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Min älskade 5

Elsa Groningen watched Snorri make her way down the spiral stairs of the turret. She sat on the bench upright, head held high, her whole body poised to stand. She had been Watching this girl ever since she and that sailor boy had come to the House of Foryx, Watching her come to the landing on her own once a day, stand at the balustrade with her eyes closed for long moments, muttering under her breath, occasionally gesturing at something that wasn't there. Elsa had had her suspicions for a while now—aside from her actions, the girl had unnaturally pale hair, those trademark blue eyes, she dressed in rags, and moved with a certain stealth that, to Elsa, was a dead giveaway. The girl was a witch, no two ways around it. And today, Elsa was determined to squeeze a confession out of her.

As one might have guessed, Elsa Groningen was the horse-faced Guardian. Hotep-Ra had met her at the Castle, where she'd served as a handmaiden to the Queen of the Time. Elsa had often been the go-between for Hotep-Ra whenever he needed a message sent to the Queen, and the ExtraOrdinary Wizard quickly befriended the handmaiden. Then just before he departed for the House of Foryx for the last time, Elsa's father, a Palace stable tender, was caught in a scandalous act of adultery with one of the Princesses, and the entire Groningen family was disgraced. Taking pity on her, Hotep-Ra offered the newly dismissed handmaiden a job as a Guardian of the House of Foryx. Grateful, Elsa accepted, happy to have a new position far away from the Castle gossip. But what Elsa never figured out was that the House of Foryx had a tendency to make people, well, not their usual selves. And little by little, the the once-easygoing Guardian developed a heightened sense of paranoia, and as she was a haughty woman to begin with, the combination was rather...unpleasant. As a certain fifteen-year-old girl was about to find out.
Elsa jumped to her feet and sauntered over. "And what do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

Snorri started and whirled around. Her white-blonde hair had a messy, bedhead look to it, and her azure eyes seemed rather milky and unfocused. "Jösses! Wh-who are you?"

A foreign word, Elsa thought. Interesting. "My dear girl," she soothed, her voice adopting a sickly sweet tone, "You have not answered my question. I asked you—" the words had an edge to them now, "—what did you think you were doing?"

"I—I...I..." Snorri was at a loss for words.

"Oh, come now." Elsa reached out a hand and stroked the girl's cheek, noting her flinch with satisfaction. "You've been coming down here every day now whilst you and that boy have been Biding your Time. Surely you must be up to something. No, no, it's all right," she added as a panicked look crossed the girl's features, "you can tell me. I won't hurt you. Not if I have to." Got you, she thought.

Snorri stared at the Guardian in dismay for a few seconds. Or minutes. Or hours, even. But eventually, her face shifted into an expression of grim determination. "No," she stated cooly. "I will not tell what is not your business."

Furious, Elsa lunged forward and grabbed Snorri by the wrists. The girl gasped sharply as the Guardian dug her long, pointed nails into her pale skin. "I tried to be nice, oh, yes I did," Elsa hissed, more like a snake now than a horse. "But I can see that you are going to be...difficult. I know you for what you are, and I know what you have been doing. You couldn't hide from me, could you now? Oh, no you couldn't." She smiled, showing off a row of straight, pointed teeth. "But I'm feeling rather benevolent right now. I'll give you. One. Last. Chance." With each word she tightened her fist, the nails sinking so deep that they began to draw blood. "I don't want to see you practicing your witchcraft ever again. Understand? Now get out of my sight, you Witch!"

At the last word Elsa ripped away her nails and flung the girl away, turned on her heel and triumphantly marched through the concealed door to inform Hotep-Ra that there was a Witch on the loose.

Snorri tore up the stairs and skidded into the corridor.

Witch witch witch witch witch...

She had to get to Nicko. That was all she needed to do.

Witchcraft witchcraft WITCH witchcraft witchcraft WITCH...

Nicko would understand. He would know what to do.

Get out of my sight, you WITCH!

She needed him. He would comfort her and erase the pain.

WITCH! WITCH! WITCH!...

He would make everything better.

Nicko was sitting at the desk, in the middle of sketching the Mermaid from memory when Snorri burst through the door. Startled, he jumped from his seat. "Hey, what's up?" Then he noticed her violent trembling, the tears flowing freely down her face. "Oh gosh, Snorri, what's wrong? What happened?" Nicko hurried over, and Snorri threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. Needless to say, Nicko was more than a little shocked. Snorri never acted like this. Never. Feeling more than a little concerned, he patted her on the back and let her cry for a while, then whispered, "Hush, now. Shh, it's alright. I'm here."

Gradually the tears ceased to flow, and Snorri whimpered, "I could not do it. I could not say I am a Spirit-Seer."

"Hey, shh. No, of course you couldn't. You don't have to tell anyone if you don't want them to know. Now," he went on softly, moving a hand up to caress her hair, "start from the beginning."

Snorri obliged. Still clinging tightly to Nicko, she haltingly related the events on the landing. As the tale progressed, Nicko grew tense as his anger flared brighter and stronger. When Snorri mentioned how sharp the Guardian's nails were, he immediately pried her hands from his neck and stared at the angry red dotted line circling her left wrist like a bracelet, dripping blood all over his own hands and tunic. Nicko was mortified. Seeing the ghastly red bracelet triggered something deep inside him, and he dropped Snorri's hands and impulsively made his way to where the packs lay on the floor by the hearth. Nicko dug through the many pockets in his own bag until his fist closed on a small metal object he had found at the Trader's Market. It was time. He knew it was.

Bemused, Snorri watched as Nicko dropped something in his pocket, slowly walked back over to her, and clasped her hands again. "Snorri?" he asked.

She wiped away a stray tear and sniffled. "Yes, Nicko?"

"Snorri, there's something I want to ask you. Will you listen to me for...however long it takes to say it?"

Cocking her head, Snorri nodded.

"Thank you." Then, to Snorri's complete and utter shock, Nicko, still clasping her hands, knelt down on the floor in front of her and began to speak.

"From the moment I met you, Snorri, I felt drawn to you, in a way that I have never truly felt before. I loved everything you said and did, and I felt this strange sense that I wanted to be a part of it all. And I still do." Nicko hesitated, then pushed on. "And then today, when you told me about the Guardian, I realized something more: I want to protect you. I don't want that to ever happen to you again, and if you say yes, it won't have to." He took a deep breath, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple gold ring. "Snorri Snorrelssen of the Land of the Long Nights, when and if we ever find the Time or place, then...will you marry me?"

Snorri gasped. A million thoughts ran through her mind, making her dizzy. Her knees buckled, and she fell back onto the bed. They were too young, weren't they? And what would her mother say?

"Snorri? Are you alright?"

Who cared what her mother would say?

Sitting up, Snorri smiled at Nicko. Tears streamed down her face again, but they weren't hurtful. "Yes. Yes I am...and yes I will."

Nicko's jaw dropped. Then he laughed; a happy, triumphant sound to Snorri's delighted ears. Next thing she knew, he had lifted her up off her feet and was twirling her around the room. And then they kissed. Yes, they kissed each others' lips; an innocent, honest kiss. As they broke apart, and Nicko slid the ring on her finger, Snorri leaned forward and whispered something in his ear.

"Min älskade. My beloved."