And then we're back with a new Hans and Elsa fic? When there's a whole sequel I've been sleeping on for years but never finished?

Yeah, I'm calling myself out. But I thought of a plot after Frozen II and figured it's better to make a new timeline now, right? Alright, sharpen your pitchforks and knives and any questions you have I'll be more than happy to answer.

Also I'm claiming "Into the Unknown" for the Helsa fandom. It makes too much sense.

I'm Afraid of What I'm Risking if I Follow You

Chapter 1

The true balance of nature between each of the spirits had its way of resonating inside Elsa, giving her a sense of peace she had never experienced. Maybe as a child, back when Anna had been well aware of her powers, but it had been too far back for her to really remember the feeling, when all seemed right with the world. Her heart swelled with gratitude; she'd hold onto the frosted back of the Nocc, letting her hair flow freely behind her without a care.

No, Queen of Arendelle had never been her true calling. This was, this communication with the forest, as their bridge to the organic. As the fifth spirit, who could hear their call if their ways were threatened again. Sure, compassion had gone far in the kingdom—but she'd never been the social butterfly. That had always been Anna's strength. From what she'd heard and seen, Anna ran the kingdom fairly, with Kristoff at her side and Olaf as something of his own royal assistant to the new queen.

There were still games of charades every few weeks, and Elsa would spend quite a bit of time in between the forest and her former home. She and Anna had even taken something called a "photograph" together, commemorating their familial bond and capturing their likenesses for the next generations. In fact, once Anna returned from her trek to Corona, she'd even promised Elsa she'd throw some sort of gala to commemorate the new union between the two kingdoms. But Elsa adapted to nature, to the Northuldra so quickly it even surprised her—and she'd never spent as much as a night in the outdoors prior to her sudden move.

The outside really was for her, something Elsa didn't realize, given she'd spent her whole life behind closed doors.

Bruni scurried his way beside the Nocc as Elsa took him on his daily ride on land, her frost keeping him solid. His legs strengthened on the ground more and more with every ride; strong enough, Elsa hoped, to carry her great distances one day.

Hopefully soon, anyway. Sure, communing with the spirits and finding herself certainly brought this closure to the mystery of her past, but then… what was her future? Just here with the Northuldra, waiting for something to alert her? To call her again? Charades with Anna while checking in on Arendelle every once in a while? Sure, she was content with her current present, but… how long could it last before she started feeling like she did before venturing out of Arendelle?

Suddenly Gale, who trailed behind them, whistled something that immediately brought the Nocc to a hurried stop. Bruni and Elsa soon sensed it, her brown furrowing in confusion. There was no voice in the distance, nothing to follow, from what she could gather...

Bruni hopped up to Elsa's shoulder, and she winced at the slight burn before making him another flurry. "I know," she murmured, "the feeling is so much stranger than last time. I can't explain it."

Taking a deep breath, Elsa turned the Nocc around and faced Gale, whose leaves whipped around just beside her. "I sense the source at the tribe?" she asked. With how Gale started back toward home, Elsa took that as a yes.

"Hyah!" The Nocc picked up speed at Elsa's urge, and she hoped the situation wasn't too dire. Maybe the Earth Giants roamed too close to the dwellings? But the feeling wouldn't be this. She knew what that was like—they just needed goading away from the living area. This needed addressing. This was something new entirely, Elsa knew it.

No huge smoke in the distance, save the fire built every evening, which meant nothing was on fire... as she approached, no reindeer came out in a panic, so Ryder had nothing to fear. Easily Honeymaren would have been the first to warn Elsa about the trouble and what it was, but only Yelena stood by her hut, preparing for Elsa's arrival.

When she dismounted the Nocc at the pool of water beside Yelena's hut, she took off his frost so he could return to the water. Bruni hopped off of Elsa's shoulder and scurried away.

"The spirits are in some sort of panic," she said. "What's going on?"

