A/n, just a filler chapter cause Christmas is tomorrow for me. If I don't update tomorrow, then Merry Christmas lovely babies, I love you all xx
Elsa was coming to a strange conclusion that she was feeling something towards Honeymaren. She didn't really know exactly what it was either, and she had never thought about it directly before.
Having being there for around five to six months now, all she did was really talk to Honeymaren, help out villagers, or talk to.... Honeymaren. The brunette really was her first true best friend, apart from family.
When she first met the Northuldra people and Honeymaren in general, she felt a connection with everyone and everything in the place. However her connection with a particular brunette grew and she began questioning how it even happened, as she thought she could only have that type of connection with someone like her sister, Anna.
Elsa ended up brushing it off as her just enjoying how welcoming the girl was. Every time their eyes locked Honeymaren would smile softly at her with warmth in her chocolate brown eyes that glowed in the sunlight. That made her subtle dimples only shine and stand out more.
The blonde snapped out of her thoughts and sighed to herself, realising she still needed to write down in her journal that she had retrieved from the lake.
Elsa was still sitting at the very beach that her and Honeymaren were cuddled up in merely hours prior, except she was at the very edge near the tree line. Unfortunately, Honeymaren had to do some amends related to the reindeer with her brother Ryder earlier in the day, leaving Elsa alone with the spirits.
In the distance there were young children playing in the water, squealing. It made Elsa chuckle at the cuteness of their smiles and the mischievous ways of Gale, the wind spirit.
The children were no older than ten, their different coloured eyes filled with that childhood innocence that Elsa hadn't seen in years, not even in Arendelle recently. All the adolescents here were so care free and 'not-proper', to put it more bluntly. Not that the fifth spirit didn't mind, it was a nice change. She didn't have to be so formal all the time anymore.
Gale's red and orange leaf trail did spirals around the small group of children as Elsa began to write down things in her journal. She added a fancy title above and underlined it before starting however, writing the word, 'EMOTIONS?'
She was going to try to split her different emotions into categories and decipher whether or not she was going crazy and just plainly overthinking.
The blonde must've been distracted as she began writing down her experience about The Enchanted Forest, deciphering different emotions to different groups, as she didn't hear a giggly yell come from directly above her braided head.
A huge thud could be heard, as a few bushes and even trees around Elsa shook and were covered in light frost. It frightened her as she immediately dropped the carefully crafted book.
Above her head, stuck on top of a thick branch was a little girl. She was giggling uncontrollably, leaves and sticks stuck all throughout her thick and bushy hair. Her skin was a light brown, accompanied by a toothy smile and dirt covered freckles. It almost reminded Elsa of Honeymaren.
The girl would've had to of been no older than six, her small structure and frame being a dead giveaway.
"Hi spirit lady!" The little girl said, directing to Elsa.
Elsa smiled softly at her, wiggling her fingers on her right hand in the girls direction, doing a cute wave. "Hey there little one! What's your name?"
"It's Kirra! I know who you are, you're Elsa, the 'Fifth Spirit'! You're really cool!"
It flattered Elsa to know that people knew her name, and for that reason. Having ice powers and being the 'Fifth Spirit'.
"Put me down and do it again! That was fun!" Kirra squealed, immediately clapping her hands together in excitement as Gale gently guided the girl back to the ocean.
The spirit gave off an almost joyful laugh, the aura of the area becoming light and playful.
Giving attention back to her journal after confirming that the girl was safe with the group of children again, Elsa gripped her graphite stick and began writing down a list of people she loved or cared for.
The Fifth Spirit only then began to realise how many acquaintances and even friends she had made over the past three years. When she ruled as queen, she had of course grown closer to every single citizen of Arendelle, but through the Northuldra people and her queenly connection, she had made a nice but small circle of trust. Trust.
Trust was a big word she didn't think she would be even thinking about commonly, but now Elsa was starting to. And honestly, she didn't seem to mind it.
——
Elsa's mouth hung open as she looked down at the scribbles on her pages.
She liked Honeymaren.
She liked Honeymaren. Confirmed with all her rants, drawings and thoughts. She would always drown in her thoughts. Her brain was a killer.
