Winter's Echo
Chapter Nineteen - Solace and Service
Anna jerked upright at the sound of insistent knocking on the door of her study, rousing her from her unintended nap. She wiped the thin trail of drool from her chin, groaning a bit at the blurred ink that marred the letter she had been writing when she fell asleep, the elegant script destroyed by a small puddle of drool. Anna sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, calling out for the person to enter as she tossed the ruined letter into the trash can next to her desk. Anna looked up to see Kai enter rather breathlessly, giving a hasty bow before addressing his queen. "Your Majesty, you are needed upstairs. Queen Elsa just arrived moments ago and I fear something is very wrong, she is quite distressed," he rushed out, holding the door open for Anna who was already speeding past him, the skirt of her dress hiked up in her hands.
"What's wrong, did she say what happened?! Is she hurt?!" Anna asked frantically as she ran down the hall, Kai trying to follow as best he could. "She didn't speak, Your Majesty. She doesn't appear injured, but she's quite distraught," he panted out as they finally reached the door to Elsa's bedroom where Anna stood staring down at the floor. Stark white frost was creeping beneath the door, the beautiful crystalline pattern crawling across the door itself and the walls around it. Kai was right - something was very, very wrong. "Kai," Anna said quietly, not taking her eyes off the spreading frost. "Keep everyone away from his hall. Cancel anything going on for the next couple days. I don't care what it is, short of Arendelle burning or going to war, the council is to deal with it. Is that clear?"
Kai nodded, looking nervously from Anna to the quickly freezing door. "Your Majesty, are you sure-" Anna held up her hand to silence him. "Please, Kai. Do as I ask. I will see to my sister," she said, giving him a small, reassuring smile. "Please don't worry." Kai hesitated only a moment longer before nodding, walking away to see to his duties and clear Anna's schedule. Anna took a deep breath, her mind racing as she tried to think of what could possibly happen to put Elsa in a state like this. Her heart constricted painfully in her chest at the thought of Honeymaren being hurt, or...something worse...but that didn't make sense - Elsa wouldn't leave the Northuldran's side if that was the case.
Anna gently tapped out her signature knock on the icy door. "Elsa? Sweetheart?" she called gently. When she received no answer, Anna took a deep breath and pulled her sleeve over her hand to grasp the icy handle, a tiny sigh of relief escaping her as the knob twisted - the door was unlocked. Anna grunted slightly when she tried to push the door open, only for it to barely budge. She twisted the knob again experimentally, ensuring it truly was unlocked before trying again, pushing harder this time. The creaking sound of ice reached her ears and Anna realized the door was frosted shut. "Elsa...?! Elsa, answer me!" Anna called again, her voice slightly more panicked as she pushed harder. Finally, the redhead gave a mighty heave and the door finally moved, the hinges groaning under the strain of the movement in the cold.
Anna immediately began shivering in the sub-zero temperature. The room was bright white as a thick layer of frost covered it from wall to wall, her following gasp coming out in stark white puff in the freezing room. Teal eyes were searching the room for her magical sister when the sound of soft sobbing reached the redhead's ears, drawing her attention to the open doors of the balcony. Elsa was on her knees and nearly folded in on herself, her face buried in her hands as she wept. "Elsa!" Anna cried and rushed over to her, all thoughts of moving slowly and carefully gone from her mind in an instant as she ran to her distraught sister's side, sliding to her knees in front of her and putting her hands on her shoulders. "Elsa, what's wrong?! Are you hurt?!" Anna asked in a panicked voice, her hands trailing over Elsa searchingly, looking for any indication of a wound or a physical struggle.
Elsa's head lifted slowly at the touch and Anna's heart shattered when she saw the red, tear-streaked face of her beloved sister. Eyes that were always so bright and intelligent were darkened with distress and red-rimmed from grief; white-gold hair that always seemed to lay so perfectly was disheveled and wind-blown. "Anna," Elsa whispered through her tears. "Anna, I've done something terrible..." Anna reached out to brush Elsa's hair from her face, shushing her gently. "It's okay, sweetheart, whatever it is we can fix it together. We always do, right?" Elsa shook her head vehemently, her eyes screwing shut tightly. "I broke my promise...Anna, I lost her...I lost her, I lost her..." Elsa began to sob once more, chanting the words over and over. The redheaded queen tried to cup her face to get her to focus to no avail. She pulled the inconsolable woman into her arms as the winter spirit cried out in heart-wrenching agony, collapsing into her sister's arms and clinging to her in desperation. Tears welled in Anna's eyes as she tried her best to pull Elsa tightly against her, nearly cradling her in her lap and rocking her back and forth, whispering soothingly to her. "I'm here, Elsa, it's going to be alright. We will figure everything out, I promise," she cooed, pressing gentle kisses on her head.
