Once Upon a Midwinter
A/N: Some quick notes before you read the story:
To Guest/Mirror Mirror: I have seen the movie Mirror Mirror and…well…I'm sorry but I simply don't know how to make a HTTYD retelling work. I could certainly see Hiccup in the character of Snow White and in some scenes I could picture Astrid as the prince, and I did think their little swordfight could work pretty well in a Dragon adaptation. But other than that, I really don't know what to do with it. So here's what I'm going to do: I will write a HTTYD-Snow White story with Hiccup in the title role. It will be closer to the Grimm fairy tale than any of its film adaptations, but I will do my best to slip in some references to Mirror Mirror, particularly the swordfight scene if I can manage it. I know this isn't exactly what you had in mind, but I'm afraid it's the best I can do.
For those wondering, the current fairy tale lineup is: "Little Hiccup," a retelling of Hans Andersen's "Thumbelina"; "The Girl in the Tower," a retelling of the Grimms' "Rapunzel"; and "Hiccup Haddock and the Seven Terrors," a retelling of the Grimms' "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Depending on how I'm feeling after that I may try to tackle a "Beauty and the Beast" retelling.
I hope to continue Hiccup the Useless soon, but at the moment I'm focusing more on these fairy tale adaptations. Once they're out of the way I should be able to give Useless more attention. Thanks again for your continuing patience with me on this.
Regarding this story, I'm continuing in the HTTYD-Anastasia AU I started in my last story. I doubt I'll do any more Anastasia songs, but you never know. I hope you enjoy it. :)
"Once Upon a December" from Anastasia © 20th Century Fox
"Well," Hiccup said uncertainly, looking up at the building standing before them. "This is the place."
The Meathead Great Hall looked nothing like he'd thought it would. Granted, he wasn't exactly sure what he'd been expecting. The old woman's words had been, "See Astrid. She can help. At the old mead hall. But you didn't hear it from me." The phrase old mead hall certainly fit the bill, but he'd been expecting to find it more or less, well…intact.
The old hall had fallen into a state of serious disrepair. Apparently no one had thought it worth salvaging, not with a new hall standing tall and proud in the center of the village, and the years of neglect had taken their toll. The structure looked perilously rickety, as if one good wind would bring the whole thing crashing down. Yet even with that, there was an aura about the place, an aura Hiccup couldn't immediately place. There was something majestic about it, even under all the decay. Empty and forlorn though it was, Hiccup could sense that it had once been a grand and magnificent building.
He exchanged a glance with Toothless, who crooned a little uneasily. "What do you think, bud? It's not going to fall down on us, is it?"
Toothless warbled, though Hiccup had no idea what he'd said. He turned to look back up at the old hall. Then he took a deep breath and stepped forward. He knocked on the towering doors, and they rattled on their hinges.
No one answered.
Hiccup looked again at Toothless, who merely gazed back. Then he shrugged and gave one of the doors a light push. It swung open with a deafening creak that echoed and reverberated throughout the aged building. Way to announce your presence, Hiccup thought. There's no sneaking into this place.
"Hello?" he called. "Anybody home?"
There was no reply.
Hiccup stepped into the hall, Toothless trotting along behind him. The wind caught the door and blew it shut with a bang, making them both jump. Hiccup laughed a little breathlessly and turned to look around. His smile slowly faded.
I've been here before, he thought.
But that was impossible! He'd been raised in the Meathead Orphanage. He'd never even been to the village, let alone to the old abandoned mead hall.
Yet it was still there, that persistent, niggling feeling that he'd once tread this very floor. Feeling a little uneasy and unable to explain why, he stepped further into the building, shedding his old green coat and dropping it on a nearby bench, where it was soon joined by his hat.
The hall was mostly bare. There were a few half-rotten benches and tables littering the room, atop which some forgotten silver plates rested, coated in a layer of dust about half an inch thick. Wondering why no one had removed the fine dinnerware when the new hall was built, Hiccup reached out and picked up one of the plates, blowing the dust from its surface and promptly sneezing. Lifting it closer to his face, he gazed down at the plate, eyes wide with wonder. He'd never held anything so beautiful in all his life. Not that he could recall, anyway…
What was that?!