Her excessive thoughts about the girl, awkwardness around her and .... stomach aches. She figured out that what the aches were were called 'butterflies'. After Anna dragged her into cliche romance a few years ago she learnt all of these sappy words reading dozens upon dozens of pure heartache and pure melt that was romance books.
Guy gets the girl, they live happily ever after.
Girl likes the girl, gets heavily rejected.
The spirit mentally slapped herself for the negativity, she needed to calm down, but she couldn't. She felt her hands becoming a snow white and her surroundings turning into ice sculptures.
The tree roots Elsa sat on began to be covered in snow, her own body being devoured in the familiar white substance.
She tried to breathe in and out slowly, but it wasn't working for her. Bruni watched the scene from inside the cool snow that the blonde created, licking his own face and trying get snow off from his big and bulging eyes.
Elsa immediately stood up and threw her hands to her sides, evaporating the ice and snow like it was a little kids magic show.
The blonde then turned around and stumbled back into the comforting surroundings of the woods, resting her head against a nearby tree to calm down.
Why does it feel cold?
She felt herself freezing that tree as well. Everything she tried to touch just became cold and almost numb like. It frightened Elsa.
Why can't I control my powers?
She didn't know why she couldn't control her powers, but she just decided to not touch anything with her hands and head back to her tent for as long as possible. She knew she still had duties to do, but she just needed a place to think.
Or she could drown herself in those duties.
The blonde prayed to god that no on interrupted her. She didn't want to be responsible for another frozen heart, or worse, all because of her stupid feelings.
As she approached her small and dark green tent, Gale interrupted her by throwing a paper at the side of her head. She playfully rolled her eyes and looked down at it, scared to touch it.
With a long breath in, she concentrated everything she had on her body. From her stomach to core to arms to her legs. She put everything into not freezing the small piece of paper and managed to pick it up without crumbling it and turning it to ice.
Elsa then entered her tent and chucked off her shoes and threw them into the corner of the small space and crawled on top of the fur rug that was on the floor.
The letter read;
'To Elsa,
I am delighted to say that I am coming to visit you for a few short days as of next week! Arendelle's trade has been wanting to do trading with the Northuldra people since we met them around half a year ago and I've finally made my decision as Queen (still getting used to that title honestly) to try and strengthen our relationship with them. I'll be speaking to Yelana about future amends for most of the first day, but for a few days after that I'll be all yours! I can't wait to catch up with you! Throw me a note if you need anything xx
- Anna"
Next week was going to be an interesting time for Elsa. Until then, she had to keep reassuring herself everything was going to be fine.
——
The Fifth Spirit let down her platinum blonde hair and laid her head on one of her soft pillows. Her hands were rested under her head, as she sighed and closed her eyes.
"Elsa? Elsa!"
Elsa's eyes opened. She knew that voice. It made her smile.
"In here." She groaned groggily, already annoyed at being interrupted from around 10 minutes of rest.
Her tent flap opened abruptly as Honeymaren stepped in cautiously, a confused look on her face.
"You're not the type to sleep mid afternoon, what's up?" Honeymaren giggled, restraining the urge to awe at the sight of Elsa looking like the literal definition of a princess with her hair sprawled out everywhere, and her natural face glowing, looking sleepy.
"I just wanted to think and rest, I got a note from my sister Anna." Elsa half lied, leaving out the part of her 'feelings' journal. She only just began to realise as she turned on her side and snuggled deeper into her pillow that she forgot to pick up her journal back at the beach edge when having her 'fit'.
"You seem pretty...." Maren began, giving the spirit a lazy once over, "comfortable I guess. May I join you down there?"
Elsa blushed lightly, shuffling over on her rug. "Yeah sure, you can if you would like. Going to warn you though I can be a bit.... too cool for some people." Elsa commented with a cheesy grin on her porcelain face.
Honeymaren froze dramatically when she sat next to Elsa. "Did you just— did you just do that?"
"Do what?" Elsa dragged on, sitting up and tilting her head cutely to the side like a curious puppy.
"You just made an ice joke. The Fifth Spirit just made an ice joke."
Elsa giggled and remembered when she first 'let go' of her powers. It was a cringe worthy time for her, but also a learning path.
