idk what to say for an author's note except i ordered an onward playset and an onward coloring book which is coming in the mail in a few days and also i love you guys thank u for reading my stories

You stumbled through the forest while holding Barley's arm. You and your friends cautiously followed the woman as she marched on, not looking behind her.

"E-Excuse me, your name is... what did you say it was again?" Ian stammered.

"Honeymaren," she said. 

"That's a pretty cool name," Barley said. He stepped forward and placed a hand on his chest. His voice dropped lower as he announced, "My name is Barley Lightfoot. This is my brother, Iandore Lightfoot, and this is ___, my girlfriend. She is the one hearing voice. And it is because of that reason that we have left our great town of Mushroomton and have come to you and your forest seeking guidance."

She turned slowly and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you talking like that?"

"Barley's a little, uh, theatrical," Ian explained. 

You stepped forward. "Can you please help me?"

She smiled slightly. "I believe that I can. You three are from very far away. I doubt that you have heard of us before. My people are called Northuldra; we are the people of the sun. We live in this great forest and have for many generations, traced back for centuries."

"Wow," Barley whispered. He took off his beanie. "This is awesome."

"You said the woman in the statue was called Elsa," you said. "Is she the one that is calling me?"

"Not exactly," she said. She turned back around and walked on. "Many years ago, Elsa came to this forest for the exact same reason that you did. She was seeking an answer that would tell her why she was hearing that voice inside of her head."

Swallowing hard, you looked at Barley with wide eyes. He was already looking back at you in a way that said, This is it. This is where we find out.

"Was Elsa like me?" you asked. "Did she control ice and snow?"

"I'm not sure how much truth I am supposed to reveal," she said. She stopped in a clearing and turned around. "Sadly, it is not my story to tell."

"Then who will tell it?" you asked. You sighed and shrugged helplessly. "Please, I... I-I have to know." 

"Ahtohallan will," she said, her voice strong and steady and sure. 

Barley tilted his head to the side. "Ahto... what?"

"Ahtohallan," Honeymaren replied.

The leaves in the trees began to rustle. Ian spun around quickly as the wind returned in a fast gust, knocking into you once again. You gasped with the strength of it. Ian lifted the staff in his hands and began to mouth a spell. 

"Your magic has no power here," the girl shouted over the wind. "Only nature is obeyed. But please don't fear. You've already shown him that you're harmless. He is a protector of the forest too, you know."

"He showed me things," you said. "When my power---"

"You showed yourself things," she clarified. "I know this is a lot to dump on you all at once and I apologize for that. This was something that I learned long ago. Water has memory, and what you witnessed were memories of times in the past."

"And I uncovered them?" You glanced at your palms in disbelief for a brief moment. 

Honeymaren smiled at you and sank down on her knees. She took in a deep breath, turned her face to the sky, and closed her eyes. 

"What is she doing?" Barley whispered. 

You only stared at her as she began to sing. 

"Oh --- she's singing. That's weird." Ian said. 

"Shhh." You held up a hand in warning. "I know this."

You knew what?

"Where the north wind meets the sea," her soft voice sang, "there's a river full of memory. Sleep, my darling, safe and sound... for in this river all is found."

She opened her eyes and stood up slowly. Her eyes were on you as she continued to sing out. From the trees, reindeer stepped out without fear. A small blue salamander scurried out of the bushes. The wind picked up, only to softly blow around the back of your neck before it swirled around Honeymaren. The colorful leaves got stuck in her dark hair.

"In her waters, deep and true, lay the answers and a path for you. Dive down deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned." Her voice dropped for the last word.

You stepped forward, your eyes widening in amazement.

"Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear, and in her song, all magic flows. But can you brave what you most fear? Can you face what the river knows?

"Where the north wind meets the sea, there's a mother full of memory---"

You let out a soft gasp before you finished with her, the lyrics coming up straight from your heart, as if they had been written there.

