, nude Northuldran was forever burned into her mind. The queen leaned heavily against the boulder and covered her mouth with her hand, trying to quiet her breathing. Elsa leaned her head back against the boulder and took a deep, steadying breath. "Well," she muttered to herself under her breath. "So much for not being attracted to her..."
"Are you okay, Elsa?"
The blonde yelped and jumped away from the boulder in surprise, whipping around to find a fully clothed Honeymaren watching her with an amused smirk, a large bundle of wet grass laying on the ground next to her. The Northuldran's hair hung in a wet curtain over her shoulder as she mirthfully eyed the twitchy queen, a knowing smile making her eyes sparkle mischievously.
'Oh by the Gods, she saw me,' Elsa thought in horror.
She tried to speak, but when only a strangled squeak came out she immediately cleared her throat and spoke again. "Uh, er, yes. Sorry, you just...caught me off guard. What's with the grass?" Elsa asked far too eagerly in a blatant attempt to change the subject. Honeymaren bit her lip to try to stifle the grin on her pretty features, though she succeeded more in drawing the blonde's gaze to their fullness than in curbing the expression. "It's a treat for the reindeer," she explained. "It only grows in a few of these hot springs so I try to bring a bunch back with me anytime I come here."
Honeymaren stepped closer to the wound up spirit, stopping directly in front of her and smiling coyly. "So...did you enjoy yourself, Elsa?" she asked. Something about the way the brunette said her name sent a delicious shiver up the queen's spine while making her throat go impossibly dry. Elsa swallowed thickly, trying to make her voice work. "W-what?" Honeymaren raised an amused eyebrow. "The hot springs. Did it feel good?" The wintery spirit blinked owlishly at her for a moment before understanding dawned in her slightly glazed eyes. "Yes!" Elsa answered a little too loudly, her voice cracking a bit. She cleared her throat again and made another attempt. "Yes, thank you," she said more normally. "It was beautiful-WONDERFUL! It-it was wonderful," she corrected.
The winter spirit was ready to run back to Ahtohallan and never show her face again, considering it was redder than her sister's hair. Honeymaren giggled quietly, retrieving her grassy bundle before walking back the direction they had come. "Good," she said with a smile. As she passed Elsa, she paused and spoke in a quieter, lower tone. "I'm glad you enjoyed the view out here, Elsa." The dark-haired woman winked playfully at her before continuing on the path, leaving the stunned queen in a flustered mess behind her. "Come on, spirit, we've got chores to do!" Honeymaren called, throwing a flirtatious grin over her shoulder. Elsa could do nothing more than follow the far too observant noaide, wondering the entire trip back to the encampment how high of a cliff she would need to throw herself off of to end her embarrassment.