The two sisters stayed wrapped up in each other for a long while as Elsa finally cried herself out, Anna's shivering finally registering with her. With a wave of her hand, the frost began to recede, though quite slowly. Anna eyed the snail-like pace of her sister's magic worriedly. "Elsa," she began gently. "Tell me what's wrong. I can't help if you don't tell me." Elsa closed her eyes, tears once more beginning to stream down her face as she told Anna everything. She didn't bother editing out the details of their relationship - the memories of it were all the blonde queen had left of it anymore. She broke down several more times during her tale, nearly unable to recover when Anna's hand flew to her mouth in horror when she told her how Honeymaren's parents had died.
"I couldn't bear the thought of being alone in my ice palace, so...I came here," she finished in a whisper, her head hanging in shame and grief, tears dipping onto the stone of the balcony. "Anna...what do I do?" Elsa whispered hoarsely, her whole body trembling. Anna wiped away her own tears before standing up, sniffling as she reached down and offered her hand to her sister. Elsa looked up tearfully, staring at the offered hand for a moment before looking back up at Anna. "The next right thing," Anna said calmly, reaching her hand closer. "Come on, Elsa. Get up," she ordered gently. Elsa closed her eyes briefly, trying to gather the strength to move before finally reaching up to take her sister's hand, allowing the redhead to pull her from the ground.
"You're going to do exactly what you told her you would do, Elsa," Anna continued, gathering Elsa's hands in her own and squeezing them gently. "You're going to give her the time she needs to think and then you are going to go home to her and make it right." Elsa shook her head slowly, the very idea of facing her again beginning to overwhelm her. "I killed her parents, Anna..." she whispered, staring blankly ahead. "No," Anna replied firmly, cupping Elsa's cheek with one hand and trying to guide blue eyes back to her. "Disease was already killing them. They were suffering, Elsa, and your winter was a mercy. You saved Honeymaren's life! She would be dead right now if it wasn't for you and you would never have seen her again - Ryder never would have seen his sister again. I refuse to let you think that what you did was wrong, the stupid laws of nature be damned!"
Elsa simply stared at Anna with an empty expression that chilled the redhead to her core. "Come on," she said gently, wrapping an arm around her sister's waist and beginning to slowly lead her to her bedroom. "You're staying in my room tonight." Anna was not going to let Elsa out of her sight for a moment. She knew exactly what that cold, empty, and numb look meant. It was the look of someone who had just lost their will - to hope, to fight, to even live. The redhead was all too recently familiar with the feeling, but she would not allow her sister to go through it alone as she was forced to. "I'm going to be with you through everything, Elsa," she reassured her sister as she led her to the bed in her room, pulling back the covers and bidding Elsa to lie down. The blonde queen shook her head, knowing the impossibly fragile hold she had on herself would shatter the moment she laid down. Forcing herself to physically stand was the only link to her last shred of strength. Her tears began flowing once more when Anna instead climbed in bed first and very gently tugged her sister to her. Despite her half-hearted refusal, Elsa offered no resistance as she was pulled close, her head tucked beneath her sister's chin and cradled against her as she began to quietly sob. Anna said nothing, instead pulling the blankets over them before gently rubbing her hand up and down Elsa's back. All she could do for her beloved sister now was simply be present with her.
After an hour or so, Elsa had finally cried herself into exhaustion, sleep mercifully embracing her and allowing her what looked to be a dreamless sleep. Anna sighed and ran her fingers through her sister's hair, her ministrations slowly returning it to its normal untangled, silky state. A sudden, quiet rattling sound made Anna's head snap toward her window, her eyes narrowed in suspicion when she didn't see anything. The redhead had dismissed it as the wind when the sound came again, a bit louder this time. Sitting up carefully, she peered through the darkness as best she could. It was definitely the wind rattling the lock to her balcony doors, but something seemed off. Her eyes widened when she realized why - the trees weren't moving. The wind was only at her balcony door,which could only mean one thing.