"Come, my darling, homeward bound," you sang softly. "When all is lost, then all is found."

Barley look at you with surprised. "You... you know the song?" 

You shook your head and shrugged. A grin spread across your face. "I-I guess I did. I didn't know that I did."

Honeymaren smiled. She leaned against one of the reindeer, her hand patting down the fur on its neck. "Our mothers sing it to us. Perhaps yours sang it to you."

"Oh, I never had a mother," you said. "I was in foster homes from when I was three months old to when I was eighteen."

"Someone brought you into this world," Honeymaren said, "and there's a chance the answer to who that is is in Ahtohallan."

"That's the river," you said in realization. "Ahtohallan is the river."

"You're right," she said.

You whirled around. Barley looked down at you proudly as you grinned. "Bar, I have to go there. All of the answers I have ever needed are right there! I can't believe it was so easy as to just... just hear a song and know."

"I told you, babe," he said, "you are capable of anything."

You nodded, a swell of love and relief and pride filling your chest. But in a moment, in vanquished. "But it can't be that easy."

"It isn't easy," Honeymaren said. "The Dark Sea is large and dangerous and the waves are full of anger. If you have doubts of any kind, the water will consume you and drag you under. Many people go into the sea without ever being seen again."

"Dangerous?" Barley mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing. His eyes fell on you and he felt his stomach start to hurt. 

"How will I cross?" you asked. 

"By any means necessary," she said. As the wind swirled around you and her, she held up her hand. The leaves traced across her palm, making her giggle. "I see you have encountered the wind spirit."

"Yeah," you said, "he's not the most fun to deal with."

"No," she agreed. The salamander scurried up to her feet and she bent down and scooped him up. She winced a little as his small feet patted around her hands. She approached you slowly and you finally got to see him. His wide eyes blinked at you. "And this here is the fire spirit. He is the smallest and surprisingly, the less grumpy of the four." 

"Does he have a name?" you asked. 

"Bruni," she said. She smiled fondly. "Elsa really changed him, I think. She changed all of us. She was a wonderful friend of ours. A wonderful friend of mine." 

"And somehow I am connected to her," you said. You sighed. "I have to go to Ahtohallan, or I will never know."

"Gale will lead the way," she said. The wind spirit circled around you in response, and you realized that even he had a name. "Be mindful of the giants --- the spirits of the Earth. They never take kindly to strangers in their forest."

"Thank you," you said. You reached behind you and took Barley's hand. His fingers slipped between yours and silently the three of you moved on.

You left Honeymaren behind and continued on. The blow of the wind directed your steps. As you came to a cliffside, you got the first taste of sharp seawater on your tongue. The wind whipped around angrily. The waves were tall and crashed against rocks in the sea. The water was as dark as you had imagined; an unforgiving pool of grey that must hide a thousand secrets.

"That's it," you said. 

You took in a deep breath. You were terrified and yet you knew in your heart that you were ready. You wanted to get this secret over with. You needed to know.

You reached behind you and unbraided your hair. As you worked the twist of hair loose, you turned and looked at Ian and Barley. Both of them had expressions of worry on their faces. 

"I'll go cross the sea and you two wait here, got it?" 

Barley shut his eyes and sighed. "No."

You stopped as your fingers brushed out the last twist. "What do you mean, no?"

"No, I am not letting you do this on your own," he said. His voice was sad. 

"Barley, I don't have a choice."

"You could not go," he said.

Thunder crashed somewhere behind you; lightning struck the beach. "Not go? Are you serious?"

"I know you don't have a family and you want to know what it's like to have one or at least know where you came from," he said. "I know you want the voice to tell you what you're doing, but --- but --- you're going down a path that I can't follow! Can't I just be enough for you to know that you belong here on Earth? That you have a place?" 

You blinked at him. You were hurt, but above all you were angry. You were angry that he wasn't being supportive of you. You were angry that he was making you feel as if you had to choose between you or him. You were angry. 

