A Walk In The Forest (Elsa POV)

After a long day of running through Gemma’s dungeons, Mia had come to take a walk with her.

Elsa always loved it when she did. Mia usually tried to make time to hang out with her, even if it wasn’t for long. The tranquil girl enjoyed every moment of it.

As she looked around the beautiful snow covered forest they walked through, Elsa wondered if Gemma and Ivy could use their magic to create an ice themed garden or small glade.

That sounded like a really pretty idea. Maybe she’d ask them about it sometime.

Elsa looked at Mia, as the taller girl began to speak.

“You remember how I was freezing up before? Like during training and stuff?” Mia asked.

Elsa turned to look at the taller girl, nodding.

“I think it’s getting better. I’m not freezing up as much. The memories aren’t gone, but I guess I’m slowly moving on, you know?” Mia said.

Elsa nodded again. “That’s good. I’m glad.” She said earnestly, smiling at Mia.

Mia smiled back affectionately.

Elsa really liked it when she smiled at her. It made her heart happy.

The two of them kept on walking in a simple, peaceful silence.

There wasn’t much that needed to be said between them. They kept each other updated with what happened during their days.

Instead, they simply enjoyed each other’s company, walking side by side in the snow, through the beautiful forest surrounding them.

A small fox bounded through the trees. Its colouration was absolutely beautiful, a side effect of the mana coursing through its body.

It was one of the creatures that spawned as a result of Gemma’s Queen class, so Elsa had been told.

Maybe once everything had calmed down a bit more, Gemma would be able to level that class a little more.

Mana foxes, bunnies and wolves were all adorable creatures, but Elsa certainly wouldn’t complain if there were a bigger variety of cute creatures.

She was sure the animals wouldn’t mind either. From what she’d been told, the animals that spawned here were all friendly (a fact which she was pretty sure of after having spent enough time around Skylar’s pet wolf), so she was sure they’d appreciate some friends.

When things calmed down…

Elsa’s mind drifted towards the coming conflict. She was generally a peaceful person, and she didn’t like fighting. One of the many reasons she’d opted to become a Fateweaver. It meant she hadn’t needed to fight.

She also didn’t like to think about fighting. She usually saw it as kind of pointless in most cases.

There was little that she could see being done to solve their issues with Mathias without a fight though. It was difficult to ignore it all.

He was pretty clearly a cruel person, despite his insistence that he was nice. He enjoyed the suffering of others.

He was also a lot more powerful than her friends. And Gemma had something he wanted, apparently the potential for even more power. He wasn’t going to stop this. There couldn’t be a peaceful resolution.

When she had seen their reactions that day, especially Mia’s she couldn’t help but help them.

She’d already been toying with the idea of leaving the Fateweaver’s guild to join her friends, partially so she could spend more time with Mia.

This made that decision easy for her. They had needed more time, Gemma especially. Elsa was able to give them that time, so she had.

And in doing so, had joined herself to their guild, a decision which she fully stood by.

She honestly didn’t really know or care about her opinions on what should happen around Sydney. Mathias wasn’t good for this place, she knew that much. Other than that, she didn’t really have an opinion.

All she wanted was for the people she cared about to be safe. And Mia. Especially Mia.

Mia poked her on the forehead, and Elsa started in surprise. She hadn’t noticed Mia beginning the movement.

The athletic blonde chuckled. “I can see you worrying. No thinking silently. If something’s got you bothered, talk to me about it. Otherwise, enjoy the peace with me.” Mia instructed gently.

Elsa smiled. She liked how direct and carefree Mia was with life. If there was something to worry about, she’d handle it. Otherwise, she was happy going with the flow.

“I’m just overthinking.” Elsa admitted, and Mia chuckled again.

“I can tell from the look on your face. Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked.

Elsa thought for a moment, then nodded. “That might be nice.” She said.

Mia searched around, and spied a nice spot under a particularly large tree. “Let’s stop here for a bit then.” She said, leading the way to sit under the tree, with Elsa content to follow.

The two of them sat close together. Mia took a gentle hold of her hands, and looked her in the eyes.

“What’s on your mind?” Mia asked, her full attention on Elsa.

Mia was so startingly beautiful that Elsa nearly forgot what she had been thinking about. It was way too easy to get lost in her face, her lips so soft and inviting, her gorgeous blue-

Elsa blinked. Focus, girl. Focus.

