Chapter XXI: Summer Freedom
Hiccup was happy to be back on Berk again, he was greeted fondly by Gobber and his father and was soon back in the shop to help Gobber out with the backed-up orders, but this time, he felt a sense of dread as he worked on the weapons. He knew that these weapons were destined to taste the blood of dragons, and there was a dragon within him.
As Hiccup worked in the shop, he devised a plan to protect both Berk and the dragons. Late at night, he would sneak out and go flying as a Night Fury, pretending to flee from Berk or ward off the dragons hoping to invade the island. No one would see him and the dragons wouldn't be bothering his homeland so long as they listened to him.
Indeed, he tried this out the first night he was there, and he managed to direct an incoming flock of dragons away from Berk by pretending to flee from the island. The incoming dragons noticed that he was a Night Fury and turned around straight away without hesitation.
Good, I'll be able to protect both Berk and the dragons. Hiccup thought as he watched the dragons fly away. He turned to circle around the island a few more times to make sure that no more dragons were coming; and when the coast was clear, he flew back home, returned to human form, and fell asleep with a smile on his face.
That morning, after his father left the house, he went up to his room, opened his trunk, put on a glove, opened a leather pouch, and pulled out the Dragonstone. The beautiful gem was far from being his most prized possession, in fact he treasured the presents he got as Snoggletog gifts from his friends even more than the Dragonstone, but the stone was an object of curiosity for Hiccup. He knew that it could allow him to communicate with dragons, control the beasts, and if he held it with his bare hand it would turn his nails into claws and scales would form on his skin. The thought that it had the power to change people into dragons crossed his mind, but if that were true, he would have to make something to keep it on his person. For now, it was safe in his trunk.
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Even in the days to come he had it fairly good; Snotlout ignored him out of fear that Hiccup might curse him if he pulled any pranks on Hiccup, but he was happily working in the shop with Gobber, and the other pre-teens on Berk were actually willing to give him the time of day. Astrid Hofferson was especially interested in him now. She once asked for Hiccup to show her magic, so he pulled out his Elder wood wand and casted a charm that to make a pear in a cart start levitating. He directed the pear over to Astrid, and she took it right out of the air and used her small dagger to slice the fruit up and she shared it with Hiccup. Fishlegs Ingerman was also interested in learning about a few things that Hiccup picked up from Hogwarts, not just about his classes, but what it was like to be in a country with a culture that differed from the Vikings.
However, Hiccup's time spent on Berk through June was short-lived. The day he returned he told his father that he had been invited to pay a visit to Arendelle and that he could fly there on his own. Since Gobber would be caught up on backed-up orders by the time Hiccup wanted to leave, Stoick couldn't see any reason to reject his trip. Hiccup knew several defensive charms and had gained a lot more experience in flying through his Quidditch matches.
As Hiccup got ready for his trip by packing his wand, the suit Rapunzel made for him as a Snoggletog gift, and his present for Elsa's little sister, a falcon and an owl appeared out-of-the-blue, they flew in through his window and made their perches by Hulda. Hiccup recognized the owl as Rapunzel's Polaris, and Merida was the only person he knew who sent her mail using falcons.
He read Rapunzel's message first and found out that her Mother Gothel would be allowing her to travel to Arendelle via floo powder and that she'll be showing up on the 20th. Merida, on the other hand was begging him to pick her up because her mother was insisting that she'd stay to practice being a princess, and Merida wasn't too happy about that.
If I'd marry her she wouldn't have to worry about being a princess at all. Hiccup mused. As the son of a Chief he understood many different political affairs, including the circumstances of marriage and establishing peace.
After shrinking down his clothes and the present for the princess, Hiccup stored his wand in his bag and wrote to Merida:
I'll come for you.
He rolled up the parchment and sent the falcon away. As for Polaris, he sent the Barred owl away without a response, Rapunzel's letter didn't need one, and now that he was all set to go, he said 'goodbye' to his father and Gobber, and asked them to look after Hulda for him, and he took off on his broom. Once Berk was out of sight, he morphed into a Night Fury. His next stop was Scotland.
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Merida was miserable, the very day she got home, without a moment to rest from her trip, her mother started up her princess lessons. And once they started, they just didn't stop! Elinor started her off with how to properly greet her company, and then she went into giving speeches, and history lessons. Really, all Merida wanted to do was saddle up on a horse and fire her arrows into targets she set up in the glen. The only bit of happiness she got out of her summer so far was receiving Hiccup's note. With all the lessons her mother was giving her, she barely had time to eat, sleep, and toilet herself.
