#htbc

Thank you so much, it helps a lot!

What's your situation regarding 'Healing The Blooming Crocus'?

🟠 I'm reading it

🟣 I'm not interested because of the ships

🟡 I'm not interested because it's a crossover with Tangled characters

🟢 I'm not interested because it's post-Frozen 2

🔵 I don't have the time to read it

Chapter 21: It can't be hygge without your family and friends

‘It sounds divine…’

Honeymaren recently learned that word, and she didn’t need to use it in her thoughts. But she couldn’t deny that it was the right term to express how she felt. The sound she heard was out of this world, pure, soft and strong at the same time, like a caress with character. 

She stepped inside the room, a smile tugging her lips at the sight, which was just as heavenly. 

Elsa playing the piano. 

Actually, the more Honeymaren listened to the music, the more she realized that its style represented Elsa a lot. The action even reminded Honeymaren of the times she had fun with her magic in the Forest. Also, Elsa didn’t know that she was being observed at this very moment, and seeing her play the piano for herself was wonderful. 

The Northuldra silently leaned against the wall next to the door, making herself nearly invisible, not unlike when she was hunting. But her girlfriend wasn’t prey; if anything, Honeymaren was in utter awe of her movements. 

Elsa has seized the opportunity that the castle was nearly empty due to the staff busy outdoors to play a little. Though that was an understatement, for she had been at it for a long time now, and Honeymaren was almost glad to have been separated from her for the past hour so she could experience such a moment. 

The brunette had been helping Anna and Kristoff in the courtyard with the preparations for the feast of the evening, to receive the Arendellian soldiers in the most honorable setting. The stable logistics took a while, and when Honeymaren wondered what her girlfriend had been doing inside in the meantime, she had been greeted by an enchanting melody as soon as she reached the first floor. 

Honeymaren smiled tenderly as Elsa’s fingers were dancing, leaping and waving on the black and white keys. It was mesmerizing to watch, and soothing to listen. It was like one of her lullabies, even if the melody was quite rhythmic with a tempo that couldn't possibly put someone asleep. Yet the brunette knew that if she just laid down, Elsa could make her dream in no time just by the emotional way the melody was conveyed.

The only thing more beautiful to Honeymaren’s eyes was Elsa’s blissed face as she was playing. The blonde had a soft smile on her lips and her gaze gently laid on the tiles as she had fun. She looked so happy that it seemed that she was brighter than the sunlight bathing the room. 

The halo wrapped the grand piano and its player in a warm cocoon, and Honeymaren easily understood why the blonde hadn’t seen time pass. Lost in the feeling, she definitely was on another plane of existence. 

Her body was slightly rocking back and forth as she played, her head sometimes tilting on the side depending on the emotion of the notes, her bare foot pushing the pedals underneath to sometimes sustain the sound. 

Honeymaren wanted to stare at this scene forever, but the melody eventually came to an end and Elsa stopped. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out with a happy smile, her hands resting on the keys. 

The brunette pushed herself from the wall and walked to her. 

“That was incredibly beautiful.”

Elsa gasped with a jump on the piano bench, and turned to her girlfriend with wide eyes and a hand over her chest. 

She also had a pale face of surprise, indicating that she was mortified to have been observed. 

“Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.” Apologized Honeymaren, hoping that she didn’t make her sad. 

Of course, Elsa and her were very intimate, and shared everything, but the brunette respected her extreme introversion. 

“Are you crazy?!” Scolded Elsa, her heart still drumming. “I could have frozen the whole piano!”

The Northuldra winced. She had no idea if Elsa was referring to the danger or the price of the certainly expensive instrument, so out of caution, she stepped back. 

“I can go back outside if you want. You can keep playing on your own, really. The door was open, and I thought… I can even close it behind me if you want.” Blabbered the Northuldra, trying her best to make amends. 

Elsa smiled tenderly at her care. “It’s fine. Please, stay.”

Her smile was encouraging, so Honeymaren walked back to her. 

“I don't mind that you stepped in.” Said the blonde. “I'm just surprised that you listened.” 

“How couldn't I? It was wonderful, and we can hear it from the staircase. I’m even wondering if the staff purposely slowed down their tasks to avoid making too much noise and listening to you. I knew that you played the piano, but I didn’t… I couldn’t possibly think that you were that good at it.” 

The siblings instinctively turned to each other and exchanged a look. 

“A secret room?” Murmured Anna, her voice weak with emotion. 

Elsa gulped and found herself unable to give anything else than a nod. 

Yes. Another secret. 

