Crossed Souls

by Marcus S. Lazarus

When the kingdom of Arendelle is attacked by Drago Bludvist's dragon army, the kingdom seeks aid from the Dragon Riders of Berk, but the Vikings' suspicions of the 'ice witch' requires the peace to be properly affirmed by marrying Hiccup to the queen of Arendelle. As they seek answers about Drago's new power, the dragon rider, the ice queen and the fiery valkyrie are drawn together

13. No More Dance Lessons

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise from either fandom. Most importantly, this fic is a translation of the fascinating Almas cruzadas by Sandy97 and is uploaded here with her permission; any edits to the material are only what is required to make the translation flow appropriately.

Feedback: Always appreciated.

AN: Sorry about the delay in this update; since I want the translation approved by the original writer, I had to wait for approval as she planned for future chapters as well as looking over my work.

Crossed Souls

Chapter 13: No More Dance Lessons

"I'm going to fall," Elsa said, fear all over as she clung tightly to Astrid's waist.

The Viking let out a soft laugh, as she placed an affable hand on the trembling hands of the ice queen.

"Easy," she said, "I promise you won't fall, you have my word."

"Safe?"

"Safe."

Elsa tried to smile and look confident, but it didn't work out very well.

They were both suspended on the edge of a cliff, perched on Stormfly's back. The dragon spread her wings and carefully moved her wing, practically recovered from the injury she suffered the day the forest spirit attacked them.

Dragons were able to heal much faster than other animals and humans themselves thanks to the properties of their saliva, something that Berkians had been studying for years without finding a reasonable explanation.

"What if we look for a lower place to jump?" Elsa pleaded unsure as she saw the frozen abyss beneath her feet. Just in case.

Astrid turned a deaf ear to the comment.

"Come on Elsa, relax. We're supposed to trust each other now, right?" She turned in amusement to shoot the queen a knowing look.

Elsa took a breath, eyeing the free fall under her feet and then at that warrior angel who was smiling at her so confidently.

It was a risk she was willing to take, she thought as she scanned the verticality of the rocky terrain that ended in the sea and was violently hit by the waves.

"Of course," she said confidently, despite having shaky legs and heart on the verge of tachycardia.

Astrid laughed again.

"Come on, hold on tight."

And so she did, terrified.

"On three ..." the Viking began the countdown. "One ..."

Elsa hugged her closer, closing her eyes.

"Two…"

The queen waited for a 'three' that never came, because in that instant, before Elsa could say anything, Stormfly opened her wings and they jumped into the void.

She clung tighter- if that was possible- to Astrid's body, who unlike her seemed to be very relaxed. The sensation of the fall was so spectacular that for a moment the queen felt her breath leave her body and her perception of gravity became distorted. Her eyes instantly flooded with tears from the icy wind and although she tried to open them, she closed them tightly again for fear of falling. In fact, her senses were so overstimulated that if it weren't for the warmth and firmness of Astrid's body, she would have thought this was nothing more than a dream.

She contained the urge to scream and cry in that fall that seemed infinite until suddenly there was a great shock and that sensation stopped, noticing how now the air was tickling her feet.

"You see?" Astrid said, laughing. "You're still alive; you can open your eyes now."

Elsa blinked and slowly opened her eyes, slightly loosening her hold on Astrid to discover the wonderful sensation of flying.

Before them was discovered a radiant Arendelle, bathed in the sun of the early hours of the morning. The sky was bluer than ever and the sea expanded serene and without borders from that wonderful aerial view. In the background, the mountains to the east loomed undaunted over the landscape, turning the gleams of white snow pink and blue.

Elsa had never imagined that her kingdom could look so beautiful from the sky, as if it were something from a fantasy tale.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Astrid commented, smiling.

The queen then looked under her feet, where the castle had become very small and its problems as well. For a second it seemed that no war or demon could break that tranquility, that she did not fear betrayal or that days ago they had paid homage to hundreds of lost souls.

She took a deep breath, somewhat distressed by how small she felt at that moment and slightly separated her body from Astrid's, somewhat flushed.

"It's wonderful…" she replied, still trembling, but spellbound by the sights.

"Well, you haven't seen anything yet," the Viking assured. "Let's go with the rest."

Stormfly then began to veer a little, flapping her wings to keep rising through the clouds, moving a bit away from the kingdom.

Without a doubt, Elsa had never experienced a state of fullness as great as that, feeling for a second a vague sense of belonging, as if her place had always been there in the sky and not anchored between the four dark walls of her castle.

As if maybe she could be more than the queen of Arendelle.

However, her thoughts betrayed her and despite experiencing that wonderful sensation, she could not forget that that moment of calm was only a parenthesis before everything that was coming upon them.

---

Days ago, the morning after being attacked by the spirit of the forest and discovering that her only clue had been ripped from the pages of a story, Elsa woke up shaken by nightmares.

Since she had stopped sleeping with Hiccup, there hadn't been a night that she hadn't awakened terrified and drenched in cold sweat with the strange sensation that death was pursuing her, her and her entire kingdom.

The declaration of the Trolls and the departure of the Vikings had only strengthened that uneasiness and that morning, despite having a sore body from battle and fatigue from betrayal, she got up earlier than ever.

It wasn't even dawn yet, but her heart was beating fast and her pulse was trembling too much for her to get back to sleep, so it took no effort to get out of bed.

She dressed as quickly as possible in comfortable clothes and went out to the library to try to put some order to her ideas. When she got to that place of worship, she went among the shelves and once again rummaged through the collection of children's stories that Hiccup had studied the night before. She looked at the hole left by the missing book, the one the Viking had taken and from which the pages had been torn.

Without a doubt and as they feared, those pages hid something more than a children's story with a moral. Surely they were hiding some clue about the magical forest and what was happening in it. Or at least something about the dead dragon that Hiccup found or why Drago was interested in that place.

Elsa noticed the volumes of stories and then it was seen that everyone shared the theme about legends of the forest. The tome that Hiccup had taken was the one entitled The Princess and the Dragon, probably because he thought it was the one that contained some relevant clue. However, now that she was in front of the entire collection of fables in the forest, she realized that all those children's stories could treasure a dark truth about her kingdom. She began to read their spines: The Lost Girl and the Great Tree, Trolls and Other Fantasy Beings, The Lost Kingdom, The Valley of the Sun, Midnight Tales, The Wizard and His Wand, The Great Fire, The Lagoon, The Witch and the White Star, The Fountain of Youth ...

Titles that as a child had seemed beautiful songs to the imagination, but now she could not stop thinking of them as clues to the dark history of her family.

She pulled them one by one from the shelf and checked carefully that none were missing more pages. Fortunately, they were all intact, which made it even more clear that Hiccup was not very wrong and that really all the information they had been seeking for weeks was there, in those stories.

Not wanting to linger for too long, and feeling as though she was being watched, she took as many books as she could and moved them around, just in case. She moved them to another more hidden section, where she keep them locked up in a chest where the scribes kept old inks and scrolls.

Of all of them, one stayed in her mind: The Fountain of Youth.

She had read this issue a lot as a child and for some reason she thought that perhaps what Drago was looking for was that magic fountain or something similar. At least it seemed the most logical thing to do, since his dragon seemed immortal or at least partially, as the Riders had discovered. However, after reading for a while, she felt somewhat confused, because the story spoke of pirates and lands that had nothing to do with Arendelle.

She snorted and felt exhausted.

The first morning lights were already beginning to come in through the window, so she got up in a hurry, remembering that Stoick, Alea and Gobber were about to leave.

---

Hiccup and Astrid were smiling like idiots, naked and somewhat disheveled, still shaken by what they had longed for so much in recent weeks, but at the same time inspired by a deep calm.

At that moment they had to admit that they did not care what happened outside those sheets. After all the stress and worry, they had enough to hug each other, naked and calm, talking about everything and nothing.

They had awakened a long time ago and after a long foolish handling of good morning, they had begun to fight that battle to satisfy their hunger, to prove themselves, to possess the other until they appeased that anxiety to touch each other. They both knew that Astrid shouldn't be there and that they should say goodbye soon if they didn't want to be caught. Unfortunately, they were aware that this moment of intimacy and peace would not last long, so they simply let themselves be carried away, without thinking of anyone but themselves as they quietly calmed down, in case someone was listening.

However, now that they looked at each other in the dark, sweaty and with swollen lips, they realized that they had been anything but discreet and that no matter how much they had tried to be silent, both of them had ended up either moaning or making the other moan.

Hiccup had actually been the worst. In general, he was a fairly patient and calm lover, however, he had allowed herself to be carried away by that need that was driving him crazy and had rammed Astrid recklessly, until he gave her a desperate orgasm accompanied by an indescribable scream. But things had not stopped there, especially when Astrid had decided to take control of that situation and climb on top to ride him as revenge.

Now instead they laughed and spoke in whispers huddled between the sheets, as if thus compensating for the noise they had made minutes ago; mentally praying that Elsa hadn't heard them.

"I swear I saw him move his shoulder without problems," Astrid continued, complaining about the 'favourable treatment' Tuffnut was receiving in the healing wing. "I don't know how the healers here can continue to pamper him so much; there's nothing is wrong with him! For the love of the Gods! I can't believe that for the first time Ruffnut is right about something."

Hiccup loved it when Astrid brought out that nerve of hers to talk about injustices. He hugged her closer, dropping onto her chest.

"Trust me," Hiccup said. "I'd almost prefer it if he continued playing the sick man rather than sowing chaos."

Astrid snorted and rolled her eyes. It was impossible to win battles against the twins.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she said.

