Iduna experienced loss at a young age. When she was five, men came and attacked her family, her parents leaving her hidden in their home to go and ensure her safety. Several hours later, another Northuldra group found her, hiding in the shawl her mother had made her, the only survivor.Taken in by the group that had found her, Iduna grew up well cared for. Her best friend was Gale, the Wind Spirit, and she would often sneak off to play rather than join the others with their tasks. It was simply too tempting not to. That friendship ended up saving a life the day the fighting erupted between the Northuldra and Arendellians — that of the Crown Prince, Agnarr. Gale had deposited them both in an Arendellian wagon, covering them with a sheet. Behind there were three guards, out for Northuldran blood. Iduna was trapped.Eventually she fell asleep in the cart, only being discovered back in Arendelle itself. Almost found out, she was assisted by Lord Peterssen, the deceased king’s right-hand man. He took pity on her, claimed her as an Arendellian child whose parents must have been lost in the fighting, and ensured her safety. Taken to the orphanage, he also arranged for her to receive lessons from Miss Larsen, the tutor to the crown prince. All she had to do was keep her true past a secret.And so she grew up, best friends with the prince, spending her days with him. She adjusted to being a citizen of Arendelle. She got a job as an apprentice to a local inventor, helping him with his windmills; she would read to the children in the orphanage and bring them cookies once a week. And as they grew older, so too did the feelings between Iduna and Agnarr. For a while they struggled with the thought of the fight the council would put up if they were to try and marry. He was, after all, soon to be king of Arendelle, and Iduna was just… an orphan. But after some complications, they were cleared to marry — and Iduna proposed as closely to the Northuldran tradition as she could get.Almost three years after their marriage, Iduna gave birth to their first child: a beautiful daughter they named Elsa. All through the pregnancy, Iduna had suffered from chills, and it seemed fitting for the babe to be born on the winter solstice. One of the first things Iduna did was show her daughter the northern lights in the sky, and the ice coating the village below them.On the same day as her presentation to the public, their darling child demonstrated a peculiar skill: she possessed magic. Ice magic. While Iduna knew in that moment it was a gift, a gift for their love for each other, Agnarr worried for their daughter. Together they agreed to keep it a secret, for Elsa’s protection. The people of Arendelle were still distrustful of magic, even all the years after the Battle of the Dam.Three years later, and after a much easier pregnancy, Iduna gave birth to their second daughter. Anna was a happy baby from the start, and for some years, their family life was joyful. Iduna would whisper the words of her own tongue, keeping it a secret from all but her children, her heart soaring just to hear their voices speaking Northuldran back to her.And then there was the accident.After that sad night, Iduna’s heart broke to see her children separated. However much she tried to keep their spirits up, she could see the effect it was having on both of them. But Agnarr had been scared deeply that night, and he refused to undo what had been put into motion. The best Iduna could do was put the vast library of Arendelle Castle to good use, and try to research an answer for her daughter. Her studies brought her back to the story of her childhood: Ahtohallan. When everything else was ruled out, Iduna drafted a map of where she believed the river could be, steeled herself, and went to her husband.That night, she told Agnarr everything. Who she really was, how she had saved his life. And she presented her idea to him. It had been ten years, and the effect on their eldest was clear. Elsa could not go on like this. And so he agreed, even with her idea to tell both of them even if their mission failed. Tell Anna the truth, pull Elsa out from in the shadows.Their ship sank just beyond the mist protecting the Enchanted Forest.

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