Eugene walked to the bookshelf and observed the mechanism that had opened the secret door. He commented out loud about how it actually was a switch on the back of the shelf that worked with a weight. If the weight was removed, the switch would lift and activate the sliding on the bookshelf. That was a clever thing, for nobody ever touched this room in ages according to Iduna’s own daughters. Olaf had lifted a book that hadn’t been touched in a long, long time. 

Kristoff picked it up since the snowman had dropped it on the carpet in astonishment, and flipped the pages. It was a classic book. Sure, it was beautiful, with amazing illustrations, and flawless sewing and finishing touch on the covers. But it had nothing extraordinary. 

“Did your mother often read about architecture?” He asked the sisters. 

“Not really. She wasn’t more passionate about it than I was.” Shrugged Anna. 

She then widened her eyes in realization, and she turned to her elder. 

“Elsa, on the other hand…” 

They all turned to the Fifth Spirit. It was a known fact that Anna wasn’t much into geometry or anything like that. But Elsa was fond of architecture from an early age, and it was too much for a coincidence. Iduna was very well placed to know her daughter’s hobbies and what kind of reading Elsa would pick from her bookshelf if the occasion eventually came. 

The blonde had an emotional breath in. “You think that she left this for me?” She asked her sister with a timid tone, like she was a child again. 

Anna placed a hand on her back. “Whatever is inside, it was meant for you to discover it.” 

Elsa’s emotion was clear now, enhanced by Anna’s words that stated the obvious but reached her heart even harder. Her eyes still fixed on the dark mysterious room, the Spirit didn’t see her sister’s confident eyes and felt genuinely sad to never have known about it before, to be the only one it was destined to, to only discover it now, to have made her mother wait all this time…

“Elsa?” 

The blonde jolted, pulled out of her thoughts. 

“Are you okay?” Worried Anna. 

The elder gulped, retrieving a normal heartbeat and wondering how loud her breathing had been for the past seconds. How long had she been standing still? She looked down at the carpet, focusing on it, and she could sense all the looks on her.

‘No. This shouldn’t be about me.’ 

Her eyes were determined as she looked in front of her again, then she turned to her sister, a slight frown on her features. 

“Anna, this room is meant for you just as well. Mother could have hidden something there addressed to you, not only me.” 

CHAPTER 3: For these people I know, this place that I love so

=======

Honeymaren looked for Elsa through the Forest. 

“Elsa?” 

It was odd that she still hadn’t received any answer so far. 

“Elsa??” She called louder, this time using her hands around her mouth to have a bigger reach. 

Still no answer. 

The brunette walked through the glades and between the trees, still finding no sign of her. 

She almost thought about using the Spirits Call, but it was, as Anna once renamed it, ‘a frequency only used for emergencies’, a concept to which Honeymaren entirely agreed. There was no need to worry the Fifth Spirit. 

“Elsa!” Called Honeymaren again. 

At some point, she passed in front of a very large pond, and heard cracks coming from it. Her head jolted as she turned to the surface. It was odd for it to crack when nothing was weighing on the ice. And she knew that Nokk was busy in the river where the Northuldra were fishing. 

Or maybe was it something lifting the ice from underneath instead of weighing over it…

Suddenly, the cracks went larger and wider, and the head of a smiling blonde emerged, letting out a deep and heavenly sigh of content as she breathed for hair. 

“Ahtohallan’s sake!” Let out Honeymaren, her jaw dropping. 

Elsa shook her head to move her hair around like a horse who shook her mane, and opened her eyes to smile at her girlfriend. “You called?” 

Honeymaren’s hand went over her heart. “Yes, and I’m not sure that I’ll ever get over such an apparition.” 

“I didn’t use magic.” Smirked Elsa with rolled eyes. “It’s not like I traveled through space or something.” 

Honeymaren actually scoffed. “Says the one apparently having the habit of taking a dip in a pond that has a frozen surface. You just paddled in water that is so cold that the ice reformed behind you when you went underwater!” 

Elsa chuckled. “Don’t exaggerate. I’m the one who reformed it behind me.” 

The brunette shook her head in astonishment. “I suppose that I shouldn’t be worried, and that Nokk made you a bubble of air for your face?” 

“Precisely.” Grinned the blonde, her forearm on the solid surface of the pond while her other hand was holding her amused face, like it was a perfectly casual place to lay on. “And I closed the space after I walked in because I like to feel like in a cocoon.” 

But still I cannot see, if the savage one is me

Panicked adults and scared children were the reception of Anna and Elsa when they eventually came back to the camp.

The Northuldra were so busy running around to grab weapons or organize the defense and put kids into safety that they didn't notice their presence right away.

Anna frowned and grabbed the arm of a man. "Hey, what the hell is going on?"