"Gale!" she whispered, quickly and carefully untangling herself from her sister so as not to wake her and rushing over to the door. She opened it just enough to sneak out and close it right behind her, Gale immediately whirling around her and toying with her hair with what Anna took to be a quiet, affectionate whistle. Anna smiled a bit at the wind spirit. "You're here to check on Elsa," she said it's a sigh. "She's not handling what happened well at all, Gale. I'm really worried about her. How is Honeymaren?" Anna asked, though she knew Gale could not answer her. Though Anna had a connection with the spirits by virtue of being part of the destined bridge, only Elsa had the ability to communicate with them directly. Anna's connection only allowed her to touch and interact with them easily, even somewhat feel their presence and moods at times.
Anna sighed as Gale's breeze gently blew across her face, a sense of melancholy coming over her. "She must be worried," Anna mumbled, running her fingers through her hair before an idea struck her. "Gale, could you bring her a message from me? Like you do with Elsa and I?" The wind spirit gusted around her with a quiet whistle that Anna took to be a yes. "Okay, I'm going to leave the door open but she finally fell asleep so make sure you don't wake her," she said as she quietly opened the door, leaving it ajar for the wind spirit to enter if she wished while she went to the small desk in her room and pulled out a piece of stationary and a pen. Gale blew ever so softly across Elsa's tear-stained face, causing the winter spirit to sigh softly and snuggle a bit deeper into her pillow as Anna sat at the desk, her fountain pen hovering over the blank parchment.
Anna was unsure of what to say. If she were honest, she was upset with the Northuldran she nearly considered family at this point. She knew she had no right to be, it was the circumstances that were unfortunate, but to see her sister in such pain...Anna shook her head slightly, taking a calming breath before putting pen to paper.
'Elsa is safe with me in Arendelle. I will take care of her, so please don't worry. Take care of yourself for her sake.
Anna.'
The young queen folded her note carefully as she always did with an extra piece of parchment for a potential reply, making sure it would be easy for Gale to usher it along its way before lifting it up in offering. "Please take this to her," she asked the wind spirit quietly. "And please come back and get me if she needs anything. I hope, for their sakes, the answer to this mess comes quickly."
Gale rushed about the redhead affectionately before the bird-shaped note in her palms fluttered out of her hand, racing around the room for a moment before soaring out of the open door of the balcony and into the night. Anna watched it fly away into the darkness, chewing her bottom lip in worry before turning to look back at her sister. The blonde's still, tightly curled form on the bed made Anna's heart ache as she returned to her side, kneeling next to the bed and gently running her fingers through her sister's white-gold locks. "Why can't the Gods just let you be happy," she muttered darkly to the sleeping spirit. "You deserve so much better than the struggles this world has given you. I hoped so desperately the enchanted forest would be different..." Anna trailed off as a small hope lit inside her heart, the tiniest of smiles tugging at the corner of her lips. "Then again, maybe your ability to hurt this deeply is a gift...because it means you've finally found the true love you just as deeply deserve," she mused before leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to Elsa's forehead, sending a silent prayer to every God she knew that her beloved sister's love would not end in tragedy.
Honeymaren stared blankly into the fire blazing in front of her, lost in thought as she replayed the events of the last day over and over in her head. The night had come and gone, the first light of dawn already beginning to rouse the others from sleep, though the noaide took no notice. Images of beautiful pools of blue flashed through her mind, filled with passion, love, and adoration before morphing into fear, anger, hopelessness, and desperation. The worst of all was the grim acceptance just before the beautiful spirit rode away. A silent, lonely tear trekked its way down her cheek as she closed her eyes, hanging her head. Everything Elsa had feared, everything the dark-haired woman had promised her would never happen had come true. Honeymaren promised she would never let Elsa believe she wasn't loved, that there was nowhere she could go that the noaide would not follow, yet here they were. She ran her fingers through her loose, dark hair, angrily wiping away the wet evidence of her failure from her cheek. She was so stupid, what was she thinking? She should never have let Elsa leave. She should have begged her, forced her to stay so she could explain-
A sudden, sharp whistling sound reached the distressed Northuldran's ears and pulled her out of her self-berating spiral, her head whipping up as a spark of hope flared to life in her heart. If Gale was so near, then it wasn't a stretch for Elsa to be as well. Maybe she had come back! Honeymaren jumped up from the log she was sitting on and looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint the location of the invisible wind spirit before she saw something floating through the bare trees. Her heart sank a bit when she realized it was a note before flickering to life once more when she realized it must be from Elsa. Honeymaren stumbled over her own feet in the snow, feeling having left them from sitting still for so long as she hurried to meet Gale, reaching out gratefully to catch the paper bird. "Thank you, Great Spirit, thank you!" she said with a quick bow before cold fingers fumbled to open it, her eyes quickly scanning the message it held.
