Chapter Text
As her horse trudged through the snow and ever-increasing wind, Cassandra began to think she’d finally run too far away from her past. The blizzard felt more like a punishment with every forward step Fidella made, from the wind shrieking in her ears to the snow clouding everything in a sea of white. The cold burrowed under her winter gear and stung her skin, like a thousand tiny spears bleeding her out. Actually, that might have been preferable; at least if she bled onto the snow she could tell which way she’d come from.
Cass had briefly entertained such an idea an hour ago, and decided that was when she had begun to lose her mind.
She’d heard when she set foot in Arendelle that there was a pass through the mountains that would lead her further into the north. It would be the furthest from Corona she’d travelled in two years; farther even than the dark kingdom was. The pass was slated to cover up with snow for the season in a few days, however, so Cass had been left with little time to plan a route if she didn’t want to get stuck in Arendelle all winter. She’d only spent a short time there, but she had started to pick up too many familiar feelings to her old homeland. That wasn’t what she’d come all this way for.
Cass pulled her scarf up over her nose, grimacing as the wind cut right through the thick material like a piece of shortcake. Frustratingly, her thoughts turned to the shopkeep who’d sold her the gear and navigational tools before she’d set off. He’d told her that a snow squall was about to arrive, and she should delay her departure if she wanted to avoid the worst of it. Cass had written the warning off as overly cautious; she’d been through more perilous encounters than some cold wind. If that shopkeep could see her now, she wondered if he’d be smug or worried for her. She wasn’t sure which of those she preferred.
Fidella shook her nose against the wind, and Cass reached down to comfort her. “It’s okay girl, just a little further,” she tried to reassure her steed, but her voice was drowned out by the maelstrom. Perhaps that was for the best; Cass had no idea how far they were from safety, nor which direction they were heading. She tried reading her compass to get her bearings, but even that had frosted over. She sighed, her misty breath mixing with the snow; to think she’d be done in not by dangerous magic or mythical beasts, but by her own carelessness and impatience.
If Fitzherbert were here, he’d say something dry and distracting. If Rapunzel were here, she’d raise Cass’s spirits and find some bright side to all this. If they were here… well, they wouldn’t be here. She’d be there, safe in the castle with her friends and not freezing to death by herself hundreds of miles away.
Fidella lurched to a halt, nearly launching Cass out of the saddle. She looked behind her at Fidella’s flank and saw one of her hooves had sunk into a snowdrift. Cass cautiously dismounted while her horse yanked at her back leg and grew increasingly panicked. “It’s okay, girl. I’ve got you.” She knew struggling too much would only get Fidella stuck faster, and any wasted time in this blizzard was a death sentence. They had to fix this now.
Cass pulled a small ice pick from her satchel and started to carve away the snow around Fidella’s haunches. She didn’t need to unearth the leg in its entirety; if Cass could just loosen it from the packed snow, her horse was more than strong enough to pull it out herself. Sure enough, as Cass cleared the snow out of the small hole, Fidella’s leg started to shift and loosen from its trap.
Unfortunately, getting free from the ice hadn’t calmed Fidella down. Cass barely had a moment to realize her steed had gotten loose before she felt a sharp kick strike her shoulder. Fidella reared back and leapt into the air, sending Cass falling onto her back into the snow. However, she wasn’t as lucky as her horse; instead of sinking into the snow, Cass rolled onto her shoulder and slid down the slope away from Fidella’s panicked whinnies. She felt the icy ground grinding against her wounded arm as her surroundings disappeared into the blizzard. By the time she’d gotten through the shock of hitting the ground, she’d crashed into a tree at the bottom of the hill she’d been climbing.
Cass couldn’t bring herself to stand; the pain in her right shoulder had finally begun to sink in, a sharp, burning sensation not unlike when she’d touched a curse with her hand years ago. She couldn’t even hear herself scream over the wind’s relentless howl. The rest of her body wasn’t much better, as her winter gear wasn’t made to protect her from a fall down the mountainside. Cass couldn’t even see Fidella anywhere, which meant she had no idea how far she’d fallen. There weren’t any bright sides to be seen.
Cass’s hood fell off her face, leaving her raven black hair rippling in the wind. Her vision was growing foggy and the cold left her unable to unclench her hands at her sides. She didn’t even have enough clarity of mind to force herself up, only to tilt towards her left as she fainted to avoid her injured shoulder. By all accounts, this was the most dire position Cass could recall being in.
As her vision failed, blocked by the snow and her own numbing thoughts, a shape formed in front of Cass’s eyes. A person on a white horse with pale skin and long blonde hair hanging down past her shoulders. Cass couldn’t make out her face, but a voice seemed to be coming from her, the words indecipherable but filled with worry and pity. If Cass could laugh right now, she’d have given her mind a raucous cheer for filling her final thoughts with the visage of her long lost first love. If she could imagine anyone trekking out into the unforgiving wilderness to save her sorry frozen behind, it would be Rapunzel. There was something almost sad that, at the end, she couldn’t escape that one part of her past even in her final moments.
Oh, well. Cass barely let those thoughts wash over her before the whites of the blizzard and her phantom rescuer blurred together. In a moment, they’d taken her waking thoughts with them, spiriting her consciousness off into the frozen void.
<><><>
Elsa could feel the blizzard swirling around the village, every soaring flake zipping through the air in a tapestry of cold. So when something entered their path, something shaped too much like a human being, the Snow Queen stirred from her trance with a jolt. For half a second, the wind struck the heart of Northuldra and whipped at the walls of Elsa’s hut. It was a signal to everyone else that something had gone amiss.
Elsa stumbled outside, calling for Yelena. “Is everyone safe in the barrier? Have you done a headcount?”
