Title: Serendipity
By: garlic
Disclaimer: Frozen and affiliated is property of Disney. How To Train Your Dragon and affiliated property of Dreamworks.
Summary: A young Night Fury meets a pair of young Arendelle princesses.
AN: I was working on other fic and then my hand slipped. While Frozen and HTTYD appear to take place in the same vaguely Scandinavian country of Not!Norway they are clearly from different time periods, but let's just ignore that. There is some light Elsanna, but nothing clearly romantic, so it could be read either way.
The night Elsa and Anna first met a dragon they were eight and five years old respectively. They were staying at the outskirts of town while the King and Queen made their annual journey to mingle with the people of the kingdom - checking on important businesses and farms and the like. Eager to watch the sky play at such a different view point the girls had stayed up late, cuddled under blankets as the heavens seemed to dance above them.
It was Elsa who spotted the dark figure fly into the shadowed glen a little ways up the mountain. And it was at Anna's insistence that they snuck out to investigate.
It took them a while to reach the valley, but it was worth it. The girl's eyes widened at the sight - the moon shone bright and clear upon the valley, reflected white and silver in the pristine lake settled at the bottom. But what really took their breath away was the small creature huddled at the shore taking deep draughts of water.
They crept closer, excited at their discovery. They were just a few yards away when it paused, head cocked back. It sniffed the air suspiciously, eyes narrowed, and with a growl whipped around to face them.
Suddenly worried, Elsa quickly stepped between it and her sister, arms raised defensively. It growled again, and with no other warning launched a small ball of fire straight for them.
With a shriek of alarm Elsa cast wildly, and ice and fire collided with a loud sizzle which dissipated in a shower of wet snow and steam.
Elsa and the creature stared with astonishment at each other. They were frozen in this strange tableau when giddy laughter pealed in the air.
"That was so cool!" Little Anna gleefully clapped her hands, peeking out from behind Elsa's shoulder. Elsa tried to keep her behind her but Anna persisted in walking forward, eyes shining and palm outstretched.
"It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you. We're friends."
It looked warily back and forth between the two before zeroing in on Anna, who had plopped to the floor a few feet away, hand still held aloft.
Elsa tensed as the the creature considered her sister, hands at the ready, but unwilling to step closer and provoke an attack. She fought back a surge of panic as it inched forward, sniffing cautiously at Anna's fingers. Large yellow eyes stared daringly into light teal, muscles shifting under thick black scales. Another minute passed in silence (Elsa marveled at the patience the usually over-excitable Anna was displaying) before a dark head cocked and a long tongue rolled out and swiped over Anna's fingers, setting off a fit of giggles.
Elsa relaxed, smiling slightly as the beast nuzzled closer, now giving more enthusiastic licks to the delighted redhead. Without the threat of violence Elsa took the time to properly assess the creature.
Roughly the size of a large Elkhound, it was long and sinuous like a lizard, with scales that upon close inspection actually seemed a gradient of dark grey to black. The spiny limbs curled on it's back were wings, Elsa realized, leathery and smooth, folded shut. The snub nosed head bore a number of long slender fins (a couple she assumed were ears) and stubby little bumps lined the spine all the way down to it's tail, where a pair of large fins flanked the end. There could only be one thing this could be.
"A dragon." Elsa breathed in awe, feeling a rush of giddy delight. A real live dragon!
Anna looked up at her whisper from where she had been wrestling with the dragon, half perched across it's back. She smiled wide.
"He's totally a dragon! What do you think his name is?" Anna paused to peer curiously into it's eyes, giggling again when it looked back with a terribly similar expression. Elsa ventured a bit closer, stopping when the dragon darted it's head back her way, curiosity replaced by wariness. It hadn't forgotten her display of power.
Anna blinked, noting her sister's hesitation. Her brow furrowed and her lips formed a hard pout, brightening when an idea sprang to mind.
"Why don't you make some snow? That way he knows your powers are fun!"
The blond considered this, and gave a firm nod. "Okay. Here I go. You ready?"
Anna bobbed her head happily, and tightened her grip around the dragon's neck. "Just watch, you'll love it. Elsa's powers are totally awesome." She whispered.
With one more glance at the wary creature, Elsa turned and gestured to the side and a swirl of wind and cold quickly formed, condensing into a small pile of snow. With a cry of happiness Anna bounced from the dragon's side and dove into the pile, gathering a small handful and joyfully tossing it into the air. The dragon watched, riveted, and at the redhead's prompts moved over to investigate. It gave the snow a sniff, then reared back as Anna dumped an armful on it's head. It stood still for a long moment before letting out playful growl and sweeping it's tail to send a small wave of snow over the laughing girl.