Honeymaren's face fell as she read the polite, blunt message from the younger queen, her hand slowly falling to her side. The pieces of parchment fell from her slack fingers and fluttered to the snow as the Northuldran's shoulders began to shake. Honeymaren sank to her knees in the thick, white cold, her head hanging as tears finally began to freely fall. She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that before a firm hand gripped her shoulder, her head slowly lifting to see who had managed to approach her so soundlessly. "Get up, noaide," commanded Yelana."You are better than this." Honeymaren bit her lip hard, taking a silent breath to push away her grief before standing, a mask of calm indifference slipping into place. "Yes," she answered simply, staring ahead.
A heavy bag was pushed into her arms, making her stumble ever so slightly in surprise as she looked down at the traveling bag Yelana had just given her. She opened it a bit and looked inside curiously. Flint, a blade, twine, dried meats - provisions for a several day journey. "A great war rages inside of you, Honeymaren. You owe it to the spirits to end it as quickly as possible," she said firmly, bending down to retrieve the fallen parchments and placing them inside the bag before closing it again. When Honeymaren simply nodded, strong, wrinkled fingers hooked under her chin, guiding her to look into wise, light green eyes. "All of the spirits," she said more gently, the subtle clarification softening stormy brown eyes. "Times are changing, noaide, and only you can decide which path we will take. You cannot make that decision surrounded by her memory in this camp." Honeymaren nodded again, draping the pack across her shoulder.
Yelana's warm hand moved upward to cup the noaide's cheek affectionately, a sad smile on her lips. "The burden of your destiny is heavy, but you alone were granted the strength to bear it with grace and the heart to carry it for the sake of others. I am proud of you, Granddaughter." Honeymaren returned the sad smile and pressed her hand against the one on her cheek, closing her eyes and savoring its warmth for a moment. "Thank you, Grandmother," she whispered. "Tell Ryder I will see him in a few days, please," she said before turning and walking away into the forest.
Honeymaren hadn't needed to take a spiritual journey since she first became a noaide. Once she had understood what and who she was, she had welcomed the chance to help her people with open arms, glad for the purpose her destiny brought to her life. In the beginning, it was difficult for her to decipher which emotions were hers and which she was feeling from the people around her. Going out into the forest alone was the only way for her to regain a sense of peace. As the months and years passed, she grew beautifully into the role she was born to play, her deeper connection to those around her becoming as natural as breathing. As she trekked into the forest now, her heart was heavy with a different burden.
Yelana was right. Back in the encampment, she was surrounded by a thousand reminders of the woman she loved. For hours she laid upon her bedroll and stared at the patch of sky in the lavvo they shared - it was the only place she could look where she could not see a ghost of the winter spirit laughing, smiling...in her loving embrace. She finally had to leave the warmth of her lavvo to escape the blonde's natural, calming scent that surrounded her and reminded her of a crisp winter breeze through the pines. She breathed deeply of the fresh, winter air, releasing a small stream of smoke as she exhaled slowly. The only sound around her was the crunching of her footsteps in the snow as she made her way ever deeper into the forest to search her soul for answers she was terrified to have.
The noaide didn't know how much time passed out in the solitude of the forest. She lost track of the hours in states of deep meditation and self-reflection. She lost track of the days when her lack of appetite stretched her rations longer than they should have lasted. She sat at the edge of a cliff overlooking where the dam that eventually entwined her destiny with Elsa's once stood, the mighty river now flowing freely through the fjord. She dangled her feet over the edge, staring into the uninterrupted vastness of the wilderness. Most people felt intimidated by sights such as these, but the infinite reach of the horizon brought the dark-haired woman comfort. It helped her remember how small she was and gave her perspective on the problems she and her people faced. When she had questions that seemed too insurmountable to answer, it reminded her of what was important...truly important.
