Frosted (A "Jelsa" Fanfiction)

Chapter Two - Salt

Leaves rustled overhead, and gusts of wind began to pick up. The farther the temperature dropped, the more thankful Elsa became that she was left unaffected by the cold. She was, however, still greatly affected by hunger. Stomach rumbling, Elsa continued on, keeping an eye out for any trace of movement. The walk itself was draining. The entire trek so far, she'd used her magic to cover her tracks and keep herself from imprinting the snow. She had two choices. Either stop and take a break, or keep moving and find something to curb the hunger.

Elsa kept moving.

A small white hare darted across her path, and Elsa whipped out her bow, shooting it, closing her eyes right before the arrow met its mark. Elsa never hunted for sport. It felt.. wrong. Like something in her gut was just saying 'no'. 

She cringed as she prepared the bunny. The gore was new to her - foreign, almost. Back home, royalty never prepared their own meals. After the notable struggle, Elsa promised herself she'd help the chefs out more when she got back, and make sure they were being paid fairly.

Fire was certainly not an option. She had nothing to light one with and personally, flames set her on edge. They threatened her magic and everything she stood for. Smoking the meat wasn't an option. Swallowing her slight disgust, she consumed the raw rabbit without later regret. It warmed her stomach, and filled the formerly famished Elsa right up. She cleaned the arrow off with snow, and buried the remains of the bunny that she hadn't eaten out of respect. After that, she was on her way again, smoothing the snow behind each step.

A loud and husky chirp sounded overhead. Elsa knew before she looked up that it was the bird from earlier. Checking just confirmed it. It circled above her silently, and Elsa froze in anticipation. Something dropped from its claws.

Elsa bent down to pick up the small clear packet full of grainy white powder. It had a note attached. She unfolded it, and read it.

"To cure your meat for next time. The bird is a hawk, by the way. - JF" Elsa read the words aloud, twice over. The letter was done in ink, in a font fancy enough to remind Elsa of her own handwriting. She glanced upward. The bird was gone.

Opening the packet and tasting a little confirmed it was salt. She stowed it away in the pocket of her quiver.

Elsa's purpose for the trip had started out as nothing, and become something. She had few questions, but they were more than enough to continue to track the hawk, and to figure out who 'JF' was.

The sky darkened, and nightfall befell the mountains quickly. The sky was pitch black, and totally starless. The only light was a small glistening dot in the South- Arendelle. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. She found the light to be comforting- a sign that her kingdom was still alive and well. That was the last thing she saw before she drifted off to sleep.