What would it take for things to be quiet?
Quiet, like the snow.
I know this isn't much but, I know I could I could be better.
I don't think I deserve it; selflessness
Find your way into my heart.
All stars could be brighter.
All hearts could be warmer.
- The Devil wears Prada
"Toothless? Hey what's wrong, Bud?"
Hiccup immediately knew something was wrong the moment his friend stepped into the bizarre cave. Okay, maybe the fact that its walls were glowing a sinister red should've set alarm bells of in his head, but he's always had a terrible habit of being oblivious to the danger he had always thrown himself into.
The Torch incident is proof of that—here he thought he had found a harmless little dragon and foolishly decided to bring it back to his village when in fact, it was a baby dragon and Mama Typhoomerang wasn't very impressed, and she would've destroyed the entire island just to find her offspring.
Heather was another fine example—he had been so quick to trust the dark-haired teen and she managed to get her hands on the Dragon book without rousing any suspicion (with the exception of Astrid, of course...) Then there was Melvin; Hiccup had been so gullible to believe the old man's act and his false apology.
'And look how well that turned out!' He thought chastising himself. 'Alvin learned the secrets of dragon training. Astrid always did say that I was too quick to trust people.'
Even still, he shouldn't be reacting like this to someone he's only just met. Especially to someone who had been kind enough to let two strangers into their home during the middle of the night!
"Toothless! Stop!" he muttered as he kept alongside to the winged reptile, feeling completely mortified.
He watched the black dragon growl menacingly towards their host, who surprisingly, was still concealed by shadow, despite the bright red glow emanating through the cave. His teeth poised & sharp whilst his eyes were dilated to the fearsome predator that had earned him the title of Alpha. The Chief should've been concerned for their welfare, after all, dragons were an excellent judge of character and if this was the type of reaction Toothless was having, Hiccup should be heeding his friend's warning and take their chances with the blizzard.
However, all the rider could think of at that moment was all the other times he had been embarrassed by his dragon's behaviour and he decided that this... this had to take the prize.
And that was saying a lot.
The Night Fury didn't listen to his order. Instead, he continued growling as he prowled towards the poor woman, who would no doubt at that moment be second guessing her generous offer. The storm outside raged on and Hiccup could feel the full force pelt against his back, making him stagger a little. This seemed to push Toothless over the edge, because he roared and leap forward.
The woman gave a loud cry.
"TOOTHLESS NO!"
Then all of a sudden—completely out of nowhere—spikes appeared!
Toothless halted, barely missing them with an inch of his life, before lifting his tail & holding it in front of Hiccup, acting as a protective shield and started hissing vehemently at the dangerous barrier. The rider stood there stunned.
"...what?" he breathed out, stepping closer despite himself.
A gasp could be heard and then; "P-please! Just stay away!"
But he ignored the warning and continued forward, too focused on the strange sight. He should've been worried. Should've being the key word and yet, he wasn't. It all just seemed way, way too bizarre to be. They were hundreds & thousands of them, each looking deadlier than the other. He also noticed that they were all pointing from out of the ground, even though there had been no sign of them a minute ago. Not only that, but they were all angled in a crescent formation, as if protecting something...
An image of Eret's destroyed base flashed through his mind and he reached out his hand. He touched the side of one of the spikes and his suspicions were confirmed.
'Ice!' He thought pulling back his hand, completely amazed. 'It's actually ice!'
"How is that even possible...?"
He could hear something creaking & groaning. Looking up, he saw the ceiling becoming darker in hue, cracks forming and then to his astonishment, spikes started blossoming and then suddenly it clicked.
"You can control ice?!" he exclaimed, amazed by the revelation. He didn't know how he knew—he just knew. He had never heard of such a thing before, but considering dragons existed, it couldn't be too much of a stretch to believe magic existed as well.
'That must be why Toothless attacked so vehemently—he must've been able to sense it!' The Chief realised. 'Still, being able to control an element that can't be controlled naturally... That's a powerful ability. Just who is this woman?'
"Please just go!" the woman exclaimed shakily and Hiccup snapped back to reality. "You have to go!"
"W-wait, hold on!" Leaning over the spikes without getting pierced (the perks of having armour made from discarded Night Fury scales), he tried to get a closer view of the mysterious maiden, who was still immersed in the shadows. He couldn't make out much due to the poor lighting, but she seemed huddled, clearly frightened. "Don't be afraid! I'm really, really, really sorry about my dragon's behaviour. He tends to be very overprotective when it comes to new people."