The Northuldra looked devastated. "They're gone."

The Queen blinked. "Who?"

"Honeymaren and Ryder. They're gone."

Elsa's eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat like someone actually suddenly squeezed it. "Wh… What?"

Yelena appeared next to the man, saw that Elsa's usually pale face got even paler, and nudged him angrily. "Review your vocabulary! You make it sound like they're dead!"

"But…" Replied the man, trembling. "We have no idea if–"

"As long as I'm alive, I will never assume or let Northuldra assume that we die without fighting. We're a surviving tribe. Do you understand? I hope that you'll pass the torch when I'm gone." Frowned the old chief.

The Northuldra gulped. "Y-yes."

He then left, and Yelena sighed. She looked at the Fifth Spirit with seriousness, though one could see sadness in her eyes.

"They've been captured. The bandits have taken advantage of the two Nattura siblings being on their own next to the reindeer to put sacks on their faces, and several people of the tribe saw them knock their heads before putting them on the back of horses and going away as fast as they came. We tried to go after them, but it was too late. They had scared the reindeers anyway, and we had no ride to catch up. They… They took advantage of your absence to do so."

Anna and Elsa were devastated by the news, astonished and speechless, like the air had been captured from their lungs. The redhead turned to her elder with shock, and saw that Elsa was astonished.

"They… They were on their own?"

The chief had a sad smile. "Well, yes. You two left and they remained on the edge of the Forest. Iskko told me that Ryder had meant to ask Honeymaren about her feelings since the… Letter incident, and it's probably why they weren't focused on their surroundings. The conversation went confidential, I think, because the Wind Spirit was above the herd and yet she came back to the center of the camp, which she usually does when one of us asks for privacy. And I know Ryder. He likely opted for a quiet conversation and eased her nerves with the reindeer babies to pet."

Elsa's heart sank in her chest and she looked at her own sibling. Anna gulped with a sad expression, perfectly imagining what was crossing her mind. She wasn't even there when the reading of the letter had happened, and yet she had sensed Elsa's emotion when she told her how it went. It was natural for Honeymaren to feel even worse.

Elsa's face crumbled, and she started to hold her head.

"No, no, no… Honey… I shouldn't have left her."

"Wait, Elsa, Yelena is right. Even if we were next to her, she would have asked for privacy." Assured Anna.

"But I could have protected her!" Jolted Elsa.

The redhead widened her eyes when she saw her sister suddenly pace around, her left hand passing through her hair while the other was over her belly, like a reassuring self-hug. Anna knew that posture too well.

"Relax, it's gonna be okay…" She whispered, lifting calming hands.

"I'm always here with her! I live with her!" Exclaimed the Spirit, twirling around and around. "I can always keep an eye on her and protect her, I can't believe that–"

"That when you're absent, someone takes her away? Yeah, that's the whole plan, actually." Pointed out Anna, trying to ease her with that blatant fact.

Elsa kept pacing around with anger towards herself.

"Of course whoever did this has waited for me to go away so I won't protect her. But that doesn't change the fact that it's my fault!" She exclaimed.

Yelena slipped away from the emotional outburst. She had lots to do to protect her tribe anyway.

Anna planted herself right in front of her sister at her next turn, to block her in her unending spiral.

"Elsa, Elsa, calm down. Think rationally. We need your clever and composed brilliant side now."

The Spirit snorted at the compliments, still passing a hand in her hair - now really sparkly with all the added layers of ice - but she eventually calmed down at the trusting teal blue eyes.

"You surely have enough faith in Honeymaren to know something. Even the tiniest thing." Encouraged Anna.

Her elder sighed. She closed her eyes and thought, took the time to breathe out, then opened them again with calm.

"Honeymaren is a hunter, a strategist at heart. She always plans things in advance, and she actually always has a second plan, and it's very likely that she planned something in case she gets captured by Hans or any thug when I'm not around. She just never got the occasion to tell me."

The Fifth Spirit felt terrible as she theorized that Honeymaren maybe never told her her plan because she didn't want to hurt her with that possibility after the Collapse.

Anna frowned at Elsa's theory. "But if she told her suspicions and plans to someone, that would put the person in danger. It's not very Honeymaren." She cleverly noted, aware of how the brunette worked.

"I agree." Said Elsa. "So… She must have written a note for me somewhere."

Anna agreed in turn, nodding.

"And hid it. Now the question is, where and how could she hide a note that only you would find?"

Elsa thought for a moment.

Then she suddenly widened her eyes, and turned to stare at Anna.

"The cryptex."

"Uh?"

"THE CRYPTEX!"

=======

It's finally here and it's happening fast

=======

“Kristoff, we’re doomed. Elsa has turned completely mad.” 