Worries eased by the good humor the dragon was displaying, Elsa quickly joined in, summoning more snow for them to play in.
A short snowball fight ensued - hastily abandoned for a strange game of catch as the dragon proved especially interested in hunting down the various snowballs the girls were tossing around. Elsa was amazed by its agility as it twisted and leapt, and was even more awed by the small little fireballs it shot at the farther projectiles.
When the sisters took a rest from romping around they cuddled together for warmth, content to watch the dragon continue to roll around the snow.
"I think he's just a kid, like us." Murmured Elsa, contemplating it's playful demeanor.
"Wow, that means he'll get so much bigger! So what do you think his name is?"
Elsa shrugged. "I don't think he has one. Or if he does, I don't think he could tell us."
Anna hummed, rocking her body back and forth, causing Elsa to sway with her. "Okay, so we'll just give him a nickname. How about...Inky?"
"Inky? Why inky?"
"Cuz his scales look like big ink blobs!"
Ink blobs? Elsa grinned and let out a chuckle. "Made a mess in Papa's study again, didn't you," she teased, squeezing her arms around her sister's waist.
Anna squirmed, cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "It was only a little mess!" She protested, fluster clear in her voice. Elsa laughed softly.
"Okay, Inky it is."
Elsa and Anna snuck out to visit Inky several more times that week, which delighted the dragon, but confused their parents as the normally active girls ended up napping their way through the day. But the time came when the royal family was to travel back to the castle, and with heavy hearts the girls left their night time companion.
"Don't worry, Anna. We'll find a way to visit him again."
But they never did, because a few scant days after that Elsa accidentally struck her beloved sister with her ice powers. Anna's memories were changed, and Elsa sequestered herself in her room.
They never visited the valley again.
Toothless perched at the the edge of a rocky bluff, gazing out over the open sea. Hiccup approached softly, resting a hand atop the dragon's head and giving a friendly scratch. He followed his friend's line of sight, taking in the dark grey clouds that swirled in the distance. The weather had been strange the past few days - despite it being the summer months the sky had turned thick and dark, the air cold and chill and frost lined every surface when mornings dawned.
Breath billowed from his lips in white clouds as he considered the Night Fury. The dragons in Berk had all been on edge during this eerie cold snap, but Toothless had been especially concerned, spending much of the days finding the furthest outcropping of rocks to gaze southward.
"Is there something out there, buddy?"
Toothless gave a low rumbling whine, craning his neck to give Hiccup a brief look before returning his stare towards the storm.
The next day the storm broke - the ominous dark clouds simply winked out of existence and blue skies returned as the temperature rose back to normal. But still Toothless looked on, and finally Hiccup convinced his father (and Astrid) to let him travel south.
Almost half a day's ride had them cresting the high mountain tops that had pierced the storm's center, but it was the northernmost peak which caught their attention. They circled closer, staring in awe at what appeared to be an ice castle built into the side of the mountain. Hiccup and Toothless gave each other a glance, and in mutual agreement landed before the glittering stairwell that led to the front door.
They approached slowly - the castle seemed so much more massive up close - all tall rising spires and ornate decorations. Designs were etched into the glass-like surface, an aura of cold rising from the structure. With a gulp Hiccup reached out to lay a hand on the bannister when Toothless suddenly gave a warning growl.
Whipping around Hiccup felt a scream lodge in his throat - what he had deemed a harmless hill of snow was growing into a giant hulking monster. Razor sharp shards of ice framed a gaping maw and formed deadly claws, and an eerie blue glow blinked out at him from deep eye sockets. Toothless growled beside him, hackles raised, already gathering flame in his belly. They surveyed each other for one long second, and then with a mighty roar the snowman descended, swiping at them in cold fury.
Toothless released a fireball, winging the giant and setting it off-balance while Hiccup dove to the side. Scrambling to his feet Hiccup jumped onto the saddle, urging the dragon to flee. With a disgruntled growl Toothless ran to the drop off and launched himself into the air, the monster's screams echoing behind them.
"Whew! That was close one! Man, what was that thing?"
Hiccup twisted back to look back, and immediately regretted it. "Dodge! Toothless, dodge! It's throwing snow-"
With a mighty thump both rider and dragon were nailed with a giant snowball, sending them plummeting into the forest below.