Hiccup looked up at her.

"I'm all ears."

The girl showed a sly smile.

"Ruffnut told me that her brother is after the head of the healers."

Hiccup frowned.

"The old woman with a missing tooth?" She asked, scared and confused.

That made Astrid laugh.

"No idiot, the young girl ..." she brushed her hair away from her face, "that kind one, who always wears her hair up and has tanned skin."

"Ah!" Rose," Hiccup breathed in relief. "Gods, I don't know which is worse. That girl is a sweetheart and Tuffnut is..."

"Tuffnut."

"That," Hiccup agreed. "Luckily she seems like a smart woman…"

"Well, people will do a lot of crazy things for love," Astrid declared.

And that was something they both knew very well. They would leap for each other if necessary, however confused they might be lately about their feelings.

It was not that they no longer felt the same as before, on the contrary, they were more clear than ever that they wanted to be with the other. However, Elsa continued to awaken strange feelings that Hiccup was trying to suppress and Astrid, without really knowing why, began to feel strange in the presence of the queen, especially since last night, where respect and admiration were transformed into something else, something she couldn't explain in words and that like Hiccup she didn't seem to be willing to find out.

Yet there the two of them were, sparing a thought to the Snow Queen when they spoke of the madness of love, when they spoke to themselves of crossing a snowstorm or fighting monsters for a woman who had just appeared in their lives.

They were both silent for a moment, wrapped in the warmth of their bodies and the tranquillity that reigned outside, despite the fact that their thoughts were full of conflicts.

Hiccup then kissed Astrid on the lips, cradling her face in his hands. The girl smiled at him as they embraced again, watching the sky slowly clear through the window.

"Are you really going to participate in that thing?" Astrid asked then when she saw the light, stroking the Viking's head. "The muse or mosa, whatever her name is…"

"Mass," Hiccup corrected her. "Yes, I suppose it is a good way to put a little peace between our peoples ... I also have to say goodbye to my father." He sighed. "I guess I should dress..."

However, despite the serious and downcast tone of his words, his gestures showed the opposite, as he hugged Astrid tighter and buried his head between her breasts.

"You know that's not going to help you dress, right?" Astrid smiled to herself, regaining her spirits somewhat.

"I plan to stay here forever," the boy decreed.

"Well, I don't think they will be long in coming to tear you from my arms, Lord King of Arendelle," she imitated the soldier's voice.

"Thank goodness you'll know how to defend me," Hiccup said calmly, not quite ready to leave.

"I'll be able to defend you from the useless soldiers of this castle, but not from your wife with magical powers, so get your ass out of bed, Haddock," Astrid warned, tickling Hiccup to release her.

The boy struggled for a while, but ended up giving up. After all, Astrid was right and it was true that he had to go, he couldn't delay any longer. The sun was about to rise and his father was about to leave. Grumbling he broke away from her and sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes a bit as he stretched.

"Speaking of my wife ..." Hiccup brought up the subject, sly, "how did you make up last night?" I saw you blowing smoke from your ears when you left the castle entrance."

The boy got out of bed and put on the prosthesis, sitting up to look for his clothes. Astrid took one look at his naked body, especially at his back, where she had left some nail marks and would lie if she didn't think at that moment about dragging him back to bed.

"Elsa came to apologize to me," she said calmly, as she snuggled between the sheets of the bed, surprised at how cold his absence had left it.

She heard Hiccup chuckling as he pulled on his shirt.

"Well, you don't make it so easy for me," he complained jokingly, as he struggled to close that shirt that had a button fallen off.

"And who told you it was easy?" The Viking leaned on her hand.

"I don't know, you tell me," the Viking continued, now struggling with underwear and pants.

Hiccup almost fell over, so he ended up sitting on the bed to avoid breaking his neck as he tried to adjust his pants. Astrid sat up on the bed and grabbed his shirt.

"You've lost a button…" she looked at the fraying where the object should have been.

"It doesn't matter, I'll sew another one for you." He buttoned his pants. "So I look more manly."

Astrid laughed.

"Checking those four red hairs on your chest?"

Hiccup wrinkled his nose.

"Someday I'll even grow a beard, you'll see," he joked, also looking for his shoes on the floor. "So, are you sure everything was fine with Elsa last night?"

Hiccup wanted to be sure that the council business hadn't made things worse for them. He knew that Astrid would never hurt anyone, least of all the queen, who also needed someone loyal by her side and he only trusted the Viking.

"All good yes…" she hesitated.

"Astrid…" Hiccup wanted to inquire, noticing that tone of half-truth.

"Okay," he began, "if I tell you, will you promise not to get angry?"

Hiccup turned puzzled and looked at her, now concerned. The girl wrinkled her nose, not sure where to start.

"Maybe I asked her to do… something for me," she tried to specify, at Hiccup's expectant face.

"What do you mean to do something?"

The Viking bit her lip.

"Astrid."

"Okay," she gave up. "Last night I was very angry and I did not feel like forgiving Elsa, especially when she had called me a traitor on the same day that I and my dragon almost died for her. So when she stood in the kitchens to apologize, well I wanted to humiliate her a little bit… "

"Humiliate her?" Hiccup said, scandalized.

"Just a little bit," the Viking wanted to make clear.

"What did you ask her to do?" Hiccup kept demanding, tense.

Astrid hesitated.

"I told her that if she wanted to regain my confidence she had to show me that she trusted me and well… well I gave her a confidence test.

"A confidence test?" The young man raised a hand to his forehead. "Why does that sound so bad to me…?"

Astrid took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

"And… how did it go?" Hiccup almost pleaded.

"Well, you know what is said in the tribe about trust ..." she said before the Viking's worried face.

"I don't, actually," Hiccup complained, tired of Astrid's detours.

"You know, about… you have to trust someone who bathes without weapons," Astrid specified.

Hiccup still did not understand and before his demanding and confused look, Astrid ended up being clear and concise.

"Basically I told her that if she wanted to regain my confidence, she had to… well, bathe with me."

The Viking's eyes widened.

"You did what?!" he asked, scandalized. "By the Gods Astrid, in these realms heads roll for much less, are you crazy?"

The girl got defensive and crossed her arms.

"Someone had to lower the fumes and open her eyes a little," she said. "She's surrounded by idiots who manipulate her and she is too proud."

"Astrid, you are the queen of pride and Elsa the queen of these lands," he said worriedly. "You can't challenge her in front of her people... much less ask her for something like that."

"I know and I'm sorry," the Viking reluctantly agreed. "But hey, now we're fine, right? Also, I have to say that it humbled me."

That upset Hiccup.

"Did Elsa bathe with you?"

Astrid nodded.

At that moment the image of both girls naked, bathing together flooded the Viking's mind, leaving him feeling terribly guilty for feeling slightly aroused. He took a breath as he pushed that image out of his mind.

"Are you serious?" he wanted to make sure.

Astrid nodded again, more relaxed now.

"Well… you're not dead," the Viking observed, "so I guess that's a good sign… Although if I'm honest I didn't imagine Elsa… well, agreeing to something like that."

"Me neither," Astrid agreed. "But you were right about her. Elsa is a good person and has enough courage to lead this kingdom without the help of those idiots, she just needs to prove it to her people…"

They were both silent again, but this time Astrid was quick to break it.

"And if you happen to tell her that I told you," the Viking warned then, pointing a finger incisively at him.

"Easy, my lips are sealed."

"And style your hair, you're horrible," she added, trying to fix her own untamed hair.

Astrid always used to change the subject in a hurry when she knew she had screwed up or was wrong about someone; in this case both.

Hiccup looked at her and felt like he could read her mind. Surely swallowing her pride in front of the servants hadn't exactly been a victory for her, although he still couldn't believe that Elsa, as modest as she was, had undressed in front of the servants to give Astrid a lesson in humility.

"Let's see, you've put on your fatal pants and in the end you're going to fall," the Viking filled the silence, getting out of bed covered only by a blanket, helping Hiccup to finish putting the pants through the prosthesis and putting on the belt. "I'll get dressed now too and go tell the riders what you wanted to do for the ceremony, whatever it's called. Oh, and find your father for you," she added hastily, picking up a few messy strands behind his ears. "Are you seriously going to read the Christian writings of these people? Isn't it very weird? I would give a speech or read something else. Do you think it will be something very formal? I'll make sure the twins don't screw up..."

"I love you Astrid," he confessed spellbound, not hearing half of the things he said.

The girl's cheeks were stained red as she stood up and offered a hand to Hiccup to get him out of bed as well.

"Come on, hurry up, you're going to be late," she said with some modesty, although she immediately hugged him.

Hiccup circled her waist and tangled his nose in her hair.

"I love you too, Hiccup, very much," she whispered in his ear.

Hiccup noticed some sadness in her voice but by the time they pulled away Astrid already had a smile from ear to ear and was pretending that everything was fine; as usual.

"See you later," Hiccup said. "And take the opportunity to sleep a bit more, it's still early and I don't think Elsa is there for training."

"I should go to my room, Hiccup."

The boy sighed.

"You can stay, no one will come."

"Insurance?"

"Sure," he kissed her.

The girl just nodded and dismissed Hiccup.

"Promise me you'll rest a while more," the Viking raised an inquisitive index finger before heading out the door.

"Yeah, sure," Astrid said in exasperation.

As soon as she heard the door close, Astrid returned to the bed and collapsed exhausted. She was truly exhausted and her entire body ached from the battle.

