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Yelena walked along the edge of the lichen meadows, hoping to see the first flowers peaking out from the melting snow along the edge of the woods. It had been two years now since the mist had settled around the forest on that terrible day, two years since they had been able to see the constellations at night which would tell them when the flowers would begin to bloom. They could count the days now, but it wasn’t the same. She caught herself yearning for the time before, but it would never be like that again.
She heard some noise from the direction of a nearby stream, and went to investigate. It was foolish of her to go alone without telling anyone, but she gripped the knife she was carrying, as if that would make a difference if an Arendellian soldier decided to attack.
It was Lieutenant Mattias. He was washing a set of plates. He seemed to be the only soldier willing to venture off on his own, but at least he wasn’t one to cause trouble.
“Lieutenant!” she called out.
He looked up. “Yelena, hello. How has the winter treated your people?”
“We’ve done fine,” she said. “We didn’t see any of you all winter.”
“We found a spot protected by the hill over there,” he said, pointing upstream from where they were. “It wasn’t quite as good as the spot you recommended last winter, but it was comfortable enough.”
Yelena nodded. She wasn’t sure why she felt like helping these people at all. But Mattias had proven himself trustworthy.
“I should be going,” she said.
“I hope I’ll see more of you this spring,” Mattias said as she walked away. She looked back and nodded.