As Honeymaren gazed at the unending beauty of her ancestral lands, the icy grip of indecision slowly began to loosen it's hold. Like a slow exhale, the pressure in Honeymaren's heart and soul began to drain from her, leaving behind a cacophony of emotions in it's wake. While the emotions were quite conflicting, they had finally untangled themselves from chaos and brought balance back to the noaide's soul. She felt sorrow for the loss of the future she had once so desperately sought, but also peace that her decision was the right one. She felt uncertainty in the future that now lay ahead of her, but also steadfast resolution that the path she had chosen was the one she was meant to follow from the beginning. Finally, she felt a no small amount of nervousness at the immensity of the decision she had made, but also a deep sense of relief...for made her decision was and life could now continue on how it was meant to.
With a deep, purposeful sigh, Honeymaren reached into her bag and pulled out her flint and some tinder she had collected and dried on her first day. She piled the tinder with a few dried twigs and struck the flint with practiced ease, a small flame quickly flaring to life. Honeymaren pulled out her father's dagger, eyeing it thoughtfully for a long moment, wondering if he would be proud of her choices before taking one of the thicker burning twigs and pulling it from the fire, blowing out the flame on the end and whittling it to a sharp point with her blade. She stuck the sharp end back into the flame for a few moments before pulling it out and snuffing the flame again. She tested the point with her fingertip before replacing it in the fire, repeating the process twice more to harden the point. Once she was satisfied with the hard, blackened tip, she rifled through the contents of her pouch once more until she found the parchment Yelana had retrieved for her before she left. She pulled it out and read the note Anna wrote her again. Over and over her eyes scanned the message before she dropped it decisively into the flame next to her, watching blankly as it burned away to ash before she began to scrawl out a reply.
"Gale?" she called across the gorge as she bent down to pack up her things. Every few moments she would pause and cup her hands around her mouth, calling out to the wind spirit. "Gale, are you there?" Scant minutes later, a strong breeze began to rustle through the trees, a tell-tale whistling sound heralding the spirit's arrival. Gale bustled around Honeymaren, toying with her long, dark chocolate tresses. The noaide smiled and bowed her head in reverence to the wind spirit. "Great Spirit, I need your help," she said, offering up a carefully folded note in her palm. "Please...could you take this to Queen Anna in Arendelle?" Gale blew affectionately around the Northuldran for a moment before quickly scooping up the note and whisking it away across the fjord. Honeymaren watched for a long moment until the note and the breeze that carried it disappeared into the distance before draping her pack over her shoulder and walking back into the forest.
It had been eleven days since the night Elsa had arrived in Arendelle. Anna sighed as she watched her sister from her bedroom balcony. The melancholy blonde had barely spoken a word to anyone since that first night when she confessed everything to Anna, spending most of her time alone in the same spot she was now. Elsa sought solace in solitude sitting atop one of the large boulders that lined the shore hugging the castle, staring out across the fjord in the direction of the enchanted forest or contemplating her reflection in the dark water below.
The first few nights had been rough, to the say the least. Anna didn't leave her sister's side once for three solid days until she was convinced Elsa had come to grips with the possibility of her new reality and a future that would accompany it. It had been three of the worst days of her life, which was saying something for the hell the sisters had lived through. Nearly any time Anna spent apart from her sister, the blonde spent alone in silent contemplation. Not even Olaf or the amiable General Mattias were able to pull anything beyond a small, polite smile from the elder queen when she could be coaxed into their presence.
There were moments during those first days when the redhead feared sleep above anything else - rather, fearing that the moment she let her guard down, she would wake to a world that Elsa may no longer exist in. Depression, anxiety, self-deprecation - these demons were strangers to neither of the sisters, but this...this was something else. This was a new monster, one that promised peace and sweet relief; an end to all the suffering life had to offer. It's presence was seductive, made even more tantalizing by it's closeness. It followed grief like a shadow and quickly became a constant companion. Only the simplest of tasks ever separated it from it's victims - just one more step on the ledge, one more bite of the blade and blissful nothingness would be yours. Elsa had not been prepared to meet this monster; neither had Anna when she faced it's likeness in the caves months ago. She supposed no one was ever truly prepared to meet it.