She found Elsa's nightgown on the floor and put it on, freezing to death from Hiccup's absence, and buried herself in the blankets. Although the bed smelled of Hiccup and sex, Astrid couldn't help but smile as she noticed that her nightgown still smelled of Elsa. And it was a wonderful smell, like flowers and vanilla and fresh water.

She sighed, not knowing why she felt so weird or why she kept thinking about the snow queen.

---

"Hiccup, son," Gobber greeted him as he saw him enter the dungeons.

"Hi, Gobber," he returned the greeting, "where's my father?"

Hiccup arrived just in time to help his father, Gobber, and Alea pack. As they had agreed the day before, the three of them would rush to Berk and the rest of the council would return by boat along with the refugees from Arendelle. Hiccup and Elsa should sit long and hard to talk about the subject and the management of all that, but for the moment each seemed to be tied to the present moment and more when they had barely had time to wake up.

In fact, Hiccup was wondering where Elsa should be, since as queen he thought she would be there to see Stoick off. However, the sun had already risen and there was no sign of her. Deep down, the Viking thanked him, because he preferred to apologize to his father alone, without the look of that woman who seemed to be so clear about what was right in those situations.

In that respect Hiccup saw himself as a child when compared to Elsa, so mature and confident.

"Dad," Hiccup said when he finally spotted his father saddling his dragon and picking up a bag of food.

"Good morning son," Stoick greeted, who looked tired, but with good humor.

"I see you have everything ready," the boy observed, as he moved to help his father finish.

"Hopefully we'll get to Berk in four or five days," Stoick added.

They both looked at each other and although they wanted and needed to talk about a thousand things, neither said anything. Avoiding painful topics was basically the only thing the father and son had in common.

They continued preparing everything in silence, listening to Gobber fighting in the background with his dragon because it seemed that he had crushed the Viking's food bag.

Hiccup took advantage of the fact that he was there to visit Toothless while his father finished packing. Although Elsa had made the ice bars disappear the afternoon Hiccup taught her about dragons, the dungeons were still not a good place to keep a dragon and Hiccup felt terrible for having Toothless locked there. They could barely fly together for a few hours a day and since he was working a double shift in the manufacture of weapons he had considerably neglected his best friend.

Toothless was also very intelligent and on many occasions he just needed to talk. In fact, he was automatically aware that Stoick was leaving and that Hiccup and his father were strange to each other. For this reason, he slapped Hiccup on the head with his tail, as if telling him to speak at once. The Viking put his hand to the place of the blow, surprised by the gesture and somewhat hurt, looking inquisitively at his dragon.

Useless reptile, he thought.

But he knew he was right.

"Dad."

"Hiccup."

Father and son said in unison.

"Tell me."

"Tell me."

They repeated.

"You first," Hiccup asked.

"No, no, you first son, tell me."

Hiccup took a deep breath, not sure what to say to his father. He wanted to apologize, but still couldn't forgive everything.

"This… I wanted to tell you," he began, "to… to… send me a terror mail when you get to Berk and keep me informed of the situation, especially in relation to other towns in the archipelago."

Stoick nodded, rearranging his own ideas.

"Of course," he replied in the same formal tone as his son. "I will keep you posted and prepare everything for the arrival of the villagers of these lands."

"Speaking of which… do you think it was a good idea?"

"The duty of a chief is to make decisions for the good of his own," his father responded, falling back on old habits. "Good or bad, you have taken yours towards these people, who are now also your people."

Hiccup lowered his gaze and took a deep breath, unable to believe that he was so tied to that foreign land. He had once dreamed of leaving Berk and being free, belonging to the wind. However, if before he was tied hand and foot with the leadership, now he literally had a noose around his neck.

"They may not be Vikings and you may not be the king they expect, but perhaps you are what these people need," his father said serenely. Don't forget, son, you're still a Viking here.

"Yes, I suppose you're right…" Hiccup agreed, not very convinced. "Be careful on the trip, okay?"

"We will be."

After this, a very uncomfortable silence settled between them, which they resolved as best they could.

"And your wife?" Stoick asked.

"She's still asleep," Hiccup lied, who really had no idea where Elsa was or if she was asleep or not.

"Take care of her," her father said.

"I'll do that," Hiccup answered out of inertia.

"I'm very sorry for what the council said about her," Stoick said then, surprising his son. "She is a good queen and yesterday you acted like two rulers united. I'm proud of you."

However, despite being flattering words, Hiccup felt terribly bad hearing them. He just wasn't very proud of himself.

Stoick was about to say something else when Elsa herself arrived at the dungeons.

Hiccup's eyes widened when he saw her come in, especially since he'd just told his father that she was sleeping.

"Queen Elsa," Stoick greeted when he saw her.

"Chief Stoick," she returned the salute as she gave a look at Hiccup, who looked strange.

"I came to say goodbye to you," Elsa explained quietly as she approached them.

At that moment, Gobber also approached and gave the queen his best jagged smile.

"Majesty," the smith bowed, awkwardly.

"I actually brought something for you," the queen revealed, looking at Gobber.

The blacksmith didn't understand what he meant, until a group of six or seven children entered the door through which Elsa had appeared and practically pounced on the Viking, including Finn, the boy they had rescued.

The rest drew a smile when they saw that strangely paternal side of the old Gobber, who allowed himself to be embraced by the group of children, surprised, between tears.

"Too bad he's never been a father," Alea said then, appearing behind carrying a bag of provisions over her shoulder, ready to go as well. "Majesty."

"I didn't know you had so many fans, Gobber," Stoick laughed.

"My children," the blacksmith said to himself through tears. "Be good and don't forget everything I have taught you."

To Hiccup the scene seemed absurd to say the least, but a smile also escaped him.

Gobber had always had a passion for children and was an excellent babysitter, in his own way, of course. In fact, he had been like a father to all of Berk's children, especially Hiccup, who was orphaned too early. The Viking had always wondered why Gobber had never married and had children, imagining that perhaps his bad breath and his warrior soul had taken him away from the fantasy of love. At least that's what he had thought as a child. Now that he had grown up, he had a slight suspicion that Gobber had not married because he had never really been interested in women. Of course, that is something that he kept to himself and that he had never shared with his teacher, with the one who was basically like his second father.

"I ran into them on the way and they asked me about him," Elsa explained to Hiccup almost in a whisper. "None of them wanted him to leave without saying goodbye."

Hiccup looked at Elsa and for some reason found her different from other days. He could see from her face that she had slept little, as was usual for her, but she was seen strangely smiling watching that scene, as if she were really moved by such an innocent display of affection. Until that moment Hiccup hadn't considered how beautiful that woman looked when she smiled. He lowered his gaze somewhat embarrassed that he had been looking at her like that for a while, finding that Elsa was carrying Astrid's wristband in one hand.

"I thought we wouldn't see each other for a while," Stoick said then, referring to Elsa. "My son had told me that you were still sleeping."

Hiccup paled.

"How strange ..." she answered confused, "I got up quite early this morning..."

However, as she said this, he met the demanding and pleading face of Hiccup.

"Because…" Elsa tried to elaborate, despite her poor lying skills, "because… I have… insomnia… and of course, I was very tired and I went back to sleep… but here I am because I didn't want you to leave without saying goodbye."

The queen took Hiccup's arm in a subtle and loving gesture that any wife would do, as the Viking himself had asked her to do the night before. Although of course, something was forced on them.

Stoick did not seem entirely convinced, but he smiled at the queen and readily accepted the show of respect.

They did not take long to leave, leaving with the dragons to the central courtyard from where they took flight.

Many other villagers went outside to see them off, many with fear when they saw those beasts in the air and others astonished by the will of the Vikings to subdue those gigantic animals.

Hiccup had not finally apologized to his father, but accepted that it was best to leave it at that. The last thing he wanted is for the two of them to argue again.

He was arm in arm with Elsa the entire time until his father, Gobber and Alea disappeared into the sky, aware then that everyone there was watching them. No doubt Hiccup never felt so alien and rejected as at that moment, watched by so many alien eyes that murmured about their new Viking king.

"Elsa, Hiccup," said a voice behind her then.

It was Anna, who was accompanied by Kristoff. They both looked quite awake, although you could tell they had weeks of hard work behind them.

"We were looking for you," Anna said, approaching them.

The princess was surprised to find them arm in arm, a completely unusual approach between them. If she knew less, she would have thought it was almost romantic.

Hiccup then noticed that they were both dressed in black, which he did not understand.

"It's Father Gerard," Kristoff explained. "He's been looking for you for a while, Elsa."

"Do people already know?" Elsa asked.

Anna nodded.

"They're hawking it around the castle and the rebuilt part," she announced calmly. "It will be today at seven o'clock, with the sun setting… Has Elsa explained it to you?" she looked over at Hiccup.

"Yeah, we talked about it last night," Hiccup replied.

"Great," Anna smiled at him. "Try to rest until then, I'll take care of everything."

"Anna, you don't have to do it yourself, I'm fine," Elsa asked, breaking her bond with Hiccup and approaching her sister.

"I know, but I'm not alone." She glanced at Kristoff, who hugged her shoulders. "You two are in charge of organizing the boats, that worries me much more than the mass."

Hiccup and Elsa exchanged a look, knowing that Anna was right.

"By the way Elsa, have you read Aunt Marie's stories again?" Anna asked. "I went to your room to look for you before and you left it on the bed. It always made me very excited, although I didn't imagine you reading that."

Those words filled Elsa's mind with blurry visions.

"From Aunt Marie?" She asked confused.

"Yeah ... sure," Anna answered obviously. "The ones she gave us from her personal collection of stories, don't you remember? She wrote very well. In fact, she was the one who gave us that story that scared me..."

