Frozen 3

Chapter 65

Honeymaren

I ran up the stream. I did not feel my legs burning with fatigue. The lack of food and energy accumulated over several days was no longer felt. There was an emergency. I stumbled on a dead branch and sprawled along the yellow grass. My lungs were burning. Tears came out of my eyes and I could not hold them. I banged my fists against the ground in a furious gesture. Exhausted, I could not get up. I lay there, breathless, and glanced at what was left of the stream. There was only a multitude of stones of all sizes, piled up next to each other. There was not a drop of water left.

***

I had returned to the village, disappointed. The sun was beginning to rise on the horizon. I hadn't slept all night and yet I had no desire to sleep. I had only one idea in mind: find the reason for the disappearance of the water and bring it back.

I entered my cabin by violently opening the door. It slammed against the wall. At the same time, Ryder, who had apparently spent the night in the living room sofa, jumped up and ran towards me.

"Honeymaren! Where have you been? I thought..."

My hand split the air and landed on his cheek before he could even finish his sentence. My brother uttered a cry of pain and rubbed his aching face.

"What's wrong with you?"

'You! Never speak to me again,' I said, pushing him out of my way.

Ryder seemed so shocked that he did not intervene any further and let me pass. I rushed into my room, closed the door behind me and threw myself on my shelf. There were only a few books inside – the only ones we were able to save after the fire. I grabbed one, knocked the others down, and flipped it quickly. The information I was looking for had to be there. One particular page then caught my attention. Its corner was torn, as if to differentiate it from others. I read it diagonally but in the end it was not the text that challenged me; it was the image that accompanied it. It was exactly the same pattern as on the shawl of Elsa and Anna's mother: the four elements of nature with in the center the fifth spirit, the bridge between the human and magical world. But something I had not paid attention to until then seemed obvious to me now on this image. I tore the page of the book in question, stuffed it in the pocket of my pants, and threw the rest of the book on my bed before rushing out of my room. I accidentally ran into Ryder who had not moved and gave him a black look.

"Honeymaren, can you tell me what you f...

"What did I say?" I interrupted him on leaving the hut.

I slammed the front door behind me, not letting him answer me. The day had completely settled, bathing the village with a blinding light. It was already hot and we had almost nothing left to cool off. I crossed the camp with a determined step, avoiding thinking about what to do next. I had no choice anyway. I went down the small road that led below the village. I had no other alternative, the situation was too critical. There were only about 20 metres left from my goal. Elsa's cabin was there, in front of me. I was on her doorstep. I was preparing to strike when something held me back. The last time I came, I had discovered what I never wanted to see. I took a deep breath and struck the front door three times. It opened by itself, without anyone coming to handle it. Intrigued, I passed my head inside. It was dark, the shutters were closed. I finally entered after some hesitation.

"Elsa? I have to talk to you," I sighed.

No answer. I went straight to the room and, once in front, I prayed internally not to discover anything else shocking. I gently pushed the door. It was terribly cold; there was ice everywhere. And in the middle of it all was Elsa, curled up on herself at the foot of her bed. She was crying, her face buried in the hollow of her arms on her knees. I entered the room silently and sat down on the bed not far from her. It was the first time since I knew her that I saw her in this state, and yet, it did not bother me, I had no emotion. The wound she had inflicted on me was still far too present. I was tearing my throat to report.

"Go away," she murmured, without even raising her head.

"Certainly not. I did not make all these efforts to leave immediately. It costs me a lot to be here."

I bit my lower lip, hesitant to show him a hint of compassion.

"What is it?" I finally asked.

She did not answer. Her silence made me understand that she did not want to talk about it. Elsa finally straightens up, wiping her tears with a backhand.

"Why did you come back? I thought..."

"Yes, you thought well. That is not why I am here. I need you. The spirit of the water has disappeared."

"When? "

"Tonight."

The young woman gave me an astonished look.

"Tonight," she repeated.

"Yes. I want to know why. And for that I need to see your mother's shawl."

"What do you mean?"

"Please."

Elsa held my gaze for a few moments and then leaned on the bed to get up. I immediately noticed that she was wincing to stand up and that she was struggling to stay there.

"Everything is fine?" I asked.

"Y... Yes," she said with difficulty.

She tried to walk as normally as possible to the other end of the room where there was a large cupboard, also covered with frost.

"Why are you leaving all this like this? I've never seen you let the ice fill the room where you are.

"I can do nothing more."

Her answer seemed strange to me. She worried me but I didn't want to show her.

"So why don't you open the window? With the heat outside it would melt everything in minutes.

"The window is blocked because of the cold. It cannot be opened."

Elsa managed after some difficulties to open the doors of the cupboard, took out Iduna's shawl and returned to me, hardly preventing herself from limping.

"Seriously, what do you have?"

Still no answer. I sighed as I grabbed the shawl that she handed me. The young woman sat beside me on the bed, looking over my shoulder at what I was doing.

"Let's see..."

I looked carefully at the fabric that slipped between my fingers. Then I finally found what I was looking for. I took the book out of my pocket. It was the same pattern.

"What are you so intrigued about?" asked Elsa.

"Look. The fifth spirit in the center is surrounded by the other four. But what I never noticed was that the fifth spirit is connected to all the others, or rather, the other four are connected to the fifth spirit. They all seem to depend on it."

"If that were the case, the four elements would not have existed before I was born. "

"Unless ... unless someone else has taken on the role you have today."

Elsa stopped, seeming to meditate on my words.

"Anyway, if they're all attached to you...it means that their disappearance is also related in some way. What do you think?

"I...I don't know..."

I stopped, understanding that I was making her uncomfortable. We had a long time. It seemed to me to last forever. In any case long enough to lose myself in the thoughts I was repressing since I entered this room.

"I know you will never forgive me for what happened," she said, breaking the silence that had set in. I don't forgive myself either, I don't know what happened that day, I wasn't...myself."

I turned my head to hide my face from her. I did not want her to see the tears forming at the corner of my eyes.

"No, I can't forgive you. I'm sorry..." I whispered weakly.

I got up and headed for the bedroom door.

"Can I keep it?" I asked him, pointing to Iduna's shawl with my chin.

Elsa nodded.