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The inside of Elsa's tent erupted with a blast of ice. The fifth spirit gasped loudly and shot up in her bed, sweat running down her brow. Marie jumped awake. "What the- You okay?"
"Ahtohallan." Elsa's voice was urgent. "We need to go to Ahtohallan."
Marie looked over Elsa's shoulder. A couple hours had passed, and the two women were now riding The Nokk over the smooth surface of The Dark Sea. Glaciers riddled the water, causing Marie to stare in wonder. They were beautiful. Their reflection shone back at them, and Marie was suddenly reminded of how quiet Elsa was. The brunette casted a glance at her as they continued to ride, Elsa in the front. They had left suddenly, barely able to grab something to eat on their way out of the camp. "What's going on?" Marie asked.
Elsa squeezed the ice reins. "I might have remembered something important, but I can't be certain. Ahtohallan will have the answer."
Marie narrowed her eyes. "The answer to what?"
The Nokk neighed quietly in reaction to its riders' rising tension. Elsa stared straight ahead. "The real reason why I came to your world." A twisted pit swirled in Marie's gut. Something was not right. She could feel it. The Nokk slowed as they approached a giant glacier. It glowed with the same blue hue as Elsa's magic. But Marie did not have time to admire its beauty, for as soon as they came to the shore, the two women were greeted with the sight of a young girl standing on the icy terrain.
"Layla?" Marie leaped off the water spirit and sprinted towards her.
"Marie, wait!" Elsa cried. The brunette crashed through the image of the girl like fog.
"Who are you?" The voice was identical to Elsa's but sounded ethereal and distant. Marie gasped. Layla was nothing more than an illusion and she was not alone. A pure white figure of Elsa was approaching the girl. "Where did you come from?" the entity of Elsa asked.
Layla's figure ran into a crack of Ahtohallan's glacier, causing Elsa's figure to give chase. Marie froze. "Is this…a memory?" she asked.
Elsa's breath caught in her throat. "It's the night I crossed over, and when you came to Arendelle." They simultaneously followed the memory. The cold seeped into Marie from Ahtohallan's icy tunnels, but she pushed it down using the adrenaline that pumped through her veins.
"They're chasing me!" Layla's voice echoed.
"Who is?" The other Elsa grunted as the rift opened a few feet away from them. Although it was an illusion, gusts of wind still blew through the tunnels with great force. Layla stepped into the tear. "Wait!" The entity of Elsa dove after her, and the rift vanished as the memory ended.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Marie demanded, rounding in front of Elsa.
The royal's genuine confusion silenced Marie. "I didn't remember it happened until this morning," Elsa said quietly. Marie's gaze landed on something behind her, and Elsa followed at the sight of Marie's petrified expression. A dark figure stood at the end of the tunnel and stared. Marie took off. Elsa whipped around. "Wait! Don't go too far!" Her heart lurched within her small chest when Marie disappeared behind a turn. Elsa sprinted forward. "Marie, stop!" Her hand snatched the other woman's forearm. They were at the edge of an abyss, nothing but dark, empty space looming before them. Elsa held onto her arm and leaned down to catch her breath, her heart pounding. "You can't just run off in a place like this. You might not come back!"
Marie jerked her arm. "Let go! That asshole is here for a reason! I have to find out why!"
"Stop it!" Elsa's voice rang around them. Marie grew silent and lowered her gaze. "Listen to me! If it weren't for Anna, I wouldn't have made it out of here. You can't dive deeper." She squeezed Marie's arm. "I won't let you."
A frustrated growl escaped Marie, but she did not pull away. "Why would Ahtohallan show us all this if nothing happens? Why did it bring us here?"
"I don't know, but we can't stay here," Elsa said, slipping her hand into Marie's and trying not to expose her own desperation. "Come on."
Marie was stupidly stubborn. Elsa knew that. It was written in her character, after all. But with each passing day they spent together, Elsa found herself looking at Marie with less of an idolized view. She was a person, just like everyone else, but as Elsa gazed at Marie's crumbling pride, she was reminded of how much adoration she had for her. A similar thought often ran through Marie's mind, as well. Marie twisted her face into a shy frown and groaned, "Lead the way." Elsa smiled fondly and guided her through the tunnel. Marie looked around. "So, where's all the shiny, huge ice columns that you lifted into the air during Show Yourself?" When Elsa replied with a confused expression, Marie asked, "You know, the best part of the movie?"
Elsa stopped. "We need to talk about that ki-"
"WHO'S THERE?" A man's voice echoed in the tunnels, sending both women on edge. The royal let out an alarmed gasp when Marie suddenly grabbed her and conjured her dark blade. Marie let go of Elsa but still shielded her.
"Does this place get tourists?!" she hissed.
"No." Elsa ignited her icy palms. "Stay close." A dark wisp appeared around a dark blue corner, and the two approached cautiously. Elsa aimed her hands before rounding the turn and grunted in surprise. Another memory played out in front of them, this time showing a man speaking with the familiar dark figure. Elsa narrowed her eyes, trying to ponder if she recognized the stranger, but she got her answer as to who he was when Marie stepped forward.
"Grandpa John?"