As if on cue, the dragon growled again.
"Toothless, cut it out!" he hissed, all too aware that his friend was not making the situation any better. Pointing to the entrance, he added, "Go on, over there."
The Night Fury snorted before turning and followed the rider's order. Once there, he opened his mouth and set fire to the ground much to his rider's annoyance, before he collapsed onto the ground. He continued to glower in the woman's direction, but thankfully said nothing further.
"Useless, volatile lizard..." He muttered, making a mental note to remind his friend on the importance of manners & being a good guest. Turning back, he apologised once again. "Ah, I'm sorry about that too. He does that all the time at home when he wants to rest. I can fix that, I think—although I guess I'd pretty useless if it's made out of ice. You'd probably be able to fix it without needing any of my help."
She said nothing in response and Hiccup knew he would need to keep talking (without sounding like a complete fool) to make things right. He had to. It wasn't simply because they needed a place to stay—they had survived blizzards before, even though it had always been with other dragons nearby, however they survived nonetheless—but rather that he had always prided himself on being able to reconcile people with dragons and the idea of walking away after leaving such an awful impression tugged on his heartstrings. Hard.
He'd rather lose another foot than do that.
"I'm really sorry..." He said again calmer, clearer. "I know that he may seem really terrifying, but he won't hurt you. He's really quite harmless."
"Harmless? I think not!" She said, disbelief clearly evident in her voice. The rider noted, with some interest, that the light of the cave was somewhat brighter—a more vivid red, as if reflecting anger or indignation. "That... that thing chased me down when I went down to the lake tonight and then shot fire at me! So don't you tell me he's harmless!"
"Down at the lake...?" he asked surprised. Well that explained why he had rushed out of the tent all of a sudden. The Night Fury must've caught her scent, and thinking she was an intruder, retaliated.
'Wait, did she say "chase"...? And "fire"? Oh boy...'
"Oh no, he went after you?" Another wave of embarrassment flooded through him and he desperately wished the earth would split open & swallow him whole so he would no longer have to endure this humiliation. "Oh Gods, oh Gods—I'm so sorry! I know you must be sick of hearing that now-"
'Get to the point, Hiccup. No doubt, she's tired of your incessant rambling.'
As Chief & Tamer, he needed to accept the responsibilities of his dragon and suffer the consequences as a result—he had accepted those conditions at fifteen and he would accept them now.
"I apologise for his behaviour." He spoke, this time with more clarity, behaving more like the Chief his people looked to. "I know that my words don't mean much compared to what you've endured tonight, but believe me when I say that he truly meant no harm..."
For hundreds of years people from the archipelago had considered them nothing more than wild & vicious beasts who needed to be eliminated for the sake of survival. Tonight, this woman had been terrorised and been given every reason to fear the ancient creatures. If he left now, she would be forced to believe everything she might have ever heard to be true.
"You have the heart of a Chief and a soul of a dragon. Only you can bring our worlds together."
Valka told him that once and he knew it was true so he had to make this right. He needed to show the world that dragons were good, kind creatures—it was his destiny, as silly as it sounded—and if he could convince the stubborn, tenacious people of Berk, then he could certainly convince this woman.
"Where we come from there are still people who believe that dragons are nothing more than mindless bloodthirsty creatures. Instead of trying to make peace with them, they insist that extermination is the only way. People are afraid of things they don't understand and hence, fear them. I know he hasn't left you with the best impression, but if you let me, I can show you that there's nothing to be afraid of."
He couldn't ignore the irony of it all. Here he was trying to convince a woman who could manipulate ice (and create very sharp & pointy objects hazardous to one's state) not to be afraid when in reality, perhaps he should be the one who was afraid.
"I-I don't think that's such a good idea." She finally replied, sounding very uneasy. "He doesn't look like he's all too interested in a reconciliation."
"Toothless will not attack as long as you're not a threat to me or him." He responded calmly, hoping to soothe the maiden's shot nerves. "I know it's a lot to ask, but you have to trust me." Holding out his hand, he added, "Please."
"How can you ask me to trust you when I don't even know your name?" She asked uncertainly. "Or haven't even seen your face?"