Anna sighed deeply and placed her elbow on the stone ledge of her balcony, resting her chin in her hand as she gazed upon her sister. What should she do? Just as she was about to head in, a faint, familiar whistle sounded in the distance. Anna looked up and around, trying to catch any hint of movement until a brusque breeze blew straight up from the balcony, whirling around the redhead. "Gale!" Anna called happily, laughing a bit as she turned with the wind spirit's movement. "What brings you, friend?" A sudden thought struck the redhead that instantly put her into the 'Queen Mode' that she had once made fun of Elsa for. "Is everything alright in the forest? Is Honeymaren alright?" Anna blinked when a folded note floated in the air above her face, reaching out to snag it from the breeze. "For me?" Anna questioned, but Gale had already disappeared to go to her lonely mistress by the fjord. Anna opened the note carefully, her eyes scanning it's contents and growing wider with hope and excitement.
'Sugar Rush -
Tell Elsa I'm coming to bring her home. I miss you...and thank you.
Honeymaren'
Anna smiled brightly, rereading the note painstakingly once more before folding it and putting it into her pocket. It offered little information as to what Honeymaren had decided, but it gave Anna a sense of hope that all would be well. She nearly squealed with delight as she turned from the balcony and scurried out of her room and down the hall, barely resisting her old habit of banister riding down the long staircase in her haste. Just as she got to the door that would lead her outside to Elsa, she paused, her hand on the knob as a sudden thought struck her. What if she was wrong? What if Honeymaren meant not the more hopeful implication of 'bringing her home' that Anna was hoping for, but simply the very literal act of escorting Elsa back to the forest? It was clear from the note that the woman had come to a decision, but Anna couldn't be sure from the note alone that the decision was Elsa. To get her sister's hopes up only for her heart to be broken anew...a blow like that would crush Elsa beyond repair, she was sure of it.
Her hand retracted from the handle as Anna stared at the door, another thought creeping into her anxious mind. What if Elsa was already at the forest and Honeymaren told her they couldn't be together after all? Anna wouldn't be there to pick up the pieces of her shattered sister. The redhead placed a hand over her suddenly painfully beating heart. No, she had to approach this in a much more tactful way, she realized, chewing her bottom lip in thought. 'I'm going to go with her to the forest,' she decided, her eyes lighting up with determination. If all was well, she was sure it wouldn't be a problem for Elsa and Nokk to bring her back right away so the two women could have their privacy as they made up. But if they didn't, Anna would not be separated from her sister when the undoubtedly devastating blow was dealt. She nodded to herself and turned on her heel to make a quick detour to inform Kai of what was happening.
Outside, Elsa looked up with a small smile as Gale blew around her happily, kicking up little whirlwinds of snow in her excitement to see her mistress. "Hi, Gale," Elsa greeted hoarsely, her voice weak from misuse. *Oh, my mistress...* Gale's lilting voice rang sadly in Elsa's mind. The wind spirit gusted around the queen, akin to an embrace. *You're not faring much better than the noaide,* she commented. Elsa's eyes widened in alarm as she looked about at the trails of snow billowing about. "What?" she tried to ask, clearing her voice as it cracked. "What do you mean? Is Maren alright?" Elsa asked in a clearer voice, albeit tinged in slight panic. *She's been alone in the forest since you left, meditating and praying for guidance,* Gale answered. *She barely eats or sleeps, she simply sits and ponders.* Elsa's heart clenched and she bit her lip, wringing her hands in worry. "Should...should I go back? When was the last you saw her, Gale?" she asked nervously. *Less than an hour ago, my mistress. She sent me with a message for your sister,* Gale answered. The queen blinked and looked up searchingly. "She sent a note? To Anna?" Elsa parroted. When Gale gave a flurried whistle of confirmation, Elsa's shoulders dropped a bit. If she sent a note to Anna and not to her, that could only mean...