Anna’s voice was a panicked whisper as they were hiding for their dear lives. 

“Surely there must be a way.” Gulped his husband. “You can talk her through this, no?” 

The Queen gave him alarmed eyes. “It’s too late for that. We're screwed. She’ll never reconsider.” 

“I know where you aaaaare...” Warned a smiling evil voice above them. 

Anna shrieked and looked above the boulder to see the Fifth Spirit smirk at her with a dozen snowballs floating around her. She let out another shriek when Elsa threw the missiles at them. 

They were controlled remotely at her will, and Anna and Kristoff quickly had to run away to not get touched. If they were, it would be the end. 

“She’s gone rogue.” Panted the redhead, her breathing fast. “I can’t dissuade her. She probably has a whole strategy and everything.” 

The King widened his eyes. “Crap. We really are screwed.” 

Anna nodded vividly, then tried to peek from the side of the rock, but she did it very slowly; in one second, she gasped and sheltered herself again, as a snowball exploded on the stone. She breathed out. “That was a close one.” 

She turned to her husband. “Remember: one shot and we’re dead.” 

“I know.” 

Anna and Kristoff truly had been running in the Arendelle mountains like death was after them, and they kept sending glances behind as they ran the sprint of their life. The King found it particularly funny how dramatic his wife was, whispering things like “We’re running out of munitions.” or “We need to refine our strategy, one of us attacks from the East and the other attacks from the West.” with a serious face. Nevertheless, he would be lying if he said that she didn’t rapidly turn him competitive too, and he quickly engaged in the game with as much energy, with how contagious her devotion was. 

Sometimes they would think they were perfectly hidden behind separate trees, until they heard a branch crack and saw some snowflakes flutter in front of their faces, followed by a “GOTCHA!” from the giggling Snow Queen. 

Another thing that Kristoff noted during their game, though he wasn’t surprised at all, was that Elsa was just as excited than her sister about making it a serious fight. He could tell that they both had returned to childhood on that day. 

They ran as fast as they could away from the rock with panting laughter as Elsa was preparing the biggest snowball ever in the air and about to throw it on them.  

Olaf and Honeymaren watched in the distance and kept the score. The snowman held a big blackboard and traced a mark with his chalk every time Anna and Kristoff managed to hit Elsa, while Honeymaren was counting the blonde’s points, and her chalk had been hitting the slate way more often. 

The Northuldra grinned as they observed the three rivals. Or rather, the team of two losing against the team of one. 

She bent to the snowman. “I told you they would not last one minute behind that rock. You owe me two boxes of chocolate treats.” 

Olaf groaned, in a whining way, because he was the one who had confidently set the bet. Honeymaren was very glad that Elsa’s creation had the same attraction than her for sugary treats, because Arendellian candies were a delight. 

As he grumbled something, Olaf checked the timer. It was actually just about to reach the end. 

“Annnnd game!” He announced a few seconds later, yelling to be heard from their spot. 

Several grunts of disappointment were heard from the hill the players were at, mostly from Anna. 

“I swear, if I had like, one more hour, I could have– Ughh!!” Exclaimed the redhead as she made her way to a laughing Honeymaren. 

Anna turned to her sister with worried eyes. 

“Elsa… Did you call Gale because you can’t use ice and snow anymore?” 

The Spirit frowned. “What? No, it’s because she happened to be floating nearby and I sensed her. And in the moment, we needed a powerful blow to push the arrows away from everyone here, not to just protect the three of us.” 

The younger sister stared at her suspiciously. 

“Tell me the truth.” 

“It’s the truth, Anna, I swear on Ahtohallan. Though…” She sighed. “I can’t deny that I’m starting to feel exhausted, and it’s not because of the running.” 

Anna closed her eyes with a sigh. “I knew it.” 

Kristoff approached after he had helped a soldier stand up. Some civilians and soldiers took the opportunity of Gale’s presence to be transported to medical aid. 

“What is going on?” 

“Elsa soon won’t be able to use her magic anymore.” 

The blonde gasped in disbelief. “It’s not what I said at all!” 

She got the Queen’s piercing teal blue eyes into hers. “But it’s what I say. You will soon not be able to use your magic, because I decide so. If you take too much of your energy, you’ll faint, and it’s really not–” 

“Oh, so you decide for me, uh?” 

The redhead grunted as she picked up the sword of one of the bandits’ corpses. 

“Yes, because I’m your Queen, and this is an order.” 

“What??” 

“I give you two or three other uses of your magic to protect us, then you stop. Understood?” 

“Not, not understood!! ” Blurted Elsa, exaggerating her imitation of her sister. “I don’t obey you!” 