'My face...?' He wondered, before he remembered much to his embarrassment, that he was still wearing his rider's mask! No wonder why, she kept her distance. If some random person walked into your home during the middle night, had their pet dragon attack you whilst they wore some scary mask—you certainly wouldn't be so easy to trust said random person. Well, at least that could be remedied quickly.
"Oh jeez! Of course, how rude of me!" Pulling the helmet off his head, he ruffled his hair a little and hoped he looked presentable enough as he officially introduced himself. "My name is Hiccup. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third—Chief of Berk."
A silence followed, yet he wasn't bothered by it. Instead he waited patiently, knowing that the woman would eventually approach. Another moment passed when finally the maiden stepped out of the shadows of the cave and revealed herself.
Hiccup took sharp exhale and stared dumbstruck.
'She's gorgeous!'
He certainly hadn't expected that. Not to be rude or anything, he just thought she was a lot older. Her voice was soft and she was very well spoken for a person of her age—so it was quite a surprise to see someone who looked like they were barely in adulthood. He had expected to see a woman in her thirties to mid-forties, who was well built & rugged like the women he'd grown accustomed to in his life on Berk. And yet, here before him stood a fair young maiden in a slimming black dress & with big doe eyes.
"Wow..." He breathed out, before shaking any stupid thoughts buzzing in his head. Scratching the back of his head, he said awkwardly, "So uh, nice to meet you?"
The fair woman clutched her braid with both hands, wet her lips, took a deep breath and finally introduced herself.
"My name is Elsa." She spoke calmly. "Elsa of- just Elsa."
Hiccup's curiosity piqued and yet knew it was not his business to dwell.
"Elsa, huh? I never heard of it before—it's weird." Seeing her raise an eyebrow, he backtracked. "I didn't mean that your name's weird! I just meant that it's weird I've never actually heard that name before. It's a very pretty name! Much nicer compared to some of the other names I've heard across these lands. What's its origin?"
A look of panic flashed across her face and he quickly added; "I guess it really doesn't matter!"
She relaxed a little before she said in a tight voice, "No. It doesn't."
He couldn't help from noticing just how painfully sad she looked and he felt rotten for bringing it up at all—which seemed so preposterous. Back on Berk, a person would simply punch the person who offended them and then quickly move on, however, Elsa didn't seem like the type to react with violence. He had no doubt that she was not a Viking and he couldn't help from being interested.
A warble echoed through the cave and broke the uncomfortable silence between the two humans, something Hiccup found himself extremely grateful for.
'Thanks Bud,' he thought in gratitude as he turned his head to Toothless' direction. 'But that still doesn't let you off the hook.'
As if reading his mind, the Night Fury let out a whine. He looked incredibly uneasy, clearly on edge about this whole situation, as much as Elsa, and Hiccup knew it was time to play peace-keeper.
"Alright you big baby, we're coming over." The tamer said, before directing his attention back to the young woman. "Just follow my lead, I promise you he won't hurt you. Now about the ice..." Looking down to the hazardous spikes separating them, he asked, "I don't suppose there's some sort of trick to put them back in place, like a lever perhaps?"
"No, there isn't. Do you mind turning around for a moment?" Elsa asked looking uncomfortable, so the Chief obeyed her request. He heard a soft swishing sound and could've sworn he felt the ground move somewhat, but kept quiet.
"You can turn back now."
He did so and finally got a good look at the mysterious maiden. She was taller than he originally thought; her head would reach almost up to his chin which was saying a lot considering he grew a few more inches after his coronation. Of course nowhere as impressive as his father's stature, but a lot better compared to the scrawny runt he used to be. However, he also noticed she seemed very skinny, unhealthily so, and briefly glancing down, he noticed that she had a nasty looking cut running alongside her exposed calf.
'What on earth has this woman gone through?'
"Are you ready?" he asked as they approached the weary dragon.
"I suppose I don't really have much of a choice, now do I?" She responded, trying to keep her cool composure.
"It'll be fine, I promise."
However, Toothless didn't seem all too keen on a reconciliation as Elsa mentioned, and rose slightly; preparing himself to bolt, much to his rider's dismay. Hiccup tried to ignore the feeling and formally introduce the Night Fury.