Elsa hesitated thoughtfully for a moment, widening her eyes in amazement.

"You're right Anna…" she said almost in a sigh.

"Uh… right about what?" She asked confused.

Elsa didn't say anything else, she just gave her sister a kiss on the cheek and almost ran into the castle. Hiccup, Anna and Kristoff were very confused, looking idiotic.

"Did we miss something?" Kristoff broke the silence.

"Something like that... we'll explain everything to you, I promise," the Viking replied. "I'm... I'm going to look for her," he added, as he hurried after her.

---

Elsa's pulse had quickened, for better and for worse.

If that meant what it meant, there might be a way to retrieve the missing pages. She hurried up the stairs and took a shortcut to the library, where she headed straight for the trunk where she had kept her books.

She opened them somewhat shakily and began to inspect each and every one of them very carefully. From their feel and layout, it was clear that some did not belong to the same collection of stories. She also searched the front pages for any information.

Nothing.

It was impossible to know which of those books belonged to Aunt Marie's collection and which did not. Anna had said that the copy of The Fountain of Youth was hers, but perhaps it was just a vague childhood memory. Still, it was a clue. The only one they had.

Taking some books with him, she went from there to his room where he picked up the copy on the bed. She compared it to the few books he had picked up and noticed that, due to their texture and material, some undoubtedly belonged to the same collection of stories and year of manufacture.

Then she went to Hiccup's room for the copy of The Princess and the Dragon, hoping that the book was also one of them, when she realized that the room was not empty.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts and the task of solving that mystery as soon as possible that she had forgotten that Hiccup and Astrid had slept together. In fact, she instantly regretted entering because she had opened it so abruptly. However, the Viking did not seem to notice, because she was still sleeping peacefully between the sheets, her face calm and her breathing silent. She was lying on her side, but Elsa could see how her chest rose calmly. She looked so serene that she even looked like an angel, with that pale skin and that wild hair that spread without any order on the pillow like a river of gold.

That was the first time Elsa felt envy, although not of Astrid for having slept in the arms of the Viking, but of Hiccup himself, for being lucky enough to be loved by a woman like that.

"Elsa," the boy behind her touched her shoulder.

The queen was so frightened that she threw the books on the floor and let out a little cry.

This of course woke Astrid, who was immediately up on the bed in less than a second, scared. Seeing that it was just the two of them, she breathed in relief, putting her hand to her chest.

"Gods! But what are you doing?" she asked in her tongue, still dazed from the sudden awakening.

"Sorry," Hiccup apologized, bending down to help Elsa pick up the books from the floor.

The queen said nothing, aware that Hiccup had caught her staring at Astrid. She just prayed that the boy had just arrived, since she didn't know how long she had been standing there looking at the other woman.

"I've been looking for you for a while," the Viking said to Elsa. "What was it that was so urgent?"

Astrid got out of bed as well, clutching a book that had practically fallen to the edge of the covers. The girl was still somewhat confused, but approached the two, not knowing what was wrong.

"Has something happened?" She asked puzzled, rubbing her eyes.

Elsa took as many books as she could and stood up, somewhat embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to Astrid. "I was coming to get a book, I didn't want to wake you up."

"No worries."

"Is it because of what your sister said?" Hiccup asked, still very puzzled.

"What did Anna say?" Astrid asked, also somewhat misplaced.

Elsa pulled away from them a bit before speaking, trying to calm down as her powers threatened to get their own.

"It's about books, specifically the book whose pages have been ripped off," Elsa explained.

"The pages have been torn from a book?" Astrid asked, not understanding anything.

"You were already asleep when we saw it," Hiccup explained, looking at Elsa to explain.

The queen took a deep breath and asked them to sit down while she took the book and examined it.

Hiccup explained to Astrid that they had found a book about dragons the night before, but had practically ripped an entire chapter out of it.

"My Aunt Marie died when Anna and I were little girls," Elsa explained. "She became a duchess by marrying my uncle and dedicated her life to training 'young ladies' at court. They also say that she went crazy when she had my cousin and that they locked her in her room until the day she died. She apparently spent the years in isolation writing storybooks that were apparently very popular with the sons of nobles. She gave Anna and me some of this collection years before she died."

Hiccup and Astrid were thoughtful, not understanding the relevance of this.

"And you say that the book might have been written by her?" Hiccup asked.

"Maybe," Elsa speculated. "Anna thinks she remembers it, anyway. Maybe she knew something about our family's past…"

"If they were very popular, then there must be more copies of the book, right?" Astrid asked.

"It's frowned upon for noblemen to sign with their name, especially if they are 'crazy' women, so many are anonymous," Elsa explained. "There has to be a way to make sure they are hers, but I don't know which one."

"Let's think this through," Hiccup said. "In the end it doesn't matter who wrote them, if there are more copies of these stories, all we have to do is ask the neighbouring kingdoms, right?"

Elsa sighed, ready to deliver the bad news.

"Weeks ago I sent letters to the realms for information and historical records and no one answered me," she revealed. "They only congratulated us on the commitment…"

Then there was an awkward silence, in which Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other somewhat downcast.

"So…" Astrid tried to theorize. "If that book were your aunt's, what would it mean?"

"That's where the key is," Elsa said more hopefully. "If this book is anonymous, we can spend months looking for another copy in some kingdom, but if it is from Aunt Marie..."

"There's a record?" Hiccup guessed.

Elsa nodded, with a weak smile.

"Exactly, the original must still be kept in her castle."

"And what is her kingdom?" Astrid asked impatiently. "Maybe we could go and get it back."

"I don't think it's that easy to retrieve, but it seems to have been served on a platter."

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other blankly.

"My Aunt Marie may not have a great last name, but she was married to my uncle, the Duke of Bränderson, my cousin's father.

Astrid didn't quite understand that, but Hiccup lowered his head, assimilating what it meant.

"The dance of the first," he foreshadowed.

"Exactly."

After that revelation, a deathly silence settled between the three. Astrid didn't dare say anything until Elsa decided to explain what was going on.

The dance of the first was an event of the nobles to make commercial and blood ties that since recent years has been celebrated in the kingdom of the Bränderson. There all the noble families attended to present their children in society and engage them with people of high birth. They also ate like pigs, made political deals, met with their lovers, and got a bad headache. Elsa had always hated that ceremony and more since she had entered society as the Queen of Arendelle. In general, her cousin the Duke always used her as a ridiculous show to attract nobles, who looked at her as horror and disgust, as well as envy.

For this reason, Elsa always avoided going, but this year with the news of her engagement it seemed impossible to escape. Still, Elsa had enough power to decline the offer. However, after that imminent state of war predicted by the Trolls and the clue about the book, the idea of attending had materialized as a necessity.

"But we're sure that the key is in these storybooks?" Astrid asked to make sure, before they rushed to risk themselves for a few sheets of paper.

However, there were too many coincidences. Not only because some pages that spoke of dragons had disappeared, but because some books spoke of the Trolls and more or less accurately copied the story that great Pabbie had told them in the forest.

In fact, thanks to this they began to discard books. They started to arrange a selection of books by theme, and then by layout, using the book The Princess and the Dragon as a reference. The books Trolls and other fantasy beings, The Lost Kingdom, The Valley of the Sun, The Magician and his Wand, The Great Fire and The Fountain of Youth also stood out, despite the fact that the latter did not seem to have a direct relationship, since the title was too suggestive.

Astrid, without knowing why, thought that they should also keep the book of The Witch and the White Star, as if it were a premonition. Hiccup and Elsa weren't very convinced, but they agreed.

Hiccup's room was once again a cavern of books and data sheets scattered everywhere. They returned to retrieve and review other previous readings, including that book on noble houses, in case there was something that had escaped them.

After a while Elsa had to leave because several ladies arrived to warn her that Father Gerard was still desperately looking for her, and he couldn't be put it off any longer.

Before leaving she left Hiccup a copy of the bible where she marked some pages for him to choose what to read at mass and also stressed that he should be dressed in black, the color of mourning.

"Are you sure you're going to read the Christian scriptures?" Astrid asked him when they were alone.

Hiccup took a deep breath before answering.

"I don't know…" He hesitated.

"I know we talked about it this morning and it seems like a good way to unite peoples," Astrid argued, "but I don't know, it doesn't really seem like a solution to me. We're not even Christians."

"Yeah, but I don't want them to keep seeing us as the enemy either," Hiccup defended. "I suppose that if I am their supposed king, I must accept their customs."

"And they ours, Hiccup," Astrid said somewhat annoyed. "Just as we respect that they're Christians, they must respect that we- that you- aren't."

Hiccup sighed, even as he privately acknowledged Astrid's point. The night before, reading a line from the Bible hadn't seemed such a bad idea. However, now with perspective, he realized that somehow this was a political act. It was like accepting that the Vikings should or could be Christianized, when in reality they neither understood or practised the Christian religion.

It's not that it was better or worse, it's that it just wasn't in line with everything that was in their culture.

"Anyway, the offering of fire to the sea for their souls still stands," was the only thing Hiccup ventured to propose.

Astrid took his hand and smiled at him.

"That's done."

After that Astrid dressed and prepared to meet the rest of the Vikings. Hiccup did the same, only he dressed in black, as Elsa had requested. The two then brought the horsemen and the rest of the council together to discuss how to manage the evacuation of those people to Berk.

The council made a lot of problems at the beginning, mainly because they denied the possibility that this could go well. However, the riders did not hesitate for a second to second Hiccup's decisions and despite the initial stir, they won by majority.