It lasted for only a second, but for the briefest moment he was sure that he saw something other than his own reflection in the silver surface of the plate. It had passed too quickly for him to be certain of what it was, but he got the impression that it had been a flash of…what? Memory? A dream? He didn't know. All he could remember was the image of a big, burly man in a green tunic and brown fur cloak lifting up a young boy with dark-colored hair – auburn perhaps? – and spinning him around in a circle.
He whirled around but there was no one else in the hall except Toothless, who was looking at him bemusedly. Returning his gaze to the plate and his own normal reflection, Hiccup blinked rapidly and shook his head. He put the plate back where it had been before and stepped away, wondering if he was perhaps going mad.
Then his eyes fell on a tapestry hanging on the far wall, and that strange sensation returned. He was almost certain, impossible though it was, that he'd seen that tapestry before. It seemed so familiar to him, the pattern of boars and dragons capering across its ragged, tattered surface. The mangled remains of the drapery moved gently in a breeze blowing through a hole in the wall, giving the animals in the fabric the illusion of movement.
"This place…" Hiccup breathed, watching the woven dragons intently. "…it's…it's like a memory from a dream…"
He gazed for a moment longer at the tapestry as a melody started to play in his mind, also painfully familiar and impossible to place. But he let it move him, swaying slightly back and forth as the music filled him.
Then he sang:
"Dancing boars, painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a midwinter"
He moved into the center of the hall and looked around. How festive this place must have been once, with people gathered to talk and laugh and eat and drink and dance…
And how he felt now…like he'd once stood in this very spot…
He wrapped his arms around himself as he sang the next verse:
"Someone holds me safe and warm
Dragons prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory"
He spun around and spread his arms wide, and in that moment the hall filled with light. In his mind's eye he saw Vikings of all shapes and sizes congregated around him, partaking in the imaginary festivities. Some of them sang along with the melody playing in Hiccup's head while others danced, their fur cloaks swirling and swishing about. Smiling, Hiccup joined them, bowing to those who acknowledged him and spinning around in delirious joy. Toothless stood at the entrance, watching him with his head cocked to the side, apparently wondering what in Odin's name had gotten into the boy, but Hiccup paid him no mind. Instead, he continued singing.
"Someone holds me safe and warm
Dragons prance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory"
Vikings his own age approached him as he sang. Smiling in welcome, one placed a helmet on his head while another slid a grand ring on his finger. As the verse ended and Hiccup's voice climbed to a higher key, he spun around and was suddenly no longer wearing his tattered old yellow tunic. Instead he was dressed in Viking finery, the clothes of a chief or heir: a green tunic, dark leggings, brown fur boots, and a matching brown fur cape that swept the floor at his feet. His heart bounding with joy, he joined the other Vikings in their dance as his song continued.
"Far away, long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Things it yearns to remember"
He froze in his tracks. There was a large Viking approaching him, clearly someone of importance as the others had stopped dancing and bowed their heads to the newcomer. The man was big and burly and had a fierce red beard that reached down to his belt – Hiccup was reminded of the brief flash of memory he'd seen in the silver plate but the connection faded the moment it was made – but his eyes were soft and kind and filled with some emotion that Hiccup couldn't place. Was it love? No one had ever looked at him like that before…
Still gazing at the stranger, Hiccup wound his song down, slowing the melody and holding the notes longer.
"And a song someone sings…"
The stranger bowed to him, and as he sang the last line of the song, Hiccup returned the gesture, feeling as if he was somehow participating in something far larger than himself, something he couldn't even begin to comprehend…
"Once upon a midwinter"
He held the last high note for as long as he could and then fell silent. All around the Vikings gazed at him, and it felt rather like a homecoming, though he had no idea why it would feel as such…
"Hey!"
All at once the scene around him vanished. He was alone in the hall with Toothless and this newcomer with the harsh female voice, bowing foolishly and dressed in his dirty old tunic once more. For just a second, he lamented the end of his little fantasy. Then the moment passed, and he turned to face the speaker, his heart leaping into his throat.
"What're you doing here?!"