"Elsa, this is Toothless. Alpha to the Berkian dragons and my best friend." Placing a comforting hand on the back of his dragon, he said, "Toothless, this is Elsa, the poor soul you decided to destroy our tent for and chase her down. Now, be nice."
The dragon looked on, distrust apparent in his current cat-like eyes, but fortunately, didn't growl this time. Encouraged, he turned back to Elsa; "Now just stretch out your hand and let him touch it, without making any eye contact."
"… what? You must be joking!" She clearly looked put off by the idea, whilst Toothless growled lowly, offended by her reaction.
'Oh boy, this is going to be tougher than I thought.' Hiccup pondered, suppressing a sigh. This wasn't the first time he'd had difficulty introducing people to dragons; children are easy, being open-minded and more carefree whilst the adults are more begrudging, having been accustomed to dragon raids their entire life and while forced to watch friends & loved ones being slaughtered in front of their eyes.
However, this was the first time he introduced a dragon to someone who could manipulate ice.
"It's the only way you can gain his trust," he replied. "Up until this point, Toothless has reacted on his instincts. He's in a land he doesn't know, a stranger approaches his territory whilst his defenceless friend is sleeping, a sudden a bizarre storm shows up and he stumbles upon the same person he encountered before. I'm not trying to be rude—all I'm trying to say is he's scared."
"Him? Scared?" she asked, obviously in disbelief. "I don't see why—he's a dragon. He's strong and fast. He's powerful."
'So are you and look at how terrified you are...' He wished to say his thoughts out loud, however, he was worried he might offend her.
"It doesn't mean he can't get scared too."
Elsa looked stunned and remained silent, taking his words and digesting them carefully. Loosening the grip on her braid, she stretched out one trembling hand, bit her lip and screwed her eyes shut. Toothless was reluctant to respond, much to his rider's dismay and because of the response, Elsa lost all her courage and pulled back.
"No, I'm sorry. I just can't do it." She apologised and wrapped her arms around her torso, looking vulnerable & disheartened.
Hiccup sighed, disappointed, but not the least bit surprised. These things took time and if there was too much fear or distrust on both sides, reconciliation would not be possible any time soon.
"I understand." And he did, but that didn't mean he liked it.
Just then an a gust of wind flew into the cave, reminding the rider that he left the entrance open.
"Oh damn!" he cursed, annoyed with himself for forgetting such a thing. So much for being a good guest tonight. "I'm sorry, I left the doors open! I'll close them up."
The doors were incredibly heavy with being made out of such thick ice and the wind blowing against them. Fortunately, Toothless noticed his companion's struggle. Jumping over to the entrance, he got on his hind legs and applied all his weight against one of the doors whilst Hiccup focused on the other; then after a few seconds the doors finally shut close.
"So... what do we do now?" Elsa asked after a moment and a wave of awkwardness followed.
That was a good question. With the whole situation now somewhat under control, Hiccup was left pondering over his next move. He could hear the wind blowing hard, yet it was nowhere near as fierce as before. He had noticed that it was next to impossible to see anything past the flurrying snow. The blizzard might be calming, however, it would be careless to go outside now.
"Well there's nothing much to do, except sit & wait. Although you must be pretty exhausted, you'd probably want to go to bed right?"
Though even if Elsa went to bed, Hiccup would probably stay up and tend to his injuries. With all the excitement and adrenaline flowing through his veins, he had forgotten that he had collided against the doors outside—already his shoulder was beginning to ache and he could only hope it wasn't dislocated. Not to mention, he had to check Toothless and make sure he was capable of flying them back to Berk.
"No, I don't think I can after all this... excitement." She replied, carefully choosing her words. "But you're both more than welcome to slumber if you wish."
"No, I'm fine. I think I'd rather just stay up, although I have to admit, it's getting a bit cold. Is it possible to make a fire?"
For some reason, she looked embarrassed. "I don't have any of the tools and I don't actually know how to."
"Are you serious?" He asked, looking at her in disbelief. Although he was accustomed to these temperatures, even he had to admit he was cold. How could this woman who was wearing such a thin looking dress with a slit to her knee & no shoes survive such climate? Still, he had seen a lot weirder things tonight and he knew it was better not to dwell on it too much. "It doesn't matter, I'm sure I could find something."
