"She couldn't sleep, she was too excited about exploring the forest with you" Freja paused in thought stroking Isla's hair as she slept at her side "She has told me how you first met in the forest, is it true what she says?" Hans came to rest in the chair overlooking Isla and Freja and a gentle smile crept upon his lips as he chuckled and nodded "The first time I saw her I thought that my mind was tricking me, dressed in a white dress and with hair like fresh snow, she looked like a spirit of the forest, not a child of the meadows" Hans leaned over and contently uttered "She was so afraid of the dark and the forest but somehow...." Freja looked upon Hans expectantly as he struggled to explain "It's as if?" He paused again and thought deeply about the journey they had shared so far as she gently asked of him "As if what?" Hans looked at Freja and shrugged "The forest trusts her" He paused again as his mind sought reason for words "She had never set foot in the forest and yet the fireflies flock to her, the forest shows her paths that even I have never seen" Freja glanced at him with a disbelieving smile as she uttered "Polania?" staring deep into her husbands eyes as he sought reason before shaking "Isla is not Polania!" Freja glanced at him "How can you be certain?" her gaze demanding answers as she added "She knows of the stories of old, yet she has never heard them before?". Hans looked warily at Isla and then to his beloved Freja "I can't explain it but she isn't Polania, that is just a fairytale that we teaches our children to protect the forest" Freja folded her arms defiantly and huffed "I believe that Isla is Polania, she knows of the frozen forest and the tunnel that leads to it" Freja glanced at Hans "Tell me how she can know of this if she has never been in the forest before?" Hans looked at Freja and just shrugged "I don't know how she knows of these places but she isn't Polania!". Freja smirked wryly as Hans succumbed to her, glancing at Isla and stroking her pure white hair again "She tells me how you taught her to become a Guider" Hans smiled gently as Freja's temper simmered down "She has learned quickly and well" He paused briefly thinking of how quickly she had adapted to a world so starkly different to her own "You are proud of her aren't you?" Freja gently uttered staring at him with soft eyes as he nodded "Yes I am" without thought. Freja sensed his strange pride "I am not the only one who is enjoying being needed again am I?" Hans glanced at Freja looking upon him with such longing eyes as he thought of the times so long ago when their own children had needed them "It has been some time since Jakob or Frederik truly needed us, I forgot how it felt" Freja gently rubbed his weary hands "She tells me other things too Hans" her voice felt different as he glanced at her "Is it true what she says about her father?" Hans sighed deeply and contemplated as Freja asked "Did he do what she has told me?" Hans covered his face with his palms, dragging his finger down his face before begrudgingly shrugging his shoulders and sighing "I do not know" Freja looked upon him for more and Hans didn't wait to add "She had a strange mark upon her cheek when we met, she told me she fell at first but, eventually, she told me the truth" "Do you believe her?" Freja looked upon him with eyes questing deep into his soul as he nodded "I believe her". Freja had a strange smile creep upon her face as it dawned upon her and she asked of Hans "You trust her don't you?" Hans didn't hesitate to nod in reply "I trust Isla just as the forest trusts her" Freja looked upon him proudly but took a carefully timed breath and placed her hand back upon Hans until his eyes met hers "Promise me you will protect her Hans?" He gazed deeply into her eyes and sensed Freja's meaning was far deeper than her words foretold as he smiled upon her "I will protect her just as I would protect our own children" Freja listened carefully and asked one last thing of Hans. "Should it come to be true about her father, promise me that you will not leave her behind" Hans looked upon Freja as she added "Bring her back with you and I will raise her as my child" Hans gripped her hands gently, raising her left and kissing the back of it and looking deep into her soul "If I suspect anything should happen, then I will bring her back and we will raise her as our own". Freja's eye started to well up as Hans asked of her "Now will you come to bed?" Freja looked upon him, settled herself back beside Isla and shook her head "She needs me tonight, if she has a nightmare, she will need me and I will be here for her no matter the hour" Hans smiled upon her gently and kissed her goodnight, turning the lamp down low leaving her and Isla to rest.