Chapter XXXVIII: 104 Days of Summer
A NOTE: I've been getting some comments about the previous chapter being rushed. I apologize if it was a bit lacking in quality, and I will admit that I didn't put a lot of effort into it. I just wanted Ariel to tell her joke, reveal that Pippa will be going to school, and then just end the second year. I will also warn you that I also want to just blow through the third year, as I don't have much of a plot in mind, but the forth year, I promise, will be awesome!
Also, Happy Birthday to Choco Vanilla Milk today.
"You've failed me, Jafar, and now we no longer have the Red Death, you are powerless, and your bird is in the hands of our enemy." Pitch Black stated.
"I place myself in your mercy, my Lord." Jafar replied.
"You are fortunate that I cannot afford to lose you or any other member of my army. So I'll tell you what to do: You are to serve me from here and care for your weak master when you are not out in the field, now, there is a task that I need you to fulfill."
"What task might that be?" Jafar asked.
"In the Northlands, there is a dark sorcerer who has conquered many with an army of dragons. His name is Drago Bludvist, and I want you to recruit him into our army. Tell him that I will do anything for him so long as he accepts my offer. Should he not, I shall persuade him myself." Pitch replied.
"As you wish." Jafar told him.
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Now that Rapunzel knew of Gothel's alliance, she frequently sent Polaris out to deliver letters to Hiccup, Merida, or Elsa, and they would send word to Jack. Luckily, Rapunzel wasn't in any real danger, and her friends, excluding Jack, could sneak over to her tower to check up on her.
After the battle with the Red Death, Braveheart, Valhalla, and Dagger stayed with their beloved riders by living in hiding, and Elsa and Merida were prone to flying them to Corona under the cover of the night, but they landed far away enough for Gothel to not hear their landings, after that they would use their own methods of reaching the tower to check up on Rapunzel. Although Gothel didn't seem to be suspicious of Rapunzel, she was now watching Gothel more intensely. Her hobbies have gotten quieter and in her letters she noted anything that seemed sinister.
Luckily, nothing drastic happened over the summer, and Rapunzel stayed safe the whole season.
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Over in DunBroch a certain parrot was beginning to get rather spoiled. Merida had enlisted him as her own personal spy, and whenever Iago returned with something interesting, Merida would share grapes with him or reward him with a gold coin.
Queen Elinor, as Merida had predicted, hated the bird. Anytime Iago was perched on Merida's shoulder, he was prone to mocking Elinor during her lessons, and it was only to Merida when he revealed his true intelligence. Otherwise, Iago played the role of being any other parrot. His charade fooled everyone except Merida.
At first Iago was disappointed that Merida's castle wasn't as grand as he had hoped, but his attitude quickly changed when his relationship with Merida grew. As her spy he got to learn a few secrets and Merida was gentler to him than Jafar ever was. So, eventually, Iago often made himself comfortable on Merida's shoulder and mock anyone he pleased. Sometimes it was even Merida.
"How is it that you're not the dragon in the group? You're the most fiery, Miss Feisty-pants." Iago said.
"I'm the telekinetic, Jack and Elsa are the elementals, Rapunzel is the healer, and Hiccup is the dragon." Merida replied.
"Wait, it was Rapunzel who was the dragon who caught me."
"Yeah, Hiccup turned her with the Dragonstone so nothing would happen to her hair." Merida stated flatly.
"Alright, no more messing with the parrot, tell me the truth!" Iago exclaimed.
"A princess does not lie." Merida replied in a voice to mock her mother.
"Alright, so what dragon can Hiccup morph into?" Iago asked in a challenging tone.
"Night Fury, the same dragon he rode when we killed the Red Death." Merida replied.
"Now that I gotta see."
"Ye'll see when school starts up again, Iago, don't you worry."
When Merida didn't have lessons to go to, she took Iago out with her horse, Angus, and rode out into the forest, where she would find Braveheart. The Monstrous Nightmare hid within the cliffs where the Fire Falls were located, and she would practice her riding with the dragon, even if it meant hearing loud and obnoxious complaints and screams from Iago.
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Speaking of Hiccup, he had spent the first few days trying to explain to his father that a political marriage to Merida wouldn't be the wisest idea. Reasons being that Merida was so feisty and they had no real affections for each other. Stoick was, of course, rather ignorant to everything Hiccup said about it.
He often snuck out at night to go for flights and chase away any dragon heading over to Berk, when one night, Hiccup met with a blue Deadly Nadder while wearing the Dragonstone around his arm.
"You, you were one of the rebels who've defeated the Red Death, and you have a Dragonstone, by dragon rights, you are our Alpha." She stated.
"I can't be your Alpha, I may be a dragon now, but I am also a Viking who happens to be a wizard who can change into a dragon." Hiccup explained. He and the Nadder landed on an uninhabited island and he morphed back into his human body.