Yelena hurried to Elsa’s side, her expression furrowing as she saw panic behind the sorceress’ eyes. “Yes, Elsa. Everyone’s safe and accounted for.” She leaned in closer and whispered, “Did you see something? A vision or perhaps a signal from a spirit?”
Elsa shook her head. “I felt someone out in the storm. They were trying to traverse the mountain, but I think they’re lost in the white out.”
“Someone travelling in this maelstrom?” Yelena asked, her voice laden with shock. “Only a fool would venture into this weather.”
Elsa sighed, knowing she was about to make Yelena regret that choice of words. “I’m going to find them. Hopefully I’m not too late.” She gathered up a pile of furs from the tanning hut and whistled into the blizzard. The sounds of hooves clomping and waves churning intermingled in a symphony of hurried notes, before Elsa’s trusted mount, the Nøkk, burst into the village. Her skin still rippled like the surface of the roiling sea, but the blizzard was enough to coat her watery body with icy crystals. Elsa smiled and stroked her chin. “Sorry to put you out in this weather, girl. But I need your help saving a lost soul.” Nøkk bowed slightly, indicating she’d accepted her rider’s request. Elsa climbed onto her back and produced icy reins and a bridle from her hands, which set themselves on Nøkk’s head delicately.
Yelena approached Elsa cautiously. Elsa, being one of the spirits herself, could communicate with them and share their emotions. But the other Northuldrans did not have that luxury, so they still mostly treated the others like Nøkk with a healthy fear and respect. “Dear, be careful. For all we know, this could be something you’re not prepared to face.”
Elsa smiled. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to face something I wasn’t ready for. All the same, I should at least give back the grace you’ve all given me.” She took Yelena’s hand softly. “I won’t be long. Get a fire and warm clothes ready for the person I bring back.”
Yelena nodded, and Elsa sat up and shook the reins, signaling Nøkk to run. In a flash, they’d disappeared into the white wall of snow.
Elsa had no trouble traversing the cold, even in the sheer magic fabric she’d been able to produce with her powers. But for Nøkk’s safety, she parted the snow on the path they took forward. Nøkk, as such, ran with unmatched speed and determination, adopting Elsa’s own sense of urgency. They galloped to the spot where Elsa had felt the parting of the snow, but the snow was still too thick to see past. Elsa widened her protective partition until into view came a tan horse, wearing its saddle and bridle but not its rider.
She was bucking and whinnying, her head frantically jerking from side to side like she was searching for something. Elsa dismounted Nøkk and approached the horse. She didn’t have the same experience with animals as her brother-in-law, but hopefully she’d be able to calm it down. “Shhh, it’s okay.” She whispered. “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re gonna be alright.”
The horse turned Elsa’s way and cocked her head. It looked for a moment like the horse recognized Elsa, but she shook her head and let out a scared whinny.
“That’s it, don’t be scared. We’re friends.” She gestured to Nøkk, who bowed slightly. “Do you know what happened to your rider?” Elsa had been hoping this lost steed was at least as smart as Sven, and evidently she was right, as the horse shook her head and sighed, worry still trapped behind her eyes. Elsa herself looked around, hoping to see the person she’d felt back in the village.
On the edge of the partition, just before where her vision ended, Elsa caught a glimpse of a black spot contrasted against the snow. It was too dark to be a tree or any animal that lived on the mountain, so it could only be her missing person. She took off in its direction, cutting through the layer of snow on the ground with an icy road beneath her feet. Nøkk and the other horse followed on her tail, the former knowing his rider must have seen something important.
Elsa approached the figure in the snow, lying against a frost-covered tree. It was a woman bundled in mountaineering gear, half conscious and sporting a bump on the back of her head. Her hood had fallen down as well, revealing her short black hair and skin almost as pale as Elsa herself. She also had a scabbard hanging from her hip, but it had evidently broken in the fall, leaving the blade buried in the snow. Elsa knelt down and took the woman’s face in her hand; as she suspected, she was freezing. She couldn’t have been down for more than a few minutes, but that was a death sentence in this weather.
Elsa called for Nøkk and lifted the black-haired woman into her arms, which was an admittedly difficult task for her. She didn’t have the physical strength of her brother-in-law or even her sister, since she relied so heavily on her magic in her day-to-day life. The woman tensed up at her touch, and Elsa then noticed her right shoulder was bleeding into her coat. Nøkk trotted up and leaned down to take the unconscious woman on his back. The other horse was close behind, and whinnied nervously at the sight of what Elsa figured was her missing rider. Elsa wished she had more comforting words to give the poor creature, but time was of the essence if they were to save this woman.
Elsa mounted Nøkk and urged him to gallop back to the village grounds. Frostbite was curable, but if her injury was that bad… Elsa didn’t want to imagine the worst. She had to focus on getting them to safety before she could worry about healing her. Nøkk took off at unbridled speed, the other horse hot on his trail. Elsa was quite surprised she could keep up with Nøkk in such heavy snow. She was one dedicated horse, that was for sure.
The black-haired woman mumbled something that Elsa struggled to make out. She thought she heard the word “wraps” but had no idea what that could even mean. She was fading fast, and Elsa instinctively grabbed her arm tight. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna make it. Just stay awake for me, alright?” The woman didn’t answer, but her eyes lingered on Elsa as they rode. Her gaze was longing, but also seemed to hide a deep melancholy, as if she was ashamed of something. Did it have to do with her fall? For a moment, Elsa let herself be lost in those eyes, and without thinking stroked the woman’s cheek with the back of her hand. The black-haired woman whispered something about wrappings again. What did that mean?
Elsa shook it off. The pressure must have been getting to her. She rode back into the village and handed the unconscious woman to the Northuldras’ healer, hoping they knew what to do about her. All the while, the snow queen’s thoughts lingered on the longing gaze she’d left with, praying that soon she’d be able to meet it again.