At the edge of the cliff Marshmallow grunted in satisfaction before turning back to his home.
It had only been a couple days since Elsa had returned to Arendelle and restored summer, but despite the business of her days attending to her royal duties, dealing with the aftermath of her winter, and spending time reconnecting with her sister Elsa often found herself gazing longingly to the North Mountain. Guilt twisted in her gut, but Elsa couldn't help but miss the brief freedom she felt in her ice castle, and she couldn't help that yearning pull that tugged at her soul, her magic.
She had tried to hide it, but she knew Anna had noticed. For someone who hadn't seen her for over thirteen years, the young redhead was awfully good at sussing out her moods.
With another sigh Elsa brought a hand to her temple. Anna. Her sister had cheerfully volunteered to take some of her meetings today while she finished up paperwork - a job Elsa gladly gave away. Anna really was better at handling groups of people than she, and Elsa really ought to find some way to thank her for all her hard work. Well, thank her for everything, really.
As she bent back over her desk to sign yet another contract, a bolt of cold lanced up her spine. Eyes wide she whirled to look out the window towards her castle. Her magic quivered inside her, snaking it's way around her body to settle heavily in her hands. Gaze searching for any clue as to what had her magic so riled up she glimpsed a streak of black disappearing into one of the small valleys at the base of the mountains. Her eyes widened. Not just any valley, but the one she and Anna had frequently snuck out to as children.
With a spin Elsa was up and out of her chair, striding determinedly to the stables.
"Aaaahhhhhh!"
With a crash Hiccup and Toothless cannoned into the ground, upending trees and dirt as they skidded to a rather undignified stop. Groaning they propped themselves up, giving a wary look at their surroundings.
"Well this is just great."
The sun was still high in the sky when Elsa crested the ridge overlooking the private glen she and Anna used to visit as children. She urged her horse down, smiling with nostalgia as she neared the small lake. Dismounting and leaving her steed to graze, she walked down to the water's edge, kneeling to dip her fingers in. Staring down Elsa considered her reflection - white blond hair swept rebelliously away from her face, skin fair and pale. Icy blue eyes peered back at her, and the only hint of warmth on her face came from her lips, painted a deep red.
"You look different. A good different."
Elsa's fingers twitched, sending ripples through her mirror image and she watched as it distorted, ugly and twisted. She felt loathing at the thing in front of her. It was this who plunged Arendelle into winter, this that hurt her sister, killed her! If Anna hadn't been in a position to sacrifice herself she would never have thawed, and it would have been all her fault.
With a crack the waters around Elsa's fingers frosted, spreading outwards in jagged fractals to encompass the shoreline. With a surprised gasp she quickly yanked her hand away, but the damage had been done. Taking deep breaths she closed her eyes and concentrated - Anna, think of Anna - and to her relief the ice stopped it's spread.
She lowered her head in despair. Love will thaw, She thought ruefully. But I'm going to have to get a handle on not freezing everything in the first place.
But before she could melt the lake a rustle in the brush had her on her feet, arms raised defensively in front of her.
"Man, where are we now?"
Hiccup swatted at another tree branch as he followed Toothless through the forest. Honestly, he was still a but flummoxed at what he had just seen. A castle made entirely of ice, a giant living snowman who apparently didn't take well to visitors - it made his dragon filled life seem positively mundane in comparison. And to top it all off they were lost, and only he seemed to care. Toothless was too busy sniffing around and jumping haphazardly through the forest.
"Seriously Toothless, let's just get to a high point and-agh!"
Toothless rather unceremoniously tackled him.
"What are you doing?! Get-" Hiccup quickly shut up as the dragon growled warningly at him, ears laid back and shoulders hunched. When he was satisfied Hiccup was going to heed his demand to keep quiet the dragon quickly slinked off, disappearing past a copse of trees.
Hiccup shook his head in confusion before getting to his feet and silently trailing after his friend. He found him peering out from behind a boulder at a small lake nestled in a secluded valley. Unsure of what had the dragon so worked up he took a step closer, eyes widening when his gaze fell upon a solitary figure at the water's edge.
She was beautiful.
In a way he was unaccustomed to women looking - slim and pale, hair so light it shone like snow, delicate and almost fragile. She looked almost inhuman - like a sprite or fairy. In his observation he moved a little closer...and tripped on a rock.