The ships would begin to leave in the next few days laden with the most precarious people and food, since Berk was not known for its abundance. The first Vikings to leave would be the council's own decision.

And all the riders thanked him silently.

Hiccup was aware that he needed protection in that kingdom, so the Riders would not go on these ships, although they would accompany them on a flight for a few days to check that all was well and that no more ships were shipwrecked on their shores. Astrid and Fishlegs decided to remain in Arendelle, as Hiccup's life insurance and not to separate more than necessary from the boy, something that was not very complicated either, since Hiccup and Astrid were constantly seeing each other and Fishlegs worked with him making weapons.

After this meeting, Hiccup went to see Elsa, with whom he finished closing this bureaucracy.

The Viking hated being king, particularly everything else that tied into it. He had never been bad at making decisions or facing difficult situations, but he felt that his place was not within the cold walls of that castle, but in the sky or anywhere else where he could really be useful.

The sunlight soon fell and soon all of Arendelle had gathered around the newly rebuilt square where the church keep stood firm, boasting a beautiful ice bell. As was customary in an event of this magnitude, everything would take place outdoors, although several of them complained about the unhealthy cold outside.

Everyone was dressed in black except for them, who did not have clothes of that colour and who refused to wear them. After a while there was not room for another soul in the square. The villagers had also decorated everything with flowers and candles, as an offering to their dead.

"Nervous?" Elsa asked Hiccup as they walked somewhat quickly through the corridors of the castle, towards the plaza.

"A little," he was sincere. "Can you explain it to me again?"

"Sure," Elsa smiled at him, trying to accommodate Hiccup the shirt with shoulder pads that the maids had left him, since he hadn't put it on properly. "Well, let's see, the father will start with a speech and then there will be a prayer. Then we will read and the people will pray again. They may ask us for a few words, but I can speak for both of us and after this there will be a silent prayer in honour of the victims. Since you don't know the prayers you don't have to say anything, just stand up and that's it. Just calm down, I won't leave you alone, and it's much easier than it seems."

Hiccup gulped, unsure.

"Have you already chosen a paragraph to read?" Elsa asked.

Hiccup then opened the bible in his hands and looked for some notes he had made.

"I'm between two, but I don't quite understand what they're talking about or if they're appropriate," he explained.

They both stopped then under the light of a torch, so that they could better read those fine lines.

"Psalms…" Elsa read. "Why have you chosen these passages?"

Hiccup shrugged.

"They're the only ones I understand, although if I'm honest they all seem like declarations of love," he said. "Look; where could I get away from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there; If I made my bed at the bottom of the abyss, you would also be there."

Elsa didn't know why, but Hiccup was right about those lines. She knew very well that they were addressed to God, but hearing them from his mouth, drawn in his harsh voice, as he gazed at her in the dark with those forest eyes, made her heart sink.

"Don't they sound very strange?" the Viking continued asking before his silence.

"They sound normal," she lied, not knowing why she had suddenly become so hot, falling back on her decision to avoid feeling human.

"Do you know that that bible was my mother's?" She changed the subject suddenly as she resumed her stride and moved slightly away from the boy.

"Oh yeah? She's quite pretty," Hiccup said politely. "What was your mother's name?"

"Iduna," Elsa replied with some sadness.

Remembering her parents was always very painful for her. Time had managed to heal part of that open wound, but since that monster Drago devastated her lands, Elsa had once again found herself wishing to have her parents by her side, to advise and guide her.

"Iduna?" Hiccup repeated. "That's a Viking name."

"Really?" Elsa asked puzzled.

"Yes, it comes from Idunn, the Guardian Goddess of the golden apples that give eternal life to our Gods."

"Apples of eternal life?" She asked, somewhat suspicious and amused.

"Is that scepticism I notice in your voice?" Hiccup replied in the same way, without losing his smile. "Last I checked, your God doesn't die either."

"Because he is eternal life," he resolved simply.

"Eternal life ... so the resurrection and bringing the dead back to life is real?" Hiccup kept asking, confused and laughing. "Because it sounds sinister."

Elsa laughed.

"If you say so, yes it is," she defended herself without stopping. "We're all supposed to go back to eternal life when doomsday comes, you know, the day it's all over..."

"Yes, the Ragnarök."

Elsa paused at the same time as Hiccup and the two observed each other in the dark, practically at the outer gate of the castle.

In the distance you could already hear the crowd and the smell of burning wax and flowers. However, despite their late arrival, time had stopped for them for an instant. They looked into each other's eyes and didn't need to speak to understand each other.

"I can't do this Elsa," Hiccup was honest, having erased all traces of joke or irony in his voice.

"I know," she replied with a sincere smile. "I'm sorry I asked you. But hey," she smiled encouragingly, "I really like what Iduna means to you."

"Thanks for understanding," was the only thing Hiccup managed to articulate.

Elsa took a breath and recovered her queenly bearing, her indestructible shield to hide from the world. Hiccup however was not affected by it. In some silent way Elsa had let him enter the realm of her emotions and although no one else noticed them, the Viking was beginning to understand when the world weighed too heavily on that woman.

"Come on," Hiccup offered his arm.

Elsa nodded and took it, knowing that they must continue with this charade. However, deep down there was nothing false about that gesture. Hiccup noticed with slight surprise that the girl was still wearing Astrid's wristband.

"What happened to you?" He took her gently by the wrist.

Elsa felt that strange warmth again at his closeness.

"I did some damage to myself yesterday and Astrid thought it was a good idea to keep it in a fixed position."

"Does it still hurt?" He asked worriedly.

"No, calm down, it's really nothing," she hastened to reply, releasing his hand and grabbing his arm in a formal manner.

She hated that unstable feeling that Hiccup sometimes caused in her body.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do if you are not going to read the bible?" she turned the tables, with false calm, as they began to capture all eyes.

"You're not going to like it," Hiccup returned sarcasm.

"Let me guess," Elsa theorized wryly. "Does it involve dragons?"

"And fire."

Everyone around them, especially the royal guard, made way for the king and queen in a solemn silence that matched the backlights of the candles and the moonlight. In the background Father Gerald could be seen dressed in elegant garments that must have had some symbolism. It was also perched on a small makeshift lectern, surrounded by flowers and parishioners.

Hiccup managed to see the riders in the distance, meeting Astrid's gaze, who was watching him with some unspoken concern.

As soon as they reached the front row, the people and the soldiers came together again, erasing that imaginary corridor they had created for the rulers, and the mass began.

As Elsa had explained, everything seemed to be quite rigid and measured to the millimetre. Hiccup could tell that this priest was a true devotee, because he seemed to have prepared that 'improvised' mass quite well. The man read some passages from the Bible in Latin, something that Hiccup, Elsa and her sister could barely understand. Then he gave a talk to the town, where he practically summarized what he had read and after that the people prayed songs aloud and in unison. Many worshipers even got on their knees for prayers.

Hiccup was grateful Elsa didn't do that, because with the prosthesis it would have been torture to have to kneel like that as often as they did. From time to time the riders and the council sought Hiccup's reassuring gaze, who told them that everything was fine and that this nightmare that they did not understand was part of the show of respect they should show these people. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were about to screw up on several occasions, but Astrid and Fishlegs stopped all their attempts. Especially when they almost set the flowers on fire by throwing some candles.

When the big moment arrived, everyone took a breath of expectation when they saw Hiccup and Elsa climb onto the lectern. Hiccup was certainly not the kind of king those people expected, because despite his little fierce appearance, he still looked like a Viking. Not that they had expected another king to be honest, since most had assumed that their queen would never marry.

Elsa masterfully took on her role as queen and delivered a solemn and motivational speech towards lost souls and her responsibility as protector of her kingdom. She also condemned her enemies and explained the importance of keeping them safe on her husband's lands. People began to murmur in this part of the speech, but the queen was not intimidated by the fear of her people and defended that peace and tolerance was the only way to save the people of Arendelle. On one occasion, she met Lena's reserved, indecipherable gaze, aware that her old associate would undoubtedly judge Elsa harshly. Deep down, the queen felt guilty for having let so many people die behind the dome and for having failed the woman like that again. However, she couldn't think about it. The important thing was to give people hope, not sink into their own guilt.

"The Trolls have seen Arendelle burn," she warned, causing everyone to hush their complaints. The discovery that trolls genuinely existed had instilled a silent respect for them and the truth is that no one in Arendelle dared to question the insight of those magical beings.

Also and in some way, everyone thought of their children. They were the only price no one was willing to pay for pride. So they accepted the evacuation with their heads down and their hearts small, praying that they would be safe.

After that, Elsa read a passage from the Bible that spoke of the infinite goodness of her God and the peace in which those who were no longer lived, but above all about the need to overcome the pain of those who suffered them.

"I know what it's like to lose our loved ones," Elsa said sincerely. "And that is why I ask you to stay with their light to guide you."

Hiccup watched her silently, without leaving her side for a second. In his head he had a great conflict, since up there it seemed to be evident that there was nothing wrong with reading a passage of those scriptures and more after seeing the general unease of all those people mired in misery and loss. However, at the last moment he met Astrid's blue eyes that brought back the words that his father had said that morning before leaving. "They may not be Vikings and you may not be the king they expect, but maybe you are what these people need. Don't forget, son, even here you are still a Viking."

He swallowed hard. Elsa had finished speaking and now she was addressing him affectionately, giving him the floor. She took one last furtive look at her friends and the council and made her decision.

"Loss is a pain that never heals," he said in the language of those lands, capturing everyone's attention. Vikings have spent generations learning to live with it, with pain and fear.

