There was distance between them, or a wedge that found itself pressed against their friendship likes nails to wood. There was a darkness in the way the Icebound greeted both Essetia and her wolf, but the chilling sensation was too fleeting for the spy to accurately put a name to. Whatever troubled the young Queen was something that Essetia would see to light at one point or another, but she offered nothing but understanding and solidarity until then. For a moment, Elsa’s touch was balm enough to soothe the uneasy feeling of confusion that surfaced upon their reunion. Yet, things still felt tense and uncertain… though not for any reason that Essetia herself could appoint, but rather something deep seated in her friend and former General. “It sounds regal to me, but not without confidence behind its telling… What troubles you?” Her words were but a whisper, a soft tune intended to cradle her friend in the calming notes. But they were not as binding as Essetia had hoped, but more so the unravelling of troubles yet to be named.

However, the apology that graced her lips and the trembling of her admission made Essetia recoil almost violently. As if the Queen knew the spy’s own heart, she voiced her concerns about the invasion, a well of emotion spilling from the depths of the past and into unknown territory that only produced pain and heartache. Again, and not for the first time, Essetia remembered her time in the North and the unpleasant feel of snow beneath her hooves. She remembered her desperate attempt to free herself from the icy snares of her captors, their faces passing absently from mind until finally landing on one in particular. She recalled the thistle meadow and how strange she felt to be hobbled by the clever contraption crafted by a handsome engineer and how angry, volatile, and outspoken she’d been. Those were days she’d almost begun to overlook, to forget, but here they were being dredged up from the recesses of her mind, the dark corners of her thoughts.

Yet, not one of those memories contained a vision of beauty or of hatred for the Icebound and her new placement in the Edge. After all, who better to rule the land by the sea than that of her sister, her friend, her leader, and guardian? The softness in her eyes had swelled and the sadness that laced her tongue made Essetia feel weak, as if she had somehow betrayed Elsa with her loose language and wild opinions. That had not been her intent way back when and was certainly not her intent now… She had come to peace with news of the Edge, had recognized the new leadership, and wished only the best for the land of her birthright. It was time that Elsa knew of such well-wishes and it was time that she to sought peace for herself and her home. “You have done nothing to offend or disgrace the memory of the Falls. You have achieved more than I could have thought possible and your ruling of the Edge has only served to mend frayed bonds. Do not fret my sister… I will always be at your side, whether it be in flesh or in heart.”

However, her words were of no real comfort to the Icebound and Essetia found herself spiraling downward into the self-made destruction that the invasion had left behind. That pain and agony, that weight that she had thought to bear, it was a crushing entity that would not let sleeping dogs lie. But the spy had thought herself recovered until Elsa had come back, worry and doubt pressing a sword against both their hearts and asking which of them should fall… But she had risen in the past, while Elsa had merely stumbled, her integrity robbed, her physical state broken, and her own confidence stricken into the burning grounds of a home that was no longer hers. Perhaps it was time for relief… time for Essetia to burden the weight of them both. “We were but pieces Elsa… easily overcome. There is no blame suited enough to fit any of those residing in the Falls during the invasion. Don’t you understand that? It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t my fault… it just was. Lingering in the past won’t make the present any less daunting, but it will certainly keep you from moving forward. It’s time to forget, time to start living again. Don’t you want to live? Because as I see it, you’re slowly dying… let it go Elsa, it’s not your burden to carry.” The words left her tongue in violent disarray, but in such a way that her sternness could not be mistaken. Thoughts of the invasion had plagued them all for too long, had torn away parts of them that would take time to heal. Yet, that’s what Elsa was trying to do—or so it seemed. “What things would the Earth God have of you to restore your vision? Name it and see it done my friend, anything at all.”

To see her so broken, so ill of ease, felt binding and heavy. How long had she bore such weight until the crushing of it forced her to bend? Essetia felt guilty for having put her in such a position, felt angry at herself for not seeing it sooner, and mostly she felt sad for not finding her in her time of need. The tears threatened, but did not fall. Not yet.