With a few mumbled curses he sat back up, but the woman had heard him, searching the area where he hid. He could hear her voice, like rough velvet, yet clear and commanding.
"Who's out there! Show yourself!"
With a wince Hiccup figured he should comply, but before he could stand a blur of black and leather launched from beside him, making a beeline straight for the woman.
"Toothless, no!"
Hiccup scrambled desperately to his feet, but knew he would be too late to stop him.
Elsa's eyes widened as a large beast burst out of the greenery barreling right for her. Frost crystallized at her fingertips, but a flash of fear (she's a monster!) made her hesitate, and that was enough and then the creature was on top of her.
She held in her breath and shut her eyes tightly and prepared for the angry bite of fangs in her flesh and-
Was licked right in the face.
With a flinch Elsa squirmed and peeked an eye open only to get another face full of slobber. Ugh, she groaned, raising her hands to push at the snout of whatever decided to try and give her a bath. Resting on her elbows she finally took a good look at what was on top of her, breath catching in her throat as wide blue eyes recognized the form.
A dragon! A black dragon!
Eyes full of wonder Elsa reached out again to lay a trembling hand at the dragon's neck.
"Inky?"
Hiccup gaped.
Toothless, his temperamental, moody, stand-offish dragon had a friend. The rider was dumbfounded. When had this happened? Obviously sometime before he met Toothless himself, as the dragon had not left his side since he'd been injured.
Cautiously he made his way towards the duo, catching wondering tones as the stranger slid her hand along Toothless' leathery hide. They looked up as he approached, the woman startling, pulling her hands quickly to her chest. Hiccup held up his own, palms out in an appeasing manner. He gave what he hoped was a friendly smile.
"Hi there! I see you've already met Toothless."
Elsa stared at the young man in front of her, hands nervously hovering in the air, unsure whether to take him as a threat. The dragon beside her seemed unperturbed, and in fact slinked over to nudge him closer to her.
"Um, I'm Hiccup. From Berk." Hiccup shifted uncomfortably under a cold blue gaze, hand coming up to rub anxiously at the back of his neck. At Toothless' disapproving snort Hiccup sheepishly wiped his hand on his vest and extended it forward in a tentative handshake.
Elsa's eyes darted from the limb to the man's face - open and earnest. He actually reminded her a bit of Anna's mountain man friend, so she reached out and timidly shook hands before quickly drawing back. She cleared her throat, a little embarrassed at her own shyness, and straightened her spine. She was the Queen, for gods sake, the least she could do was try and act like one.
"Yes, a pleasure to meet you. My name is Elsa. Welcome to Arendelle." There, that seemed...appropriate.
Hiccup blushed slightly, thrown by the sudden formality. "Wow, yeah, thanks. I was wondering where we were." He flexed his hand, resting atop Toothless' head. Her hand was freezing.
"Cold hands, you must be chilly out...here..." Hiccup trailed off, head tilting up at the clear blue sky. "...in the middle of summer..." A warm breeze wafted by. The lakeshore glittered. Wait, what? Hiccup stepped to the side to get a better look.
"Hey, is that water...frozen?"
A sharp intake of breath tore his eyes away from the phenomenon to where Elsa was slowly backing away, terror writ across her countenance. Hiccup and Toothless looked on in confusion and alarm, not sure what to make of Elsa's behavior.
"N-no, I'm sorry. I-I have to go!"
But before anyone could make a move another loud noisy creature burst out of the foliage causing the trio to whirl around at the commotion.
"Elsa!"
Elsa blinked in surprise. "Anna?"
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you! What are you-WHOA!"
Toothless tackled her with enthusiasm. Hiccup sidled up to Elsa, amused. "Friend of yours?"
The blond glanced at him, desperately trying to calm her thundering heart. "Yes, that's my sister, Anna," she replied softly. "When we were younger we used to play with Inky here in this valley."
"Oh! I remember that! But I thought it was just a big stray dog." Suddenly Anna was in front of them, arms wrapped snug around the dragon's neck, rosy and breathless from her short romp. Toothless nodded in agreement, tongue lolling out.
Hiccup was a bit doubtful at that. Who on Earth could mistake a dragon for a dog?
Elsa smiled sadly. "When the trolls healed you when we were little they had to take all memory of magic away. They altered anything that could be construed as magical into something more...normal."
Anna frowned at her sister, sharp teal eyes noting the way she drew her arms about herself, the faint glitter of ice condensing on her hands. Well she wasn't having any of that. With a "hmph" she threw herself at the blond, wrapping her arms tight around her and refusing to let go even when she stiffened.