"You've been chosen," the darkness stated. The blood drained from Marie's face. "There is an imbalance." The memory swirled and flitted past the two. Marie grasped Elsa's hand tightly and followed it. They found themselves at another drop off that was engulfed in darkness. The silhouette of Marie's grandfather ran over the empty air and into the blackness. Marie waved a hand, dissipating the dark. Elsa swallowed a lump in her throat.
The man floated in the middle of the abyss, his hands gripping his head. "I have to go back!" he cried with an echo. "It pulled me back before I could finish! Let me go back!"
"You failed." Both looked around frantically in search of the darkness's voice. "Now you will forget." John screamed. Elsa and Marie shielded their eyes as the dark swirled once more, recreating John with another woman.
"We needed that money!" the woman shouted. "Why'd you have to go spend it all?"
John faced away from her, grabbing his head. "I'm trying to remember…"
"Remember what? That you have a family to feed instead of your drunkenness?"
"ENOUGH!" Marie flinched when John whipped around and struck his wife. She fell to the ground, but not without John following in a crazed frenzy. Elsa could only watch in silence, her eyes wide with shock. The memory changed to John fighting another person who was seemingly possessed by darkness, only for it to be his own son. John watched as his son stumbled to his feet and ran. He stared at his hands in horror. The boy grew into a man, and that man stood in front of a young girl.
"You're perfect," the man said, running a hand down her cheek. His fingers glided to her small neck and began squeezing. "Too perfect."
The man's chest was impaled with a bolt of darkness. Marie kept her hand raised as the image of her father faded from existence, darkness twirling around her fingers awaiting her next move. The younger version of herself slowly faded from view. Elsa stared at her, her own hand slowly raising. Marie gasped as Elsa's hand slipped into her dark infused one, her ice glowing softly. She gritted her teeth. Elsa lowered their hands silently. "Marie…" she said softly.
The brunette left without a word. Elsa drew her hand in close to her chest. Slowly, she followed. Marie waited for her to lead them out of Ahtohallan, her gaze lowered. Silence gnawed their surroundings. What should she say? Elsa shielded her eyes from the late morning sun as they exited the tunnel. The Nokk awaited them and neighed lowly. The surface of the water rippled under the kelpie's hooves with power. Elsa gripped the ice reins tightly. Marie's forehead pressed firmly between her shoulder blades and she did not move. As the shores of The Enchanted Forest came into view, The Nokk slowed, and the women got off. Elsa's feet padded across the sand, and she reached a hand up to bid farewell to the water spirit. It faded into the water. The royal took in a breath and said, "You're not like them."
"You forgot." Elsa turned to face Marie as she spoke. Her back was to her, and her shoulders shook. "You forgot what happened when you came back. So did my grandfather." Marie clenched her fists. "…So will I." Elsa reached for her hand, but when they touched, Marie jerked away violently. "Stop it!" She faced Elsa, her eyes brimming with tears. It shook Elsa to the core. "Stop being like this! Stop treating me the way you do! The way you touch me, the way you look at me…" Elsa flinched when they made eye contact. "The way you kissed me… It has to stop."
Desperation jolted through Elsa. "But I-"
"Find someone who won't forget you!" Marie tore away and ran into the forest, unable to stop her tears from falling down her face. Elsa fell to her knees and stared after her in silence.
Honeymaren yawned loudly and kicked her feet back. "Thank the spirits we're done for the day." Her brother stuck his tongue out in concentration as he fiddled away with a wooden carving and his small knife. She chuckled and stretched out her arms against a pile of hides.
"Are you still mad at her?" Ryder asked, tilting his project in the sun to get a better view.
Honeymaren turned red. "I was never mad! I just-!" She groaned and covered her face. "I just don't know what to say."
"Oh. Well I'm sure you'll figure it out. She could use a friend." Ryder stuck his tongue out again. "Do you think Marie would go on a reindeer ride with me?"
Honeymaren sighed. "You're really dense, aren't you?"
"They're back!" one of the villagers shouted from the edge of camp.
Ryder ran over and greeted the two women. "Welcome back! What did you learn?"
Marie's positive disposition was absent. She kept her eyes on the ground, her face fallen with a look of deep sadness. Honeymaren made her way over to them slowly as Marie said, "I think it's best if I tell Yelena first."
"Come with me," their leader commanded softly. The village watched them depart into Yelena's tent and filled the camp with whispers. Honeymaren looked over the shoulders of the nosy crowd. Elsa was speaking with a couple villagers, her smile taught, and her hands clenched tightly in front of her. She dipped her head, and as she began to make her way to her tent, Honeymaren found herself following without hesitation. Elsa swerved and sat on a stump.
Honeymaren approached cautiously. "Hey," she greeted. When Elsa did not respond in any way, she sat down next to her.
"I'm sorry that things got weird between us," Elsa said after a few moments. "I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't know how my magic would react."
"Yeah, I figured it was something like that." Honeymaren leaned back. "But you could have just told me you didn't feel the same." Elsa looked at her with striking blue eyes. They were full of tears. Honeymaren flinched. "But you were told otherwise, weren't you?"
Elsa tried to wipe away tears that streamed down her face, but to no avail. "Why do I feel this way?" she cried. Honeymaren wrapped her arms around Elsa without a word. The blonde fell into her embrace. "I just want it to stop."
Honeymaren stroked Elsa's hair. "I know."