Yelena sighed. "There was a fire, a broken-down transport several miles from the forest. An injured man was found stumbling close to the outskirts of the village."

Elsa's brow furrowed. "And no one else?" she asked quietly, fearing the worst.

"No." Yelena shook her head. "Not that we know of. Ryder went scouting earlier, but… it doesn't look good. This man might just be the sole survivor."

Elsa's hand shook as she slowly covered her mouth, trying to take in the severity of the situation as best she could. "Is he… will he be okay?"

"He's stable, and a bit delusional from some blood loss in his abdomen," Yelena explained, leading Elsa back into the village. Nearly everyone surrounded her hut, where Elsa figured the man was likely healing. "He'll need some time before making his way anywhere. He's resting with the physician now, and hasn't really spoken, not even his name when we asked."

"But… why would a single injured man cause the spirits to stir so much?" Elsa wondered aloud. "Surely this isn't the first time this has happened near the forest."

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Honeymaren popped up beside Elsa, dropping in on the conversation. She had this way of just… appearing, from sneaking around. It scared even Elsa sometimes. "Maybe it's because it's the first time something like this has happened since the mist lifted?"

"It's possible," said Yelena slowly, like it was only one of many reasons the spirits could have reacted the way they did.

Honeymaren shrugged, nudging Elsa with her shoulder. "You're the bridge between the spirits and us. You could probably figure it out quickly."

Elsa wrung her hands together, a force of habit she'd kept even past her glove-wearing days whenever her nerves got the better of her. "I don't know… I wouldn't want to impose questions on him if he's still recovering."

"He's very conscious, if that's what you're worried about," Yelena said, sensing Elsa's unease. "We were able to give him water earlier. If we just got a name, it'd be a start."

Sighing, Elsa started toward the hut. "All right." She didn't know if it was something the spirits were telling her, or just her own anxieties, but her heart was about to just leap out of her chest from beating so quickly. She ran a hand through her hair, hoping that might help calm herself down a bit (it really did not).

The tribe parted so Elsa could make her way inside, greeted by the warmth of the hut from all the combined body heat. Currently the physician busied himself by finishing up a new dressing on his wound, and Elsa kneeled down to get a better look. It really was fresh, and she could see the remnants of a few burns on his skin, as well. What hell, what hardship…

And then he turned, and her eyes widened.

Certainly on first gaze, from far away, his appearance didn't feel familiar. But though those eyes had sunken in and dark bags surrounded them from lack of sleep, they still shone that serpent green. His attire lacked flourish, for sure, in just a disheveled shirt and slacks, hanging off his lanky frame like they'd been stolen. His auburn hair had grown quite a bit these past three years, well past his shoulders and kept tied away from his face. His face thinned out; he'd definitely lost a bit of weight since she'd last given him a glance. But that was to be expected, given what had happened. The lack of sun made his freckles stand out more, more prominently than even Anna's. He winced as he leaned back onto his elbows once the physician lowered his shirt, trying to find a more comfortable position.

Their eyes met, his horrified expression mirroring hers. "Queen Elsa…" he whispered, and the whole tribe immediately turned their heads toward the former queen.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Immediately Elsa went on the defensive, wishing she could lash out at him the way she wanted, the way he deserved after everything he'd done to Anna, and what he'd almost done to her. "You have some nerve even attempting to show your face this close to Arendelle again."

Honeymaren, who had followed Elsa into the hut, muttered under her breath, "So much for not wanting to impose on him."

But Elsa wasn't done with this interloper. "The Northuldra shouldn't have even shown you any compassion by bringing you in and taking care of you; you deserve to rot." In fact, he might have even started the fire that had taken down the transport! No wonder the spirits had warned her to be wary!

"Alright, we get it." Honeymaren kneeled beside Elsa, crossing her arms tightly. "We get that you've obviously got a past with this man. But who is he?"

"Prince Hans Westergård of the Southern Isles," Elsa sneered, his name sounding disgusting as it rolled off her tongue. "He tried to take over our kingdom by attempting to murder both my sister and me."

