THE RIVER KNOWS.

            ‘ elsa. ’

                 IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS WOMAN HAS VENTURED INTO HER DEPTHS  ,  LOOKING FOR THE SAME THING  over  &  over again.  she’s looking for something she can no longer have  ,  something that is lost to her.  ahtohallan has seen a change in her because of this.  now  ,  the spirit emerges from the shadows before elsa  ,  which much shock her to look back at a mirror of herself  ,  nearly a flawless imitation save for the color of her hair.

𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 much about her grandfather, beyond telling her he had been incredibly strict. Elsa remembered learning more from her tutors, how he had built the castle and established the town as the main hub of Arendelle over the small villages it had been before. Ruthless was how she had always thought of him from the tales, but even with that, she hadn’t expected him to have… to have…

“I – I didn’t know,” she said, looking down at her hands, before her gaze locked onto the figures of Runeard and an advisor. Walking up to him, she gazed up into his face, not having expected him to be so… imposing. She could see the turn of cruelty in his brow, a self importance plain even in a statue of ice and snow. A sense of disgust filled her. 

“A legacy like this isn’t worth keeping,” she said, turning her back on the former king, facing Ahtohallan once more. “How do I – how do we make this right?”

Anna was as much a part of this as Elsa was. She could see that now. Trying to pull away from others would only lead to disaster. She had already pushed her sister away far too much.

            SHE SEES NOW WHAT HER FATHER COULD NOT  ,  WHAT HE HAD BEEN UNABLE TO SEE  in his lifetime.  but agnarr had been a child  ,  she did not blame him for runeard’s sins.  her hands are clutched in front of her  ,  ice blue eyes locking onto elsa  ,  her determination showing strongly.  yes  ,  she thought  ,  it was right to call her here  ,  to ask this of her.  gently  ,  ahtohallan’s fingers turn her head up before she speaks  ,  her tone becoming less harsh  ,  less cruel  &  sharp in nature.

                 ‘ you and your sister must tear down the wall that divides us, wash away the bloodstains of the past. ’

                 IS SHE BEING A LITTLE CRYPTIC ??  YES  ,  SHE ISN’T ALLOWED TO OUTRIGHT TELL ELSA THE ANSWER  she seeks  ,  not to that particular question.  her hand falls back to her side  ,  looking back at her with a neutral face.

❝             𝙸 𝙳𝙾𝙽'𝚃 𝚆𝙰𝙽𝚃   to be a   burden      ,      i want to be useful   !!            ❞

               ༝       @pastheld​       ⍮            ♡

𝐀 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐄 to the tip of her tongue, all vying to be the first she asked. How had her mother and father escaped the mist? Why had she been given these powers? Why had the forest been cut off for so long? Why had she been given powers but not Anna?

But she chose to hold her tongue for a moment, taking the time to gaze at the intricate statues all around them. She recognised some of the faces of the Northuldra, and those of her parents, even in their youth. A warm smile appeared on her face as she soaked in every detail of their features. There were paintings in the castle, of course, but it wasn’t the same as gazing at their actual faces. Finally, she sighed, and turned back to the… spirit?

“I need to know what happened that day – the day the mist fell and the forest was cut off. And I want to know how to fix it.”

            ‘ the mist over the forest was to protect my people, to protect the other spirits.  king runeard,  ’   how she even  despised  saying his name even now  ,  years later.  her face still turns in disgust  ,  remembering his actions that day.   ‘ .....he did something terrible.  he hurt the people of the forest deeply, with both his dam and his trickery.  he murdered the northuldran leader in cold blood.  and so, i did what i deemed best to protect them. ’

                   AROUND HER  ,  THE STATUES DISAPPEAR  ,  A NEW ONE SHOWING KING RUNEARD DISCUSSING WITH AN ADVISOR  about his true plans for the dam in the river.  he was a cruel man  ,  she remembered him well  ,  after all these years  ,  her blood still boiled to think of him  &  his treachery.

            ‘ it’s been quite some time, iduna. ’

                  QUITE OFTEN DOES THE SPIRIT WANDER IN THE WOODS  ,  MINGLING WITH HER PEOPLE  .  but iduna  ,  it’s been quite sometime since ahtohallan has seen her  ,  &  the sight brings a slight smile to her lips.

𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋, 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 in the image before her. But she didn’t back away, nor cringe from the brisk speech. Elsa stood as she had always been taught to – with her head held high. 

“Ahtohallan,” she replied, the word both answer and acknowledgement. “The river of memories.”

It made sense really – if the other spirits had physical forms, why wouldn’t the subject of her mother’s lullaby?

            ‘ you’re surprised.  yes, that is my name.  i hold the memories of everyone who has known me, and those who have yet to.  and i know that you came here seeking answers, seeking the truth. ’

                  A BRIEF WAVE OF HER HAND  &  SEVERAL ICE SCULPTURES APPEAR AROUND THE TWO OF THEM  ,  detailed  &  almost alive  ,  save for their icy forms.  the former king  &  queen stand together  ,  as do a few arendellians  &  northuldrans  ,  frozen in time in perfect memory.  but ahtohallan has no need to show her powers  ,  not in any flashy ways.

            ‘ it’s nice to finally meet you, elsa of arendelle.  this has been a long time coming.  but you already know that, don’t you ?? ’

                  ICY EYES LOCK ONTO THE WOMAN BEFORE HER  ,  APPROACHING HER QUIETLY.  WITH EVERY STEP  ,  EVERY TOUCH OF FEET TO HER  icy fortress  ,  she grows closer to her vessel  ,  before stopping a few feet in front of her.