Father Gerald looked at Elsa in alarm, clearly annoyed that this was not what they had spoken of.

"But we've also been getting up for generations, growing burning grass and raising new houses from the rubble," he continued his speech, seeking the gaze of his friends, who were looking at him with a certain pride. "I know that I am not the king you expected and there may be an unbridgeable gulf between our cultures, but no matter how different we are, we all understand the pain you feel now. I…" He glanced over, looking for Elsa's approval, before he continued. "I don't know those for whom you pray today, nor do I know your prayers. And I truly believe that reading a few words in a book will not make me a better king for you."

That caused a stir among the people, who looked at each other without understanding. However, they fell silent as soon as Elsa put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder and gave him a silent nod.

"If you accept it, tonight I would like not only your prayers to accompany your family and friends," he said now, "but also ours."

Hiccup pulled away from Elsa a bit and then pulled something from his belt. The queen at first did not understand what it was about until Hiccup lifted it in the air and that object caught on fire.

Some cried out in pure terror when they saw that out of nowhere that man had made a fire, as if it were the devil himself. Around him, the rest of the Vikings also raised their weapons, causing the guards to stand on alert and draw their swords. Elsa, despite the initial shock, reacted in time and with a simple shake of the head stopped her soldiers before they launched themselves against them. She looked at Hiccup, uncomprehending, still fascinated and terrified by that fiery sword that she held high and that exuded so much heat.

And then she realized that the boy was praying.

He spoke in his peoples' language, with his eyes closed and his head bowed, just like the rest of the Vikings. That little musical murmur filled the air as soon as the screams of surprise ended, like an indecipherable melody.

Elsa tried to understand what he was saying, but Hiccup used very complex words that she had never heard before. However, it must have been some kind of prayer or story of oral transmission, because everyone seemed to know it by heart.

When he finished, Hiccup lowered his sword, which was still burning, and stepped off the lectern. People immediately stepped aside when they saw him advance and Elsa chose to follow him silently. The rest of the Vikings also followed their leader to the end of the square, where the port and the sea began. Until that moment Elsa had not realized that the dragons had been loose since the start of the mass and were now flying over the square. In the darkness no one seemed to have noticed it.

Upon reaching the edge of the sea, Hiccup drove his fiery sword into the ground, which continued to burn. The others imitated him, plunging their weapons also into the ground and approaching their leader.

Everyone watched the scene without barely blinking, with a fearful curiosity that flooded the atmosphere.

"Did you prepare that?" Hiccup whispered to Astrid, who had moved closer to him.

"Of course," she said smiling and full of pride, looking conspiratorially at the rest of the Vikings.

After this the Viking turned to look for Elsa, who was looking at him expectantly. The boy smiled at her and offered her his hand for her to come closer. Elsa accepted it, though she whispered that he might have warned her that he had something so strange and 'dangerous' planned.

"I already told you it involved fire," he returned to her ear.

Once the queen was at his side, he took out a small razor and cut a braid from his hair that he threw into the fire. The rest of the Vikings did the same, throwing small personal objects or remains of their own hair into the fire, like Hiccup. Then they took out bows and arrows that they set on fire and threw into the sea, illuminating the night sky where the silent silhouette of the dragons flying over Arendelle protectors was drawn.

And then, the children of Arendelle, put their hands together and began to pray quietly looking at the arrows. Some adults tried to suppress them, but the smile of their queen was enough for that show to continue and spread to the rest.

Elsa contemplated that image in wonder, somehow trembling with the madness that it meant to end a mass, but hoping that there was indeed possible dialogue between their peoples, even if it was confusing and strange.

"Do you want to try?" Astrid whispered then, moving closer to her.

Elsa nodded, although she had never used a bow.

"I don't know how to do it," she said when the Viking handed her the weapon.

"Do the same as me."

Astrid slowly took a stance, waited for Elsa to imitate her, lit the arrow on fire, tensed, and pointed it into the air, setting it free.

Elsa also managed to make hers fly, realizing that she had changed forever since the day the Vikings set foot on her lands.

She had to accept that after that night she could not be the same again and that she could not remain anchored to an Arendelle that no longer existed.

Her mission now was to get them all to safety, prepare for war and work side by side with Hiccup, that strange boy she had married. They had to resolve as soon as possible what Drago was looking for in the forest and stop his plans. And after that, if there was a God or Gods left to pray to, she would give Arendelle the peace she deserved.

---

After the strange mass they celebrated days ago, Elsa had woken up like from a dream and was now aware that they had no time to lose.

The morning after the ceremony, the first ship left for Berk, laden with children and senior Viking council officials, plus some guards and wounded from Arendelle.

The kingdom did not have many ships, so just enough was packed and needed and filled with all the people that could fit on them. In this way, every morning at dawn, a boat with people and provisions left.

Hiccup waited patiently for news from his father, but due to the passing of time, he imagined that even if his father had already arrived in Berk, it would take at least another week to hear from him.

During this time Hiccup and Elsa worked hard on something that they had not planned until now, but that was more than necessary: to merge their worlds.

Elsa accepted that Hiccup was a Viking and although their marriage was not of great value and their desire was to break it up as soon as possible, the reality was that now he was also the king, which gave him responsibilities he had never been prepared for. Leading Berk was not the same as ruling Arendelle, so the first thing Elsa did was teach her how to manage everything.

Also, more urgently, she had to prepare him for the spring dance.

His attendance was already official and the rumor had spread through all the kingdoms like wildfire. For this reason, Elsa was practically obsessed with Hiccup preparing himself to look like a nobleman and not draw too much attention, since everything worked against him.

However, despite the culture gap, Hiccup was an excellent student. He hardly complained and learned very quickly. And what he did not know, he asked without shame. Elsa was fascinated by the boy's immense curiosity and the speed with which he captured the entire flight. When they met, Hiccup didn't even know how to read their language well and was using a template that he had logically created to translate. And now, in just a month, he was already fluent in most of the texts.

The girl also taught him the manners and customs of the nobles, beginning by making him memorize the use and order of cutlery and ending by explaining the titles of nobility.

"And Archduke is more than Duke?"

"Exactly," she urged him. "And the way to address them is also different."

Hiccup abided serenely like the good student he had always been, but the truth is that all that protocol seemed ridiculous and pointless at times, especially because, the more he knew about the nobles, the more unfair the society of those kingdoms seemed to him.

"To maids without a husband, you kiss their hand to introduce yourself," Elsa continued with her lessons. "And to married women, you kiss the ring."

"And the married ones without a ring?"

"There will be no married women without a ring," Elsa replied.

"Well, you don't have a ring."

The queen laughed, good-natured.

"No one is going to kiss my hands, don't worry," she answered ironically.

She also explained that normally kings allowed themselves to be dressed by the servants, but Hiccup refused to be dressed, since it seemed too strange to him and more so when he had become close friends with the servants, especially the kitchen staff.

"I'll just learn to dress myself in the clothes from here," he declared, although the truth is that he was a terrible fit and he always had to go to Elsa to help him.

However, the plan was two-way and not only did Hiccup have to learn to be a king for Arendelle, but Elsa had to begin to accept that she was the wife of a Viking.

The queen began to interact more with the Riders and silently observe their customs and lifestyle. In her opinion, they were a bit wild and did not weigh the consequences of their actions much, but it pleased her to feel accepted in such a short time. In fact, Astrid helped a lot with it, since as always, she tried to explain everything to her and make her feel comfortable.

The relationship between them had changed slightly since that nightly bath. Somehow it had brought them together, but it had also distanced them. Astrid had continued with her training with Elsa, much more demanding than before, but for some reason now she was more nervous or avoided any direct approach with her. Elsa didn't understand what the change in Astrid was about, but she preferred not to dig too deeply.

"What is the wife of a Viking chieftain supposed to know?" Elsa asked Hiccup one night as they continued investigating and rereading the stories for clues.

It felt bad to see that only Hiccup was really focused on learning how to be king.

"Well, I don't know," the boy said honestly. "I never knew my mother and I've practically been raised by two men, so I don't know what the women of the tribe are supposed to be taught… Maybe you can ask Astrid and Ruffnut?"

And so she did.

"Know how to fight and have leadership," Astrid answered calmly, focused as always on her ax. "They are essential qualities."

"And be good in bed," Ruffnut added. "Oh yeah, that's super necessary and never fails."

"Ruffnut!" Astrid scolded her.

The queen wanted to die at that moment, red as ever, while Astrid reprimanded Ruffnut, who was clearly amused by creating other people's discomfort.

Sex was more than taboo for Elsa and more so when she hadn't stopped thinking about it lately.

It had always been an abstract and external idea, something that had no place in her life. She was sure that she could go through her whole life without having anything to do with it. At the end of the day, you cannot miss something that you have never had or wanted. However, it was now impossible for her to put that idea out of her head, because she lived with it every night.

Now that things had relaxed, Hiccup and Astrid shared a bed, and although Elsa would never mention it, she did hear them on the other side of the wall, and it left her feeling like she wanted to die.

Usually when that happened, she would get out of bed and go to the library, where she would read like crazy until the sun came up. On other nights, instead, she prayed for her soul and asked God for the strength to resume her sleep. And when God ignored her, she simply put the pillow over her head.

However, one night she couldn't take it anymore and decided to face what she had fought so hard to get rid of from herself: her sexuality.