“I’m just worried about you. All of you.” Elsa answered.

Mia gave her a small smile. “You too huh?” She asked.

The taller girl sighed, looking out into the trees, her gaze suddenly far away, contemplating issues that such a lovely soul as hers, should never have to think about.

“I know it’s scary. It scares me too. I think we’ll be okay though.” Mia said.

“How do you know though?” Elsa asked.

“I don’t. That’s the difficult part.” Mia admitted. “I trust the others though. I trust Gemma, I trust Ivy, heck, I even trust Belle. That’s kinda all we can do.” Mia said.

“Yeah I guess.” Elsa replied, not exactly satisfied with the answer, but not knowing how else to reply.

The silence stretched on between them. They held each other’s hands, but neither one of them had their gaze on the other. Their minds were far away, at the site of the impending battle.

Eventually, it was Elsa who broke the silence between them. “I honestly don’t really care much about Sydney. I just want you safe. Is that bad?” She asked.

Mia let out a short bark of laughter. “Well I don’t think it’s great.” She replied. “I get it though. It’s hard to care about random people when your home and the people you love are in danger.” She replied.

Elsa nodded slowly. “Yes.” She said simply.

She relaxed her body and let her head rest on Mia’s shoulder. Mia put her arms around Elsa and started to softly scratch the top of her head.

Elsa smiled at the gentle motion, nuzzling her head into Mia’s touch. She could sense Mia smile at this. That made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

The snow fell softly around them, the wind just barely blowing. The treetops swayed gently, and the forest whispered around them, the soft sounds comforting to the worry that Elsa was experiencing.

“I don’t think it’s worth worrying about it much honestly.” Mia said softly. “Whatever’s going to happen, will. The best thing we can do is train hard and enjoy every spare second we get.”

Elsa nodded tenderly. “As long as you promise to be safe.” She said.

Mia chuckled softly, moving her head and looking at Elsa. Elsa raised her head from Mia’s shoulder to return the warm look, her heart lifting as she stared into her beautiful blue eyes, as one might a carefully crafted work of art.

The simple majesty of her gaze was utterly stunning. And as Mia smiled at Elsa’s words, Elsa found herself unable to look away. Why would someone ever want to look away from a woman so heavenly as her?

“I promise.” Mia said. Two simple words that resonated within Elsa’s soul, the piety within them striking a chord in her. She would follow Mia to the ends of the earth if she had to, just to make sure she was safe.

And she knew Mia would do everything in her power to uphold her word. Elsa could hear it in her tone of voice, feel it in her bones. Mia would come back to her after all was said and done. Of this, she was sure.

The world around them faded away, her earlier worries silenced as they continued to look at one another.

The only sounds Elsa could hear were the pounding of her heart against her ribcage, and Mia’s deep and relaxed breathing.

Elsa took in every detail of the beautiful woman’s face, from the colour of her eyes, to the framing of her hair, how she smiled, and the way her eyes seemed to twinkle with life and warmth.

Elsa only noticed they were moving closer together as their noses brushed against one another.

She nearly started again at the contact, but somehow, the tips of their noses touching felt comforting. Reassuring. Safe.

She could hear Mia’s breathing speeding up. Or maybe it was her own?

They inched toward each other with almost agonising slowness. She was so close to knowing if Mia’s lips were really as soft as they looked, and how they felt on hers. So close to doing what she’d wanted to for so long…

And Mia pulled back.

Elsa let out a soft sound of confusion and disappointment. What happened? Had she messed up somehow?

Mia was quick to reassure her. “I’m sorry, it’s not you, I promise. I really really want to…you know.” She said, her cheeks reddening.

“Then what’s wrong?” Elsa asked, still confused.

“I just need to talk to the others first.” Mia said.

Elsa hummed in understanding, her worry fading. “So it’s not me?” She asked.

Mia shook her head. “No. No it isn’t.” She said.

“And we can still….you know…after you talk to them?” Elsa asked.

The smile returned to Mia’s face as she nodded. “Definitely.” She said.

Elsa hummed again, her smile mirroring Mia’s. “Okay.” She said, content to wait as long as Mia needed.

Mia kissed her forehead. “You’re a really special girl Elsa.” She said, smiling.

“You are too Mia.” Elsa replied happily.