On the night of the 17th, she looked out her window with a pout, until she saw something pass over the stars, blocking out their light. She got to her feet with a bright smile on her face as the figure she saw drew in close to the castle, as Merida opened up her window to let the creature in. As the beast passed through the window it morphed into…
"HICCUP!" Merida cried out, and she ran to embrace her friend. She was so happy to see him that she just about broke into tears.
"Good to see you too, Merida, now are you set to go?" Hiccup asked her.
"Yeah, I am, so let's go!" Merida told him. Hiccup spotted her quiver and stole an arrow, and went outside her room for a moment to use the arrow to pin a note on her door that read:
I heard that Merida was miserable, so I'm taking her to Arendelle where she'll have some safefun with other princesses and friends and celebrate Princess Anna's Birthday. I promise that I'll have her back by the 25th, maybe a bit earlier.
-A friend of Merida's from school.
"Ok, so, what will your ride be, Merida, my broom, or dragon-back?" Hiccup asked with a smirk, already knowing the answer.
"Dragon, please." Merida replied. Hiccup morphed back into a Night Fury and Merida hopped on his back and they took off with Merida cheering in celebration of her freedom. THIS was what summer break was supposed to feel like!
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On the 14th, Jack and his family had arrived via floo powder and Elsa was ecstatic to see them when they entered her palace through the fireplace. She happily dragged her sister, Anna, to meet them and embraced Jack and shook hands with both his mother and Pippa, and introduced her family.
"Elsa has told us many things about her friends, and has asked us if we could have one of our personal tailors to make your daughter a dress or two. We will be happy to pay for them, and we can have something nice made for you too." The Queen told them.
"That would be very lovely." Jack's mother replied. She and Pippa left with the Queen, leaving Jack and the sisters alone with the King. Jack was already wearing the casual outfit Rapunzel had made for him and in his hands he held a basket of apples he and his sister had picked just for Anna.
"I know it's a bit early, but Happy Birthday, Anna." Jack told her. The basket was actually filled with many different types of apples, and with a smile on her face, she hugged Jack and thanked him.
"So, Princesses, what's fun to do around here?" Jack asked.
"Follow me!" Anna told him, and they ran upstairs into her room.
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They spent several hours in Anna's room playing games and telling stories. Jack would often borrow Anna's toys and use them as props as he told his stories, which always made Anna and Elsa laugh, and they even kept this up when Pippa returned from the tailors and joined them.
By that night Elsa had shown them to their rooms and they were all amazed that they had reserved one for each of them, all of them were rather extravagant, and the generosity of the King and Queen had finally brought Jack's mother to tears.
"Anyone whose child has helped Elsa to come out of her shell and her world of fear shall be treated as equals to ourselves." The King explained, and Jack's mother wailed in happiness.
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By the 19th, Anna and Elsa met up with Hiccup and Merida. Hiccup had landed and transformed just outside of the kingdom so he wouldn't frighten anybody when he showed up. Merida was so happy to be in Arendelle that she was dancing in the streets, and she purchased a big box of chocolate for Anna as a present and a little gold bracelet.
Elsa practically squealed when she saw two more of her friends show up, and once again, she dragged Anna to meet them.
"So, you're the famous Hiccup, Elsa has told us and written quite a bit about you. Also, we'd like to thank you for helping us establish the trade route between our kingdom and your tribe." The King told him.
"Thank you… So, Elsa, this is a pretty impressive place you got here. OAF!" Hiccup said, but Elsa pulled him into a tight embrace, and Anna giggled and sang: "Hiccup and Elsa sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
"ANNA!" Hiccup and Elsa snapped, and the two of them took a step away from each other, and Jack and Pippa also giggled.
Later on that day, the tailor arrived at the palace with the dresses for Pippa and her mother. The one Pippa put on first was a semi-formal dress with a black, embroidered bodice, light green sleeves and a forest green skirt.
"Pippa, you look beautiful." Everyone had told her. So, for the remainder of the time she would spend in Arendelle, she'll feel just like a princess that the other girls were.
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Rapunzel didn't show up until the 21st with Mother Gothel, and while the King and Queen had reserved separate rooms for them, Gothel insisted that she and Rapunzel shared a room. The King and Queen thought that this was unusual, but they didn't protest.