Walking over to Toothless, he started stripping the dragon of their knapsacks & his saddle, much to the Night Fury's relief. Hiccup started rummaging through the knapsacks and pulled out a vile of flammable liquid; something he would use whenever had difficulty starting a camp fire. He also pulled out his sleeping blanket and headed over to the woman again, who was still standing in her spot.
"Here." He said offering the blanket. "It's not a lot, but you look like you need it more than I do."
Elsa looked at the object, clearly surprised by the man's generosity. "Why...?"
"We've really gotten off to a bad start and I feel like a real jerk for letting it this all happen. I'm a Chief and he's a leader—we're supposed to set an example. So I'm sorry."
"Thank you for the offer, but it's unnecessary. The cold never bothered me anyway."
"That might be so," Hiccup started thoughtfully. "But that doesn't mean you should have to put up with it."
Elsa looked touched, as if she had never heard such kindness before and he wondered what kind of life she led before living here. She slowly reached out for the blanket, unsure if she should be taking his offer, until finally she pulled it out of his hand and carefully wrapped it around her thin frame.
"Thank you." She mumbled sheepishly and smiled ever so slightly. It was vague & fleeting, yet it was enough for him to smile back and mentally applaud himself on at least doing one thing right tonight.
"It's no biggie. Now about that fire... we'll need some sort of fire pit."
"Allow me." She offered, and with a wave of her hand, the ground below them split and cracked open, revealing a round patch of dirt with the ice which had been there previously forming around it to created a barrier of sorts. "Big enough?"
"Plenty," he replied with a warm smile. Turning back to his dragon, he asked; "Do you wanna do the honours?"
The Night Fury opened his mouth and a fireball shot to the ground. Steam rose from the impact, but no fire. Hiccup knelt to the ground and ripped some pages out of his sketchbook which was strapped to his arm, doused them in the flammable liquid and threw them into the pit. This prompted the dragon to repeat this action and within seconds, the fire came to life. Brightening up the cave and warming the tired Chief.
Hiccup walked back back to the knapsacks and started rummaging through the provisions, grabbing his first aid kit and much to his delight, a bottle of ale. He had been planning to have a drink or two around a campfire one night during the trip, but now, he had a strong feeling it would be gone by the morning.
As he returned, the rider was surprised to see two small stools beside the fire and Elsa already sitting on one of them. Based on their clarity, he immediately deducted that they were crafted by ice and he wanted to ask the fair maiden if they would be even able to withstand the heat. However, she was probably aware of its capabilities otherwise she wouldn't have bothered, so he kept his mouth shut.
"Thirsty?" he asked, offering his bottle. She probably wouldn't like the taste, but it would be rude not to offer.
"No, I'm fine. Thank you, anyway."
In the light of the bonfire Hiccup could finally get a more vivid image of Elsa. The first thing he noticed was how beautiful she was and how it was very different to the type of beauty he was used to in his part of the world. It was foreign yet alluring and he knew the men in his village would no doubt be attracted and embarrass themselves (or worse case scenario, put their lives on the line) to court the fair maiden.
Her hair was very interesting too—it was incredibly light (almost snow-white!) and it was woven in a simple braid, much different to the women at home, with a few strands loose & flicked-back, as if windswept. Her eyes were lovely, although it was hard to make out the colour from the dark lighting, (if he had to put money on it, he'd say they were blue) and yet, they held a dark look. It was something he could relate to, something he'd notice in his own whenever he'd catch a glimpse of himself from a reflective surface...
It was a look of someone in mourning.
It was uncomfortable and he wondered how the others back at home could bear watching their Chief with that expression. Then again, they'd all lost someone important in their life—the life of a Viking, an occupational hazard—he wasn't selfish enough to believe he was the only one suffering.
"Nice place." He offered, hoping that it would enough to remove the unpleasant thoughts lingering through his over active mind. "You live here all by yourself?"
'Really? That's the best you could come up with?' The rational side of his brain drawled sarcastically. 'By Thor, even Tuffnut could offer a more intelligent conversation than you!'
It was kinda pathetic to think about it, but it was true. Hiccup knew he had gotten better much at social interactions, it was of the utmost importance as a leader, yet being here in this cave with this stunningly beautiful maiden with super awesome ice powers had left him feeling like that gawky teenager all over again.
'I guess some things never change.'
"That was a stupid question, sorry." He mumbled, wondering if he could make it to five minutes without making a fool of himself.