"It's not your fault."
Elsa sniffed, shaking her head in protest. Anna's arms were solid and warm and persistent, and she felt herself relax into them despite herself. She clutched at Anna's light cloak, letting her tears soak the fabric.
"It's not your fault." Anna whispered again. Gently she drew Elsa's head back far enough to rest their foreheads together, gazing intently into watery blue eyes. Her thumbs brushed soothingly over the light dusting of freckles, catching any more tears that fell.
"Maybe they were right, you're not normal - because you're extraordinary. You hear me?"
Elsa gave a timid nod, cupping her hands around Anna's where they cradled her cheek.
"I think that maybe you're much more extraordinary than I am." She whispered back.
The pair smiled at each other, squeezing back in for a long hug.
Hiccup blushed, awkwardly turning his back to the sisters to give them privacy. Glancing to the side he reached out and tugged Toothless around too, who had been staring at the pair with unabashed interest. Rider and dragon stayed that way until a soft "ahem" coughed out from behind them. When they turned the sisters had parted, red-cheeked and teary eyed, but smiling. It was the young redhead who stepped up to Hiccup thrusting her arm out and shaking his hand vigorously.
"Hi! I'm Anna, Elsa's sister. Sorry about that, but sometimes Elsa gets a little too caught up in her own head y'know? I'm trying to break her out of that habit but we're a bit leery of strangers finding out about her powers and-"
"Anna!"
"-Oops. Was that still a secret? I mean he's got a dragon! A little snow and ice isn't such a big deal is it?"
Hiccup blinked and craned his head back towards the icy lake. "Um, Hiccup, nice to meet you. So your sister really did that? She's really...magic?"
Anna nodded furiously, braids flying about. Toothless eyed them with predatory excitement.
"Yup! She could totally make it snow right now if she wanted."
"Anna!"
Anna spun around. "C'mon, you should totally do it! I bet Hiccup and Inky really wanna see."
Elsa rolled her eyes, but inwardly marveled at the quick ease her sister put her in. "I think you just really want to see." But at her sister's pout Elsa quickly gave in, cupping her hands together and summoning her magic into physical form.
Hiccup and Toothless (and Anna - Elsa was completely right, she never tired of watching her sister's magic) stared in awe at the bright blue glow emanating from Elsa's hands, gasping in surprise when she tossed them suddenly in the air with a sound like tinkling glass. Snow exploded from the sky in a soft flurry, rapidly covering the ground in a thick white blanket.
Hiccup's jaw dropped at the display, brushing snow from his head in disbelief. "Woah, this is just, just-"
Elsa and Anna watched him, apprehensive and silent.
"-amazing! I mean, wow! The guys back home would never believe this!"
The sisters let out a sigh, relieved smiles on their faces. Toothless tackled them.
The trio sat together for the rest of the day, exchanging stories and watching as Toothless frolicked in the snow, each taking turns being pulled into play by the dragon. Anna was especially thrilled to see Elsa play "catch" with him - conjuring up large snowballs and heaving them every which way. Toothless joyfully leapt at each projectile - snapping at them with strong jaws, and targeting ones too far away with short blasts of dragon fire. It warmed her heart to see her sister use her powers so unreservedly, and she vowed then to make sure Elsa took time in her schedule to come out and let her powers range free.
As dusk fell, the sisters begged Hiccup and Toothless ("Toothless, really?" Anna had skeptically asked. "Like 'Inky' is any better," Hiccup had tossed back) to stay the night, but he begged off, telling him he wasn't actually supposed to be gone for as long as he was, and that his village was probably worried and about to send out a small army. But he promised to come back soon, and with one last hug for Toothless, they waved goodbye as their new friend took to the skies.
Anna linked her arm with Elsa's, laying her head upon her shoulder.
"Dragons, huh? Wouldn't of believed it if I hadn't seen it."
Elsa chuckled, pressing a fond kiss to soft red hair. "Do you want to? If we asked the trolls, they might be able to restore your memories properly."
Anna hummed, mulling the idea over. "That would be nice, but either way I think I'm good." She snuggled closer. "I'm perfectly happy with making new memories anyways."
Fin.
AN: I swear this was supposed to be a cute little drabble about Anna, Elsa, and Toothless playing in the snow. But just after the eternal winter canon!Elsa is still so insecure and self-loathing she went and angsted all over the place. Thank goodness for Anna.