"Well, I did used to say back in my youth that the 'cold never bothered me anyway', but that was an embarrassing time for me and I hope to never bring it up again." The blonde giggled, finding herself admiring the brunette's freckles once again.
"The cold never bothered you? But you can get a cold and be sick? How does that even work?" Honeymaren laughed, hiding her mouth with her hand.
"Honestly I don't know. I'm the Fifth Spirit and bring balance, don't judge me!" Elsa giggled, stretching out her arms.
Elsa realised that Honeymaren was still subtly hiding her face features, burying her face slightly in her own shirt.
"Don't hide your features, Honey." She softly stated, grinning toothlessly at the girl.
Honeymaren blushed deeply, raising her head up to look Elsa dead in the eyes.
"I love the nickname." She winked, making Elsa gulp thickly. She was feeling hot all of a sudden.
The blonde stretched out her fingers on her right hand, trying to get more comfortable, only to accidentally brush hands with Honeymaren. The brunette put her fingertips on top of Elsa's, smiling brightly.
A light but big piece of frost appeared around their hands, making Elsa blush out of embarrassment. "S-shit, I'm sorry."
"Hey it's okay. I figured after learning your tragic backstory from that talking snowman Olaf that you wouldn't be the most experienced with affection."
She was so understanding.
"Thank you for being understanding. Even basic things like close friends can be challenging to me."
Honeymaren smiled sadly at her, understanding of the girls situation. She then had an odd question.
"Hey, I know this is random but, do you people have ... I guess a way of showing affection to others ? Our tribe has many different gestures we use to show affection to people close to us." Honeymaren described, speaking softly, shuffling closer to Elsa.
They were now as close as they were on the beach, and both girls enjoyed it more than they would ever admit, but Elsa was also nervous.
"Well, my mother used to do this thing to my sister and I when we were little kids, she would hold our faces and then stroke down our noses. It helped us fall asleep when we were restless. D-did you want me to show you or something?"
Honeymaren smiled great fully at her. "O-only if you want to. Your mother was- she's a living legend and such a strong woman. I can tell you had the strongest connection with her."
Elsa took a deep breath in and took her left hand, leaving her right hand touching Maren's, and caressed the brunettes face softly. Her hands were ice cold, but Honeymaren didn't mind the cold, not with this woman.
Elsa's skinny hand shook as she preyed she didn't freeze the young girls face. She saw light snow appear around them in the corner of her eye but she tried to ignore it.
After a while of just her hand pressed there against Honeymaren's cheek, and a tension filled silence so tight you could cut it with a knife, Elsa moved her hand to the middle part of where Maren's eyebrows met. She took her pointer finger and slowly stroked up and down the girls button nose, humming 'All Is Found' and admiring the relaxed face Honeymaren admitted.
The brunette felt suddenly sleepy at the kind touch, but then realised she was in Elsa's tent and opened her eyes slowly. When she opened her eyes, Elsa's face seemed to of moved significantly closer, almost pulling Honeymaren into a side hug.
"That is- beautifully sweet. Thank you for sharing that with me."
Elsa let out a breathy laugh, a small smile still etched on her lips. "It wasn't too much, I like making people feel relaxed, especially around me. If I can make people feel relaxed around me I know that I can do anything and can control my powers properly."
Honeymaren nodded in agreement, amazed at the spirits casualness at the gesture. I guess their special gestures had different meanings to theirs.
Maybe she could show Elsa's hers another day.
"Well, it's around just past noon, and we don't have to do much until sunset, so I'll let you rest. When we're going riding on the reindeer I'll let you know so we can collect more herbs and maybe show you some secrets." The speaking of secrets made Honeymaren look like an excited child on Christmas playing with a new toy, it was a cute site to put it lightly.
Elsa nodded contently in agreement. "That sounds good. But please tell Ryder if he ever tries to fully tame that water nokk by himself, he's going to end up with two water horse size hoofs in his chest." The spirit giggled, remembering an outing where Ryder had been left alone near the water spirit while Honeymaren and her were collecting berries and had tried to tame it, only for it to spit water in his face and knock him over with a playful kick.