Toothless cooed and nuzzled his head against Hiccup's knee, jealous of the lack of attention. However, whatever chance he might have gained was quickly taken away when a small gasp could be heard. Turning his head to Elsa's direction, the Chief noticed her eyes directed on his prosthetic leg before she turned her head in the other direction, as if ashamed. It dawned upon him that she must've only just have noticed the difference.
"Oh that's okay. You can look it, I don't mind." He answered honestly, not at all offended by her curious gaze. "I lost it a long time ago and I forget that people might be affronted by the sight."
"It's impolite to stare," she replied uncomfortably. "My parents taught me to always be respectful of others and to treat them all as my equals. However, if you don't mind me asking—what happened?"
"Long story, believe it or not." The Chief chuckled, holding up the unopened bottle of ale in, he said, "Care for a drink? It's quite the tale."
She looked hesitant, before she flicked her wrist and managed to conjure a small cup made of ice. She then held it out to the rider as he finally opened the bottle. Pouring the liquid into the cup, Hiccup was mindful not to put too much in, just in case she didn't like the alcoholic beverage. He then took a large swig from the bottle and he could already feel himself becoming light-headed. Hopefully the maiden would be more mindful than him.
"Thank you." She spoke softly, managing to hold an air of poise.
"Careful, it's strong." He warned, however, it wasn't necessary. The maiden took a small sip to assess the ale, but showed no reaction of it affecting her.
"It's fine." She spoke hardly phased and his respect for her went up a notch. "You mentioned earlier that where you come from, there are people who wish to eradicate all dragons. Do this mean there is conflict in your land?"
"Yes and no. Where we come from is a place consisting of many islands, many different tribes and many different cultures—Berk is one of them. However, there are many that are still uncharted. Toothless & I have explored many of them and have added them all to our map, but there are still more out there. In fact, we're actually on one as speak."
"Here?" She looked surprised, obviously she hadn't expected to hear that.
"Yeah, I know right? I mean, what are the odds of that happening?" He asked, before letting out an amused chuckle. "Anyway, so for several hundreds of years our people have been at war with the dragons. For Berk, it was particularly rough because we're a smaller province compared to the other tribes and suffered most of the dragons' rampage. They would raid our food supply and we would starve. And of course, being Vikings we tend to be rash & pig-headed so it never occurred to us that peace might be possible."
"Vikings?!" Elsa interrupted, looking alarmed.
A chill swept into the room and he noticed the walls were flashing a vibrant red again. Toothless perked up, growling in disapproval, before Hiccup slid a hand underneath the Night Fury's chin & started scratching. It worked, because the dragon immediately began purring, before deciding a snooze was in order.
Seeing that his friend had calmed, he continued, "I know what you're thinking—and I don't blame you. I've heard many awful stories about the other tribes and their cruelty, but please don't think we're all like that. There are many good Viking tribes out there who would never commit such atrocities against their fellow man. Sure my people are stubborn and very boar-headed, and some have a terrible sense of personal hygiene, but they're strong & tenacious and they would never give up on what is right. I'm lucky to have them."
The maiden relaxed a little and the Chief noticed that while the room got warmer again, the glow of the cave shifted into a somewhat purplish hue. Hiccup wasn't sure what to make of it, however, he would have to assume it meant she was still distrustful of him—not that he would hold it against her. He kept talking, hoping to keep her distracted:
"Growing up was difficult, I wasn't like the other children. We were raised to fight dragons and to have a "kill & ask questions later" mentality—while I struggled just to pick up a small axe. All my life I was called "Hiccup the Useless" and I had to endure the acknowledgement that I was bringing shame upon my father. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much trouble I got him into growing up, my mother disappeared years before—abducted by a dragon during a raid—and I know it was a strain for him to be both a father & a Chief."
Even now it was so hard to believe that his father was gone. Growing up, Hiccup envisioned his dad was invincible & impervious to all danger. It was foolish & naive, but he looked up to his father and he forgot that, regardless of his strength or status—Stoick was still a human with a heart which would eventually stop beating and lungs that would stop breathing.
Both of which ironically, would've been crushed by the force of Toothless' blast.
'Stop,' he ordered his thoughts. 'You know that he's suffering enough as it is without you agonising over it.'