“Yes you do!!” 

“Hey hey hey!” Calmed down Kristoff. 

But the sisters were fully yelling at each other now, the stressful situation easily switching their moods from one extreme to the other. 

“So you can throw me through a window to keep me safe but I can’t advise you to limit your magic?!” 

“I’m your elder!!” Threw back Elsa, now fully facing her with rage. 

Kristoff physically prevented her from coming any closer to Anna, however, placing a strong hand on her chest. He actually then immediately retracted his hand, worried he had touched one of her breasts, and blushed a bit. 

So the King simply stood in between them. 

“Elsa, maybe you can call one of the Spirits to accompany us, and it will give you some rest. Anna, don’t panic, you’ve got this. We’ll participate in the fight. Here, pick the sword and an axe from the two thugs that the soldiers just killed over there.” 

The redhead grumbled, obeying his actually clever order and stomping her feet as she walked.  

She mumbled to herself as she reached the corpses, and rubbed the blood out of the blade of the sword with the scarf of the bandit to make it sharp again. 

“There was a closer sword.” Noted Elsa, so upset that she switched to criticism, as she indicated a weapon on the ground next to another corpse.  

“I know.” Suddenly whispered Kristoff, and it surprised her so much that she dropped her denigration. “I needed her to be away for a moment. Listen. She means well, okay? She doesn’t want to have control over you, she’s just terrified for you.” 

Elsa blinked. Kristoff had just arrived, but he knew his wife so well that he could tell. She looked down in shame. 

“You’re right. Sorry.” 

“I’m not the one you owe an apology to. What’s this I heard about throwing her through a window?” He smirked gently. 

She blushed, still looking down. 

Chapter 10: To be human again

“Easy. Easy.” Smiled Honeymaren. 

She wanted nothing more than to tackle her lover into a powerful hug, but she was following Sonya’s strong advice and helping Elsa sit up with slow gestures. 

“Here, I made you some herbal tea.” Smiled the healer. 

Honeymaren was the one who took the mug in her hand, however, for they had sadly discovered that Elsa was unable to make any move. 

The Fifth Spirit was curled on herself and sulking in a traumatized posture. Honeymaren understood that the panic attack Elsa had when she had woken up still hadn’t left the blonde despite hers and Sonya’s soothing administrations. 

When the blonde had found out that she truly didn’t have magic anymore, and that it wasn’t a nightmare she had in her coma, she screamed in the goahti, breaking Honeymaren’s heart in half. 

Elsa’s breathing still was ragged, and her lover placed a hand above hers. The blonde immediately hissed, but it was involuntary, so the Northuldra retracted her hand right away. 

“Sorry.” 

“No, I am.” Muttered Elsa. “I just… They are very sensitive.” 

Honeymaren nodded in pity. They had changed her to a Northuldra tunic when she was unconscious, and since she opened her eyes, everything she touched had an impact. 

“Your whole skin is sensitive. It’s normal. It’s the first time that you don’t have magic coursing in your veins.” Assured Honeymaren. 

She felt bad for stating the truth so bluntly, and her heart sank in her chest at Elsa’s tearful sigh. 

“Anna is going to arrive soon. The Wind Spirit understood my worry and it’s very likely that she’ll basically swoop her up and bring her directly here through the air.” Reassured the brunette with a joking tone to make her lover smile. 

She succeeded, for the blonde’s lips finally twitched up for the first time since she woke up, and Sonya and Honeymaren felt relieved to see her in that mood. Honeymaren blew on the mug of tea then brought it to Elsa’s lips, tilting it so she could drink, and her girlfriend jolted at the liquid. The brunette had good reflexes and tilted the mug back to not splash its content out. 

“Gods, I didn’t– I’m sorry.” 

“There’s no need to apologize, mitt lys.” 

“No, it’s not just sensitivity… It’s so hot, I didn’t expect it.” 

Honeymaren frowned, looking down at the mug on which she had blown, and eyed Sonya. The latter frowned too. She had prepared it while Elsa was still in her coma, and they had spent a long time calming her down, so it should be lukewarm by now… Honeymaren carefully brought it to her lips to test it, and indeed the tea was just warm, not hot. She was about to make that remark out loud, until she realized that it was because Elsa’s affinity with hot and cold had been completely disrupted. 

“Yeah, it’s still very hot.” Lied the Northuldra, and she placed the mug aside. 

Sonya was clever enough to not check after her. 

“In the meantime, maybe we can talk?” Smiled Honeymaren. “Come on, I need you to tell me…”

She put a caring hand on the pelt that was above Elsa’s knee. 

“…How do you feel?"