Elsa didn't want to admit it, but all that disturbed her was that her body reacted to stimuli she had never experienced before. The idea of sex excited and terrified her alike, mostly because she didn't understand what was wrong with her body. In her early teens she had felt a certain warmth watching some girls through her window, but other than that, she hadn't noticed anything memorable since. However, the night that Hiccup hugged her while asleep in bed, she realized that he had definitely crossed an imaginary line and the heat in her belly had been more than unbearable. Now that was repeating itself, only in another way and more when she thought that the boy slept every night with Astrid, with that perfect goddess down from heaven…

Elsa knew she was wrong and that God would punish her, but that night she got up in her nightgown and decided to explore the forbidden area. And she was scared to find that it was so pleasant and strange. She also stumbled upon her alleged virginity and began to understand what was supposed to have happened on her wedding night, which no one ever explained to her. At that moment she wanted to laugh at how silly she must have seemed, especially when Hiccup saw her naked and shivering, explaining why they had to stain the sheets with blood. That part was the only one she still didn't understand, because the truth is that none of this seemed painful to her. On the contrary, it was an extremely warm feeling that grew higher and higher. So much so that in a moment her body tensed and exploded, releasing all the heat that consumed her and running through her to her feet with a tingling that tasted like heaven.

She could not recall having slept better in her entire life, despite guilt eating into her the next morning and she promised herself that she would never do it again.

The rest of the time was fairly uneventful, rereading books and scriptures over and over again, hoping to find a noteworthy clue. In that sense, everyone began to turn more and more.

Hiccup and Fishlegs finally finished weapons for the women with help from Anna and Kristoff, causing Astrid to once again leave Hiccup and Elsa alone in the investigations, as she doubled her hours of training with the women, who had only just begun use real weapons and still weren't used to their weight and movement.

Thanks to this, Fishlegs joined the investigations, as Hiccup thought it would be of great help. And he was not wrong, because after days reading the stories to find a connection between them that could differentiate those of Aunt Marie from those that did not, the Viking gave them a solution:

"Did you look at the cover layout?" He asked as soon as he saw the chaos of books and papers everywhere.

Elsa was incredibly fussy for order and Hiccup, for a Viking, was as well. Although of course, for Elsa Hiccup's order was pure chaos and it was difficult to explain to those who entered the Viking's room that that senseless mass of sheets and books everywhere had its logic.

"The cover layout?" Elsa asked, confused.

"Of course, normally the copyist or author leaves a stamp under the cover," he explained normally. "Haven't you looked at it until now?"

Hiccup put his hand to his forehead, feeling like an idiot.

Carefully, they took all the books and began to peel the first page off the cover, as if dismembering a corpse. And sure enough, Fishlegs was right.

Some of the books did not have a stamp or mark, but the rest did. The problem now was figuring out what Aunt Marie's stamp was.

They grouped the books by seal, highlighting those that they could recognize from some kingdom.

"These here are from the kingdoms of Rotlend and Alüdard," Elsa managed to decipher, guided by the shields she had learned as a child.

However, the rest was a mystery, since they must have been personal stamps or noble houses that had already disappeared.

This disappointed them a bit.

"Is something wrong?" Kristoff asked at dinner, noting the general, downcast atmosphere in the great hall, where there were hardly any people after the repatriations.

Elsa presided over the table, with Astrid and Hiccup at her side.

"We can't get on with the books and the dance is in a week," she said exhausted, receiving the encouraging and conspiratorial look from Fishlegs.

"Are you sure there's no way of knowing if it's Auntie's?" Anna asked, eating hungrily after the training day.

"We haven't found the Brändersons' seal, so she had to seal them with another seal," Hiccup explained.

"And that would be?" Tuffnut asked, even if he didn't have much idea what they were talking about.

"There are too many stamps that we don't know who they belong to," Astrid explained, looking weary.

"And isn't there a real seal expert in this realm or something?" Tuffnut asked, leaning back in his chair as he fiddled with his fork and crossed his eyes.

That was the light.

"Sure…" Kristoff began, getting up from the table and looking at Anna.

The princess did not understand, until after a few seconds.

"Oh, of course!" She said excitedly, while looking at her boyfriend.

"What?" Elsa asked blankly.

"Oaken!" The couple yelled in unison.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other blankly, looking for Elsa to explain.

"Oaken?" The queen asked her sister and her boyfriend. "What's the matter with him?"

"It doesn't just have the shop and the sauna…" Kristoff began to explain.

"A sauna!" The twins yelled, as if Loki had given them a divine gift.

"Oaken is a stamp collector," Anna revealed to her sister. "He is an expert and has a million archival books, maybe he can tell us if any of those unowned stamps are from aunt or her family. That would solve the mystery."

"Could be…"

That didn't assure them anything, but at least it made their night a bit brighter.

Oaken's shop was only a day's walk away, however, obviously the Vikings weren't going to ride there.

And for that reason Elsa had finally taken courage and decided to ask Astrid to teach her to fly. Of course, she thought they would practice a little earlier and not that they would jump off a cliff almost forty meters from the sea that first.

However, despite the initial terror, the sensation of flying was wonderful. She felt as free as the first time she let her powers escape without gloves, when she really decided to stop hiding. It was the same feeling of release, only it was accompanied by a tingle of adrenaline.

Elsa clung to Astrid's waist again as the dragon twirled in midair and their bodies suspended slightly at an angle that was anything but safe. The truth is that it was the first physical approach between the two in days and Elsa felt more overwhelmed than usual.

"Look, there are the twins," said the Viking, pointing through the clouds.

"Which of the two really controls the dragon?" Elsa asked innocently.

Astrid laughed briskly as the wind caressed her face and danced with her hair.

"Honestly, I don't think any of the four of them know what they're doing," she replied laughing, referring to the twins and the two dragon heads.

Elsa noted that Snotlout with Hookfang rose below them, Fishlegs and Meatlug next to them. Her first thought when she saw them is that maybe they should have swapped the dragons, as she was still surprised that someone as big as Fishlegs could fly on that little Gronckle or that Snotlout, as short-sighted as he was, could dominate a dragon like that. However, perhaps Hiccup's theory that dragons resemble their owners was more than true, since she had to admit that those dragons and their riders were a reflection of each other's soul.

"Well, ready for your first flight class?" Astrid asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Elsa was surprised. "Aren't we already flying?"

The Viking laughed again.

"Mmmm…" Astrid murmured as she got up from the saddle. "Technically yes, but…"

Elsa looked at her in terror. It didn't seem safe at all that the girl would stand up on the seat. Also, letting go of Astrid's grasp left her with a lot of insecurity, clinging to the saddle with both hands.

"Be careful," Elsa asked out of inertia when she saw her standing.

"Easy, I'm not going to fall," Astrid assured her, balancing on her arms.

Elsa struggled to remain calm, but it was impossible. Especially when the Viking smiled at her with a certain mischief and announced:

"I'm just going to jump."

Before the queen could reply, Astrid leapt into the void. Elsa wanted to scream when she looked down for the Viking and couldn't find her; as if the clouds had swallowed it up to tear it apart.

It was impossible to survive a fall from that height. And the worst thing is that she didn't know what to do. Terror was inadequate to describe her feeling at the time.

However, it didn't take long to hear the girl's soft laugh. To her surprise, it wasn't coming from below, but from above her head. Elsa looked up to find Astrid on Toothless's back, hugging Hiccup's waist.

"Good morning, Elsa," the boy greeted her, lifting his flight mask.

"You almost scared me to death," Elsa exclaimed, clinging to Stormfly and trembling. In that moment, she almost wanted to kill them both for giving her such a shock.

Astrid and Hiccup smiled at her without malice.

"I'm sorry," Astrid apologized. "But it is the best way to teach newbies."

Toothless lowered himself a little and came up to Stormfly's height, practically brushing their wings together.

"I can think of many other ways…" complained the queen, who was beginning to realize that she was flying alone, over a wild animal, hundreds of meters above the ground.

"Come on, you're doing great," Hiccup encouraged.

Elsa noticed then that Hiccup's prosthesis fit perfectly into the mechanical system of her dragon, making them a whole in the air. Until that moment she hadn't understood why Hiccup was wearing that strange piece and not a peg leg. However, now everything made sense. That and Hiccup being the dragon master.

Sometimes that detail was forgotten. First because the Viking did not give himself an air of greatness and second because Arendelle seemed to clip his wings. On the other hand, up there, on his dragon, she did see in him the hope that the Trolls spoke of. There he was more than a skinny Viking or a foreign king, he was almost half dragon, half human, the brightness of a child in his eyes along with the expression of someone willing to fight a thousand battles for the liberation of both species.

"Relax and follow us," advised Astrid, who settled better behind Hiccup as he began to veer into the air. "You're going to do very well!"

Elsa watched them advance, drawing an imaginary path through the clouds.

"Okay," she told herself. Okay, Stormf;y, we're going to follow them…" She expressed not very convinced, while she caressed the dragon uncertainly. Not very fast, please.

The dragon seemed to understand her perfectly, because she began to flap her wings slowly, following her owner and Toothless.

It took Elsa a while to shake off the accompanying panic, but finally she began to relax to enjoy that sensation again.

"Well, it's not that difficult…" she told herself, urging the dragon onwards. "Good girl."

It didn't take long for her to see the forest, so Oaken's store must not be far away. However, from the air it was still difficult to place her location exactly, and even more so when it seemed impossible that a day's journey could be equivalent to only twenty minutes of flight.

"Well, you seem to understand each other well," Hiccup's voice said from overhead.

Elsa looked up again, not understanding why they seemed to find it amusing to frighten her. To her surprise, they were both tilted so much that Astrid's hair could almost brush her nose. It was as if they were ignoring all the laws of gravity that she so revered.