Of course he would. It had been rocky at the beginning, but the former Chief & the Night Fury formed a close bond and for it all to be taken away in a careless moment was unbelievably cruel.
"During one raid when I was fifteen, I shot down Toothless with one of my inventions and he lost a tail fin as a result." He continued his story, hoping to cease the painful musings—even for a short amount of time. "He landed in the woods not too far from my village; wounded & defenceless. Because I was so young & so eager for approval, I was ready to finish him off... but then, I looked into his eyes and I saw so much of myself in them, I just couldn't do it. I let him go and he jumped on top of me, I thought this was the end for me, but instead, he ran off."
Elsa listened closely, enthralled by the story, drinking in his every word and he was looking forward to seeing her reaction to the end.
"A few days later I went looking for him because I was curious. Our instructor, Gobber, told me that dragons would always go for the kill—I was at his mercy & yet he chose to let me live. I found him in the cove and realised he couldn't fly because of what I had done. So I befriended him and managed to engineer a new tail fin for him. We started practising flying after that. It took a while and it wasn't easy, but I'm a pretty quick learner. Soon, I even learnt a few tricks on how to tame dragons and for the first time, I was noticed by my peers. People would approach me and actually talk to me. It was a good feeling. My dad at this point was away on another expedition trying to find the dragons' nest. He believed if we destroyed it, the dragons would leave us alone. One evening, Toothless took me there and we discovered the Red Death."
"Red Death?" She wondered, looking a little confused.
"The Red Death was a massive dragon that was controlling all the smaller ones in the nest—the Queen, you would say—and hence the reason why our village had been pillaged for so long. If the dragons didn't provide enough substance for the Queen, they would be eaten themselves."
Elsa looked positively sick and he couldn't help from noticing how the walls were now turning into a chartreuse shade.
"I know, it's not a very pleasant thought. I watched a Gronckle be devoured by the beast, it was like a tiny morsel for the creature. But you really didn't need to know that. So my dad returned and found out about my success, he also found out how it came to be and it's safe to say he was pretty livid."
"How? If you don't mind me asking."
"I mentioned before that we were trained; when we reached a certain age we'd be sent to an arena where several dragons were being kept for training purposes—it was also a competition. Whoever did the best during the training and came out as the best pupil had the honour of slaying a dragon—a Monstrous Nightmare was selected & I was chosen to kill it. By that point, I had realised that we were completely wrong about them and I refused to fight. Unfortunately, my dad freaked out, not that I could blame him. After all, watching your only son throw away his weapon and approach a dangerous creature without any sort of protection would send any parent into protection mode. He intervened, the dragon freaked out and Toothless, even though he was far away from the village, could sense I was in danger and rushed in. My village was stunned, my dad was furious and they imprisoned Toothless as a result."
"So how come he's here now?"
"My father & I got into an argument and I told him that I had found the dragons nest and about the Red Death, which was really stupid because I then told him it was impossible to find the place without a dragon. Dad assembled his best warriors and took off, using Toothless as a guide. Fortunately, at that point one of my friends-" and he had to say friends, because he really didn't want to say Astrid's name or dwell into it any further. "Already knew about Toothless and had gathered all the other teens, who had been training at the time, to join me. I showed them how to befriend their dragons and showed them how to fly. We then followed after the adults, who at that time were already battling the fierce Red Death."
"Was it really that fearsome?" She asked, looking at him with curious eyes.
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe it even if you saw it yourself. It was huge! I would almost say it was about the size of this mountain."
"This mountain isn't very big," she quipped with a thoughtful look. "But, I can see your point."
"Anyway, things were looking bad for them and it was a rough battle. I managed to find Toothless and my father set him free. Long story short, we managed to lure it up into the sky and we were able to destroy it by exploiting its weakness."
"Weakness?"
"Dragons aren't fire-proof on the inside. The Red Death was annihilated by a fireball down the throat and erupted into flames, and we fell. Toothless managed to protect me from the flames and broke my fall. I woke up a few days later to find out I lost my leg as a result, but it didn't really matter—I was just grateful to be alive."
"So what happened next?" The maiden asked, looking enraptured and he felt a swell of pride.
"When I woke up I found Toothless in my house and when I went outside with him, I saw the villagers getting along with the dragons. Now that the Red Death was gone the dragons didn't need to raid us any more and we found no need to slay them. So we learnt to co-exist with them. It wasn't easy, let me tell you, and it's taken many years of hard work, but I like to think that Berk is now at peace."
