Iduna: Icy Reunion?

Map Days: Part II

There were plenty of Northuldran writings about the forest and its geographical wonders. Iduna was thrilled to see that Odion had preserved these memories of her home.

"Oh, this writing is from the Northuldra leader when I was still there! Let's see, I might be able to translate some of it...

There is a source of magic, further north, beyond the Dark Sea. It is said to hold memories. Ahtohallan is the name, the lost frozen-"

"River!"

"Yes, the river! How did you know?"

"Haha, you told me a moment ago that 'johka' is 'river' in Northuldran, Iduna!"

"Oh yes, I already did!" Iduna laughed. They had already discovered so much about the neighbouring lands by searching through the artefacts just over a couple of hours.

They had even found an alternative map of Arendelle, where the land split apart, creating a path for boats to travel further north.

Odion invited Iduna over to join him and some others at Hudson's Hearth in the evening. She accepted, hoping that Agnarr was still engrossed in his reading. Anna and Elsa would be well; Gerda and the others would look after both of them until her return, the next day, supposedly.

Iduna changed into a green dress and partially let her hair down before returning to town at the inn.

***

The inn was warm and welcoming; Odion introduced Iduna to the others.

"Good evening, Your Majesty! We are honoured to have you come along."

"Good evening! It's fine, you can call me Iduna. This place feels rather nice and cosy."

Enjoying the new setting, Iduna conversed happily with the diverse bunch at Hudson's Hearth that evening. She felt less lonely as somewhat of a foreigner in Arendelle, befriending not just European neighbours, but people who had travelled from across the globe- from places like Somalia, the Philippines, Ceylon, and many more.

Even better, they brought homemade food to share! There were flavourful, spicy dishes and sweet treats galore.

Iduna felt that she should have brought something too, but she was reassured by the others that her humble presence at the inn was greatly appreciated.

While Halima was pouring out drinks, Iduna was happy to find out that very few actually drank at the inn. Despite the fancy glasses, she wasn't a fan of the champagne celebrations at the castle, nor of drinking other alcoholic beverages. Iduna looked curiously towards another sweet-smelling beverage.

"This is ginger beer. I guessed you don't drink, and lucky for you, Iduna, most of us don't either. This has absolutely no alcohol. Here, take a sip.

The refreshing ginger beer was an instant hit with Iduna. "Ah, this tastes great! Is it homemade?"

"Mmm-hm, it is. Odion requested that I make some for this evening."

Earlier on, Iduna spoke about the legends of Ahtohallan, even treating everyone to her beautiful singing voice. They were all so intrigued by Ahtohallan and the theories of how magic and memories were connected to the river.

Everyone raised a toast, cheering
"To Ahtohallan!"

They all smiled at Iduna. Halima gave her a special mention, thanking her for joining them at Hudson's Hearth. Iduna felt her eyes well up as she smiled at the genuine people and their hospitality. She gave thanks to everyone there too, giving warm hugs and shaking their hands.

It got to around two in the morning when people eventually started to return home. Iduna stayed for a while longer to help Halima and see the map's progress. Odion had completed most of the map, covering the Arendelle and Northuldra lands, and also had the future year MDCCCXL (1840) labelled in the top left corner. He said that it should be done by the next day.

"I left Ahtohallan for you to add. It's located here on this map- the river means a lot to you and your family. I hope you've had a good time, Iduna"

"Thank you for creating the map and inviting me to this event, Odion. It has been such a wonderful, different day - I've really enjoyed it."

Queen Iduna went back to the castle feeling fulfilled. It had been ages since she had witnessed such liveliness and joy. Iduna knew that whether or not she would make it to Ahtohallan, she had been blessed with much serendipity in her four decades.