"She's made her choice then," Elsa choked out in a whisper. The queen nodded to herself, trying to put on a brave smile despite her trembling lip. "Gale? I'd...I'd like to be alone, please..." she said as her faux strength began to rapidly crumble. *Mistress...* Gale said quietly, hesitating to leave her. "Please, go," she begged in a choked sob as she pulled her knees up to her chest. She folded her arms over her knees and buried her face in them as the floodgates opened, crying out the last bit of hope she had held on to for dear life as Gale whistled away sadly to the trees along the shoreline, refusing to roam too far from her suffering mistress.
A few minutes later, the creaking of the heavy wooden door that led to the fjord opened up behind Elsa and Anna strode out purposefully. "Elsa?" she called gently, hurrying over when she heard the blonde's quiet crying. "Elsa, what's wrong, sweetheart?" Anna asked as she approached the boulder her sister was curled up on, sitting on the rock next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Elsa sniffled, lifting her head and wiping the disappointed, angry tears from her face. "Gale told me about the note," Elsa said bitterly, looking away from her sister. "What?" Anna asked, blinking in surprise. The winter spirit shook her head, looking down at the water. "I don't want to know what it says. If Maren sent it to you and not to me, then it's clear she made her choice and I'm not it. Otherwise, she would have reached out to me," she reasoned sadly.
Anna smiled gently and reached out with a hand, cupping Elsa's cheek and guiding her sister's gaze to hers. "Elsa, that's what I came here to tell you. She's coming here," she said softly. Elsa's eyes grew wide, her mouth hanging open slightly in surprise, unsure of whether or not she would dare to hope. "W-What...?" Elsa asked in a whisper. Anna smiled and nodded cautiously. "She only sent it to me because I sent her a note the night you came here letting her know you were safely in my care. She's simply replying. She said she's coming here and we are going to go back to the forest with her." Elsa's brow furrowed in confusion. "We?" she parroted. "Why 'we'?" she asked with mild suspicion.
Anna sighed, debating for a moment before she gave a small groan of exasperation. "Okay, fine, she specifically said she was coming for you, but I'm coming with you and I'll not have any argument." Elsa opened her mouth to do just that, but Anna was quick to talk over her. "Elsa, you're very fragile right now and her note didn't give any indication as to what she has to say to you when she gets here," Anna explained, trying to be gentle but realistic at the same time. "I don't want to crush your hope that everything will turn out the way you want it to, but I also don't want to give you a false hope of her coming here with open arms and ready to pick up where you left off. If it's the former, you can spare the short time it will take you and Nokk to bring me back here. If it's the latter, I will be at your side every step of the way," she finished with a determined squeeze of her sister's shoulders, pressing her forehead against the blonde's.
Elsa was quiet for several moments as she took in everything Anna had said, understanding her logic and appreciating the deep thought her sister had obviously given the subject. Finally, she nodded in acquiescence to the wisdom of the idea before sliding off of the rock. "Let's go then," she said with more determination and energy than she had shown since she arrived. Anna blinked in confusion as she watched her sister walk to the shoreline and close her eyes, summoning her trusted watery companion. "Wait, what?" Anna asked. "Go where?" Elsa smiled her first genuine smile in weeks when she saw Nokk emerge from the water, the mighty spirit prancing up to his mistress and nuzzling her lovingly in greeting. It was small, but the sight lifted a great weight from the redhead's heart when Elsa turned it on her. "Gale said she saw her less than an hour ago, which means she's probably not even made it back to the camp yet. It will take us much less time to get there than it will for her to come here, so we are going to her and we are leaving now," she said matter-of-factly.
Anna blinked at her sister's authoritative tone before smiling brightly at her and nodding. "Let's go, then," she said encouragingly, which made Elsa's smile grow just a bit wider as she gazed gratefully upon her little sister. Without a moment's hesitation, Elsa walked forward to meet her sister on the shoreline and wrapped her arms around the redhead tightly, hugging her for all she was worth. "I love you so much, Anna. I would not have survived this without you...thank you," she murmured sincerely into fiery tresses. Anna returned the hug just as eagerly, feeling as though she could cry from relief. "I love you too, sis," she replied warmly before pulling away a bit and grinning at her sister. "Gale?" Anna called out, laughing as the wind spirit immediately bustled around the sisters. "Any chance you could fly ahead and make sure we don't miss Honeymaren?" Gale happily complied with an excited whistle, shooting off like a rocket down the fjord. "Now," Anna said happily, turning back to her sister. "Let's go find your noaide."