"Wow... that was quite the story." Elsa said looking impressed.
Of course there was much more to it, but it really didn't seem necessary at the moment. She didn't need to know all the details.
"Well what about you?" Hiccup started. "What's your story?"
She looked surprised, then nervous and she finished it off with discomfort. The rider wondered if he had been too forward to ask or too intrusive, but he couldn't help it. He was genuinely curious. After all, it's not everyday you meet an incredibly beautiful, young woman who's living in isolation and has super crazy ice powers.
"I was wrong." The woman said, rising gracefully from her seat. "I'm more tired than I realised. My apologies for cutting this so short."
He sighed, disappointed but not surprised. Just because he told her a bit about himself didn't automatically mean she had to return the favour.
"I can make a bed for you if you like," she continued. "Though it would be made out of ice and you would probably get cold..."
"It's fine," he said. "I think I'll just wait out the storm."
Elsa glanced over towards the closed doors and looked uneasy. Hiccup wanted to reassure her that the storm would eventually clear, however, she probably already knew that and whatever he would say would be a waste of words.
"… Alright," she said reluctantly, probably feeling like a terrible host. "If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."
She removed the blanket off her body and was about to hand it over when Hiccup held his hands up. "It's fine, I don't need it."
"But it's cold, and I'm use to it," she protested.
"I'll be fine," he promised, wanting to assure the maiden. "I grew up where it snows nine months of the year & hails the other three. So believe me when I say I'll be fine. Besides, think of it as a token of my gratitude."
"I haven't done anything worth being grateful for." She replied with a frown.
"Well that's for me to decide."
Elsa bit her lip and Hiccup hoped she would take his offer. She really needed it more than him.
His answer came a moment later when she pulled the blanket back to herself and said, "Thank you."
"Think nothing of it." And he meant that. This woman was shrouded in mystery, fear & loneliness, and yet after all she had endured tonight because of them, was still willing to allow them to stay. She seemed to have so little and he was glad to give her something to repay her kindness.
"I'll see you in the morning then. Good night, Chief Hiccup."
"Good night, Lady Elsa."
The maiden blinked, having not expected to hear herself be addressed with that title, before giving a nod and retreated to the back of the cave. Hiccup watched her figure become smaller and be enshrouded in shadow, before turning his attention back to the fire.
'This has been a weird night.' He couldn't help from thinking, before taking another sip from his ale.
Well that was an understatement, but he didn't know what else to think. He met someone who could manipulate ice—who would've thought that would be possible? Certainly not him. A hundred questions were running through his mind at that point; such as how old was she? What else could she do? Where's her village? Did she have family? Could they conjure ice too?
'But more importantly,' he wondered. 'Why is she here?'
All good questions with no hope of receiving answers to. At least, not any time soon.
Toothless cooed softly, slowly emerging from his slumber. Green eyes were revealed and he warbled a little before lifting his wing as an invitation to join him. Seeing the small gesture, the Chief couldn't help but be grateful to have the Night Fury in his life. Even after all the hardships they'd endured together, it had only helped to strengthen their bond and Hiccup couldn't imagine it being any other way. He could only hope it would continue that way until the day he died.
As he settled down beside the warm dragon, the Viking knew his shoulder would be killing him in the morning, however, he didn't care at that point. All the excitement had gotten to him and the ale only relaxed him even further—all he wanted now was to fall asleep and get the rest of his ten hours in.
"Good night, Bud." He mumbled and he noted with great interest just before Toothless covered him with his wing and he was encased in darkness, that the cave was now glowing a brilliant bright blue.
'Beautiful...' Was the only word he describe it before he drifted into a peaceful slumber.
Author's Note: Another chapter done and dusted. Way to go me! So what did everyone think? Liked it? Hated it? Please let me know what you think and post a review. I want to thank everyone who reviewed for the last chapter, even though it wasn't as many as the previous chapters, I'm still grateful towards those who took the time to put in feedback. Although in saying that, I do wonder what everyone thought... If you could review, I would really appreciate it. Otherwise, I feel like I'm doing a terrible job - as silly as it may seem.
Thank you to all those who've R&R and Favourited - they make my day.
Until next time.