"Wow, you have amazing hair." Anna told Rapunzel.
"Thank you, and Happy Birthday, Anna." She replied.
With all the friends there, it was time for Anna to open presents. From Elsa she got the guests and fond memories with them, from Jack and Pippa she got the apples, from Merida she got a lot of chocolate that she was happy to share and the bracelet, from Hiccup she got a spyglass and a belt with the Berk crest on the buckle, and from Rapunzel she got panpipes, a lute, and a flute as Corona was good for getting musical instruments.
"You know, Elsa, this has got to be the best birthday I've ever had." Anna stated sweetly, and she hugged her sister.
"You know, it might make it more fun if we went out to that forest out there for a while." Jack stated.
With permission, they went outside and just a little ways into the forest where they found a pond, and with bare feet, Jack walked onto it, turning it to ice. Anna was amazed, but then Elsa conjured up a snowball and threw it into the air, turning the surrounding area into a winter wonderland!
"Show off!" Jack told Elsa, she just looked at him with a smug, but then a snowball hit the side of her head. Elsa looked over to Anna, who was trying to appear as if she didn't do anything, but Elsa knew who the guilty party was and started up a snowball fight with her sister, when everyone else joined in.
They spent the remainder of the afternoon playing in the conjured snow. They had a nice, long, snowball fight, they built snowmen and a snow dragon, and they did some ice skating on the pond, but when they had to go back to the palace, Elsa, unable to thaw it, used her powers to gather all the snow and ice into one giant ball, and threw it into the Fjord making a big splash.
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When they came back to the palace, they found that the palace staff had set up a delightful feast for the birthday girl and her company. There were: three roasted chickens, mashed potatoes, glasses of sparkling grape juice, stuffing, rolls, cranberry sauce, gravy, and a big Black Forest cake to top it off. The kids ate in merriment and gusto, but still minded their manners; they were eating in the presence of royalty after all, most of them were royals themselves.
After the meal, they gathered in the parlor to listen to the King tell them some stories of his own, including the tale that on his wedding night, during the first dance, a butler who was bussing drinks bumped into him and spilt the drinks all over the him. The kids and the women all laughed at that. Merida then decided to tell, mainly Anna, Pippa, and the adults, the story of how her father battled Mor'du. She made it exciting but not too scary so that she didn't scare Anna and Pippa.
After seeing how Anna and Pippa reacted when they told stories involving magic, Hiccup wanted to tell the story of how they befriended Toothless, but if the adults passed the story on, it may reach his father, and then he'll have some serious explaining to do.
For the night, rather than going to their respective rooms, they all gathered into one room, Elsa's room this time, carrying blankets and pillows, and they threw them into a big pile of fluffiness, and that was how they slept that night. This had to have been one of the best days of their lives for all of the kids.
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On the 23rd, everyone was a bit sad to be going, but Hiccup had to bring Merida back to Scotland and the other foreigners had to go home too. Pippa was sad when she found out she had to leave, but if circumstances permitted, they all agreed that it would be fun to gather together again. Even Gothel admitted that she had a good time; she even forgot to have Rapunzel sing to her to rejuvenate herself. Luckily she only had a few grey hairs.
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Queen Elinor had grown worried sick over what happened to Merida, granted the note that had been left behind told her where Merida was, what she'd be doing, and an approximate time of when she'll be back; and after seeing the note himself, and taking notice that the handwriting belonged to a kid, King Fergus assured Elinor that Merida was indeed safe.
Well, on the afternoon of the 24th, Hiccup was flying over Merida's kingdom on his broomstick, and spotted Merida's parents below. The two riders called down to them while waving, and Merida jumped off when they were low enough.
"See, safe and sound just like I promised, and she had a good time bye!" Hiccup told them, speaking fast, and he sped off on his way back to Berk, not giving Elinor the time she needed to scold him. So she looked down to Merida and told her: "Whoever he is, I do not want you hanging around him anymore, and I'll not hear another word about it!"
Merida began tearing up and looked to her father.
"I knew you were safe, I saw the note, and I noticed how miserable you were this summer while you were here. If that boy made you happy, then you stick with him, lass." Fergus told her. She hugged him and took his hand as they walked back into the palace.
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Alright, well I hope that you're looking forwards to the start of the next term!
Please review.