"Me wanting answers doesn't mean that you're not enough, Barley Lightfoot," you said, glaring at him. "I have always made the decisions that better protect you, haven't I? But sometimes I can't keep my promises! I can't take you with me. Now you don't want me to find out---?"

"Baby, you know I want you to find out who you are and where you came from. You know that I do. But I can't... I can't let you go out there and hurt yourself or get yourself killed. I can't sit on the beach and wait to see if you make it or not. So why don't we sit back and come back with a plan where both you and I can go together? We'll build a boat and we'll --- well, we can't enchant it with Ian's staff but we can --- we can --- I don't know! We can think of something!" He looked around him and moved his hands to his hair. "We can, uh, we can..."

Your anger melted away into sadness. "Barley," you whispered.

"Maybe Gale can hold the boat together while we cross the sea," he said. "Maybe it can help us." 

"Barley."

He turned and looked at you --- broken. 

"We both know that I have to do this," you said. You reached for his arm and slipped your hand down under your fingers found his. "And that I have to do it alone."

"I can't lose you," he said. 

"I know," you replied. "I can't lose you either. That's why I know that I have to go alone, because I think there's a greater chance of me making it than you. This forest called me here. It didn't call you, Barley."

His face fell. You reached up and cupped his cheek. Tears filled your eyes as you tried to think of what you really wanted to say, but there was too much. The words made your chest swell and made your throat tight and made your eyes burn.

"Barley, you're the best thing that has ever happened to me," you whispered. Saying that was enough to make the tears start to drip down your cheeks. "You believed in me when no one else could. You trusted me when no one else did. You are the only person in the world that loves me as much as you do. I never had a family to count on when I was growing up, but somehow I became lucky enough to find you. You are my family. And when I think of you, I think of what you taught me. You taught me that I am enough. Didn't you?"

"Yes," he said. 

"Aren't I enough?" 

"Of course you are, baby," he breathed out. He cupped your cheek, too --- you smiled. "I just don't want to lose you."

"Then trust me that you won't," you said. You held his gaze pleadingly. "Trust me."

He nodded, his lip trembling. He dropped your hand and swiped the back of his hand against his eyes, erasing any sign of tears that dripped down. "I trust you with everything that I have, my love. You are the strongest warrior I have ever known, and I have met a lot of strong warriors in my life."

You laughed breathlessly and launched yourself into his arms. You clung to his shoulders tightly and screwed your eyes shut as you held onto him for just this brief moment. Drips of icy water landed on your back and neck as the wind whipped around. You winced; it was a reminder that you had things to do and you had to do them now.

You pulled back and kissed him quickly. If you kissed him too long, you'd stay. You knew it.

"I'll meet you right here on the shore," he said. "I won't leave until you've come back."

"Okay," you whispered, nodding and blinking back tears. You looked at Ian and reached for his hand. He placed his in yours with a smile.

"Good luck," Ian said. "I know you can do this."

"Thank you," you said. You smiled and turned. With strength in your steps, you descended down the slope of rocks that lead to the water. 

Where the north wind meets the sea
There's a river full of memory
Sleep, my darling, safe and sound
For in this river all is found

You stared at the waters without fear in your eyes. You were determined. You were ready.

In her waters, deep and true
Lay the answers and a path for you
Dive down deep into her sound
But not too far or you'll be drowned

You remembered the lyrics, you remembered the voice. As you stepped onto the beach and kicked off your shoes and slid out of your jacket, you held your chin up high. 

The voice called for you again.

Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear
And in her song, all magic flowsBut can you brave what you most fear?
Can you face what the river knows?

"I hear you," you said. "And I'm coming."

Where the north wind meets the sea
There's a mother full of memory
Come, my darling, homeward bound
When all is lost, then all is found

Above you, Barley cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "My girlfriend is fearless!"

You found the strength inside of you to step into the water, your power swirling inside of your soul. 

/ / /

two or three more parts left (depending on the length of them!!!)