The statement caused a murmur among the Northuldra, now clearly in conflict with how they'd just helped this man, especially after they'd taken Elsa in and had made amends with the old Arendellean guards. Hans just held the same expression, wide-eyed and almost… helpless. But Elsa knew just how manipulative he could be; he was probably just acting to make himself seem more sympathetic.

"I was trying to get as far away from the Southern Isles and Arendelle as I could," he tried to explain. "The damn transport assured me we were headed north."

"You shouldn't even have the freedom to travel," Elsa shot back. "You should still be serving your sentence with your brothers in the Southern Isles."

That was enough to get Hans to frown. "You'd have to bring me back dead, then."

All right, that Elsa did not expect. Enough for her to blink, faltering and forgetting what she had planned on insulting him with next. The fists she'd clenched in her lap held so tight that her palms started to sweat—but at least her anger didn't cause her powers to lash out.

He had the audacity to actually scoff. "You think I had something to do with the transport burning, don't you?"

"Is that so wrong?" Elsa shot back. "I have valid reasons."

"Right, because I was supposed to figure that the Queen of Arendelle would bring herself here, to this tribe in the middle of a forest." Hans winced as he tried to sit up further, like he was finally taking in his surroundings with the Northuldra tribe tensely watching their terse exchange. "What are you doing out here? Don't you have a kingdom to run?"

Before Elsa could try to think of some excuse, some way she could at least pretend she still held some authority, Honeymaren interjected (in an annoyingly amused tone, Elsa noted), "You've been out of it for a while, I see. She's not the queen anymore. She's been living with us."

Hans tried to laugh, but instead winced at the pain it caused in his abdomen.

Oh, if he wasn't injured… Elsa would have punched him as hard as Anna had. "Anna is a million times the ruler you'd ever be," she tried instead.

"No, it's… it's irony. I'm laughing at myself. I'm sure she's a fine queen, if a little clumsy and overly optimistic."

Since when did the manipulative Prince Hans ever feel any self-deprecation or… admiration for his enemy, even? All the quips she'd had planned, all the insults she'd been conjuring in her mind over the years, her grudge festering and dormant for so long, all dissipated the moment he opened his mouth and subverted everything she thought he'd say or do. The last thing she expected in a reunion with Hans was her mouth getting dry.

So she stormed out of the hut instead.

"I'm not leaving an injured man to fend for himself out there," said Yelena, who'd been peeking in on the heated conversation. "Especially when she spirits are acting up."

"That's just a coincidence," Elsa retorted stubbornly, thinking if she believed it long enough, it might just become true.

"Even so. He can't do any harm here."

She hated that the statement rang true. No longer was she the timid queen who couldn't control her powers, and he wasn't near a kingdom to sway into loving him just for a power trip.

And no longer did they hold their royal titles: hers by choice, his by escape.

She held no authority; Yelena had the ultimate say. And if Elsa just escaped to Arendelle, who knew what Hans would do, without her keeping him in check? She couldn't leave for her usual treks with the spirits, even, until she was certain she'd never see Hans again.

"Fine. But the moment he heals he's gone," she agreed reluctantly. Why was it cold? She was never cold. "I'll escort him back to the Southern Isles to serve out his sentence myself, if I have to. I don't care if he said he'd only return dead."

To her annoyance, Yelena gave a chuckle. "I admire your determination."

Even worse, Yelena left it at that, stepping away.

Before she could say anything else, Gale breezed past her. Elsa interpreted the calming winds as a means to relax a bit, to breathe, to stay in the moment.

But she meant what she'd said. The moment Hans healed up, she'd do everything in her power to keep him as far away from her, from her sister, from her former kingdom, as possible.

Sundays are gonna be my update days, going back and forth between my new Reyux fic and this one. My New Year's Resolution was to commit to writing more, and so far we're off to a pretty decent start!

As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.