Chasing Joy

When running is your life, is any prize enough to make you stop? With her last chance at the world championships fast approaching, Sam's anxiety is getting the better of her, so much so that she is forced to go on holiday so she can come back refreshed. But do her trainer and parents think she is going to sit on a beach and do nothing? Fat chance! A holiday to Norway to see the Northern Lights (that just so happens to have lots of cross-country skiing) is the perfect ruse! But certain things keep getting in her way from training: the eerie melody that haunts her, her friends changing in ways she couldn't imagine, their luxury cabin being smashed by an avalanche, and oh yeah... the fact that trolls and huldra are real! Fritha has never used her song to calm a human woman before; neither has she seen someone with so much anxiety in their aura, but if she doesn't do something, it may well spread to her troll companions. Only, it isn't her usual song that comes out, but an ancient, primal invitation that, when consummated, binds the soul of the huldra to the listener for life. Captivated by the runner, she gives in to her desires, heart and body, ignoring the warning in the legends. When the time comes to make a choice, will Fritha tell her lover the truth? Will Sam give up everything she has worked for her entire life and run away, or will running back to humanity mean the end of her life?