"So you are a human, but I can still see the dragon within you, and the nest and I would still be honored to call you our Alpha. Human or dragon, you still saved us from a terrible leader. You see, she sent us out on those raids to bring food back for her, and if we didn't bring enough, she would've eaten some of us!" The Nadder explained.
"What is your name?" Hiccup asked.
"Stormfly."
"Well, Stormfly, it's nice to meet you. I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Chief Stoick the Vast of Berk."
"Wait, you're the Chief's son, and you're a dragon?" Stormfly questioned.
"Yes, say whatever you want about it, but that is what and who I am." Hiccup replied. Stormfly paused for a moment before she nudged him and said: "I see great things in store for you. I think that you'll put an end to all of the death and suffering between dragons and Vikings, and you may rise to become one of the greatest of your Alpha's… but does it scare you to be a dragon?"
"No, I love it. At first, when I found out about this ability, I was scared, especially since I discovered it by accident, but I learned to control it and now I love the dragon." Hiccup replied.
"Hmm, I like you, and you are a noble type. You will be my Alpha, and I will do what you ask of me, but I will not be sent away from your command." Stormfly told him.
"If there is no getting rid of you, then you can do one thing for me. Fly with me to Berk, you will live in the forests, but at night, I want you to circle the island and drive dragons away heading towards it. It will protect the dragons from the Vikings and the Vikings from the dragons. However, so you don't get lonely, I'll allow you to have two companions. If any Viking should find you, don't fight, just fly away peacefully."
"As you wish." Stormfly replied. With that, Hiccup morphed back into a Night Fury and flew back home with Stormfly following after him.
When he was human again and laying in bed, he pulled out a folded piece of paper, he opened it to reveal a drawing of Elsa flying Valhalla. It was one of four drawings he made he had tucked under his pillow. Two of them were of Jack and Merida flying their own dragons, and the last one was of Rapunzel as a dragon.
"Oh, guys, I miss you." Hiccup stated before falling asleep.
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In Arendelle, Elsa spent most of her time with Anna, whether it was playing with her or freezing her food as a joke, Anna could not get rid of Elsa, and she was happy for it. She missed Elsa when she was at school, and she loved every minute they spent together.
When Anna was asleep Elsa would sneak her way to the forest and call for Valhalla where they would scout the area for any invaders and sometimes they would simply hunt together, but the flying always made her think of her friends, and each ride brought her closer to Valhalla.
Other than the occasional visits to check up on Rapunzel, Elsa's summer was fairly uneventful.
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Now, in the Overland household, things were getting pretty exciting, as August approached, the family returned to Diagon Alley to get situated for school. As a token of friendship, the princesses sent Jack and Pippa pouches of gold coins to buy new school supplies.
The first thing they did was they got Pippa's wand: ten inches, maple, with a phoenix feather and an ivy pattern embossed on it.
"Don't wave it around, this is an item of magic, you might start something on fire without meaning to." Jack told her, and he went on to tell her about each professor he had so far into full detail, but to the point, they were really excited to go back to school.
Like Elsa and Merida, Jack also took his dragon, Dagger out flying. Although Jack made an effort to keep the Timberjack a secret, it wasn't easy. Dagger enjoyed slicing through trees, which was alright with Jack as far as getting firewood was concerned, but the impressions on the ground and the scars on the trees Dagger left behind started to make the villagers that there was something 'unnatural' going on in the forest. They told of tales about werewolves being in the forest, or angry spirits trying to turn the animals against the people. Whatever the tales they told, Jack soon found a hobby of following hunters into the forest and impersonating the howls of wolves to scare the pants off of them. Literally, there was one hunter who ran off while trying to fix his belt, and he just let his pants fall down! Jack couldn't look at him with a straight face for the remainder of the summer!
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When summer came to an end, the five friends met up again and embraced each other, and welcomed Pippa with open arms and a seat with them on their coach to Hogwarts. As Gothel waved goodbye to Rapunzel, she assumed the form of a raven and flew over to Pontefract.
"Ah, Gothel, it is nice to see you again." Pitch greeted.
"It is always a pleasure to be in the same place as my Lord. Now I inquire to know why you've summoned me." Gothel replied.
"I've sent Jafar out to recruit a dark sorcerer by the name of Drago Bludvist. Mor'du is also gone to spread some more fear to make me stronger. I need someone to take care of me, and I wouldn't let you miss the welcoming celebration of a new recruit; also, I will reward you with the power of youth and beauty"
"I am honored." Gothel stated.
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Ok if there's any sign of rush in this chapter I do apologize, but I had nothing planned for this summer break. I'll take it slow during the school year, that I promise; but I will like some suggestions for what you want me to do during the year, because, as said before, I don't have much of a plot in mind until I hit the forth year.