"It seems so," the queen replied, more relaxed. "Although honestly, I think she does everything."

Hiccup and Astrid laughed again.

"Ready to land?" The Viking asked her.

Elsa didn't need to speak to show her horror.

"Make a space for me, come on," Astrid said, friendly.

The Viking broke free from Hiccup and Toothless's grasp and leaped back on her dragon, this time after the queen.

"Oaken's cabin is the only one on the road, isn't it?" Hiccup asked to make sure.

Elsa scanned the path beneath her feet, spotting the cabin at the end of a grove of trees.

"Yes, that's it," she clarified.

Hiccup and Toothless turned, advancing quickly and gesturing for the rest to follow.

"Does he always fly this fast?"

Astrid laughed.

"Well, you still haven't seen him play the real idiot," she complained amusedly. "Ready?"

The queen took a breath.

"I was born ready," she said completely unsure.

The Viking laughed softly against her ear and held onto her for stability.

"Stormfly is very smart," Astrid explained, "but she can't read your thoughts, so you have to give her indications of what you want. Before, she's followed us because Stormfly has a habit of doing it and more because Toothless is an alpha; now, you have to indicate that we are going to land there."

"And how do I explain it to them?"

"You have to find a way."

"What do you mean finding a way?"

Astrid laughed again in her melodious voice.

"Dragons are really sharp creatures with a lot of personality," she went on to explain. "And of course they have their own language and we're not always able to understand them all. Look," she indicated the twins, "they understand their dragons because they are like a mirror. It's very mental."

After this Astrid pointed lower.

"On the other hand, Fishlegs and Meatlug are very emotional and is understood by contact," she continued. "And well, as you can see, Snotlout and his dragon don't understand each other at all, they have a kind of love-hate relationship."

Astrid's description was quite accurate, even drawing a smile from her when she saw that Snotlout was indeed arguing with his dragon while asking him to land at once.

"And how do you do with Stormfly?"

"We're both pretty smart," she said. "Sometimes I think we think the same. I usually indicate it with my legs, if I want to go in one direction or another. I speak to her too. We all do it, because, although it may not seem like it, they understand us."

"And Hiccup and Toothless?" she asked curiously.

Astrid snorted wryly.

"Those two are an indivisible whole," she said. "Hiccup generally gets along with almost all dragons, but with Toothless it's like they can read minds. They also fly synchronous, as Hiccup wields one of his wings."

Elsa took a breath, analyzing all that information. The truth is that she was no longer scared and felt quite comfortable and safe with Stormfly there in the air. And with Astrid… It was impossible not to feel safe with her.

"Okay," Elsa took a breath. "Stormfly," she called to the dragon, placing a hand on her head and patting her. "We're going to land slowly, very slowly… I trust you, pretty girl."

The dragon understood immediately and following the course of the rest of the dragons a little, they began to descend faster and faster, breaking through the clouds and approaching vertiginously towards the forest.

Astrid hugged Elsa's waist, trying not to jump on top of her with the pressure of her fall.

Finally, despite all that insecurity, they landed safely. Elsa's legs were still shaking when she stepped off the dragon. However, she had to admit that it had been very exciting.

When they all got off their dragons, they walked up to the little hut and knocked on the door.

There was no signal.

They called again, this time more insistently, but nothing.

"Will they be on vacation?" Tuffnut asked. "Maybe they won't mind if we at least use their sauna."

Hiccup and Astrid didn't take a second to reproach him with their eyes.

"How boring you are," Ruffnut declared.

"It's the dragons…" Elsa imagined.

The queen pushed her way to the door and knocked again, this time raising her voice:

"Oaken," she called, "It's Elsa, the Queen of Arendelle. Is anyone at home?"

Silence flooded the place again.

"Maybe there's no one…" Hiccup theorized.

However, before he finished the sentence, some footsteps began to be heard behind the door. They all stepped aside little by little, all except Elsa, who remained standing in front of the door that began to creak open.

Before them appeared the huge figure of a bearded man, with a threatening face.

"Queen Elsa?" he asked seriously.

"The same," she said without blinking.

The man took a slow breath, and just when the Riders thought he would kill them with an ax, he opened the door wide and took Elsa in his arms.

"Oh thank heaven, we thought you were dead, Your Majesty," the man exclaimed sincerely.

"Isn't it illegal to hug the queen?" Tuffnut asked Snotlout.

The Viking shrugged, as stunned as the male twin.

"Oaken, what a joy you're well," Elsa said, breaking that unprotocolary hug. "Is your family okay too?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, we are all fine," he replied. "We feared the worst when the dragons took over the sky and burned Arendelle."

The man then noticed all the dragons that were on the door of his house and looked to the queen for an explanation.

Elsa cleared her throat.

"Here is my… my husband, the dragon master and his riders," she introduced them politely before getting to the point. "We have come to ask for your help in a matter of vital importance; would you let us pass?"

The man again took a look at those strange costumed aliens and their dragons. Especially the so-called 'dragon master'.

"Of course; no need to stay out there," he smiled at all of them after moments of absolute silence. "I also have many items on sale and my man has made pumpkin pie."

Both twins looked at each other as soon as they heard him.

"Did he say-?" Ruffnut began.

"-pumpkin pie?" Tuffnut finished.

Neither of them took a second to rush into the cabin.

Although Elsa wanted to end this matter as soon as possible, the truth is that the time in that cabin was extended to desperate limits. Oaken not only convinced Snotlout and Fishlegs that they needed to buy some of his deals, but in addition to the stamp book he began to show them family portraits while his family offered everyone tea and cake.

"So you say that here are all the seals of the kingdom?"

"Yeah," he replied proudly, taking a sip from his cup.

"We came looking for these particular stamps, sir," Hiccup said, giving him a sheet where he had drawn all the stamps they found in the books.

Oaken put on his glasses to get a better view of the paper.

"Let's see." He took out his stamp book.

In the background the twins were playing a game of slapping hands with the Oaken children that didn't make much sense. In turn, Fishlegs and Snotlout listened to Oaken's companion's stories about their children and, for an irrational matter, there was a goat inside that ate quietly by the fire.

Astrid was desperate. There was too much chaos in that house to think about. Why couldn't she, Elsa, and Hiccup go alone?

"Precious," said the seller, glancing at them, "but very old."

He began to turn the pages almost to the end, where he began to search with his finger.

"One of these seals belongs to the Viscount of Cosock ..." he pointed out, "this one is from the pagan kingdoms of the east ... Ah, look! This is from our neighbors to the south. Look darling how weird!" He called to the other man.

Astrid shot a pleading look at Elsa, who took a deep breath.

"Oaken, I need to know if one of these books belonged to my aunt, Marie de Bränderson, the mother of the current Duke," Elsa explained. "None of the stamps we've found belong to the Brändersons, so I guess she used her family's stamp, but I don't know what it is."

Oaken was very serious then, looking for the conspiratorial look of his partner who got up and left the room.

"Your Aunt Marie was a very special person," he began to relate. "I was lucky to meet her when she was a child, before she married your uncle the Duke."

At that moment the other man appeared again, with a fine book in hand, which he gave to the seller.

"Your aunt belonged to a foreign family that came to those lands in search of prosperity. At that time my family had an inn and for years your aunt and another woman who claimed to be her sister stayed there. No one knew how, but they had a great fortune. Your uncle the Duke fell at her feet as soon as he saw her, but it was impossible not to. All of her was beauty and virtue, but sometimes she would go to the forest and disappear for days. Thus she gained a reputation as a witch and a sorceress, so your uncle spread the rumor that she was simply crazy so that they did not tie her to the stake."

Hiccup and Astrid gulped at that. It was not the first time they had heard stories about how pagans were burned at bonfires in those lands.

"But she wasn't crazy, on the contrary, she had a lot of wisdom for being so young." Oaken opened the book in her hands. "And left much of it in writing. Before moving to these lands, I spent some time working at the Bränderson castle. We had known each other all our lives, so sometimes we would talk when she went out to the garden. I told her that my dream was to one day live in a warm place and start a family, far from what others thought of me, able to open my own business. It was she who told me about this land and hot lakes, hence our sauna business. Everything is in this book that she gave me."

The man handed the book to Elsa, who looked carefully at the title: The legend about the giant who cried lakes of fire on the white mountain.

Elsa looked at Hiccup and Astrid, who shared the same thought with her: no story from this woman was really a story.

For some reason they did not understand, this woman knew more than they could imagine about those lands. Why? Who was that woman really? And why leave it in writing under the illusion of children's stories? That was something they did not understand.

"You can look under deck," the man gave him permission.

Elsa gratefully complied, peeling the cover off the paper to discover a familiar symbol. Yes, indeed many of the books they had were from their aunt. In fact, The Princess and the Dragon was, as they had imagined, theirs. Elsa remembered perfectly that it had the same symbol. The symbol of a tree with large branches embracing the sun with its branches and the moon with its roots. The truth is that it was unusual in those lands and had a rather pagan aura.

"It took me years to discover that the place in the story referred to these lands," the vendor continued to explain. "But when I did, I knew she had written it for me."

Oaken's partner approached him and took him by the hand affectionately.

"Thank you very much for telling me, Oaken," Elsa said, handing him the book. "You have helped us a lot."

"May I ask why you are looking for a book by your aunt?"

Elsa took a deep breath, thinking that perhaps she was beginning to understand certain mysteries.

"I think she also left some writing for me."

The Riders and the queen lingered in the cabin for a while until they finally decided it was time to return. Unfortunately for the twins, Hiccup and Astrid did not allow them to try the sauna. The business, more than a sauna as such, also included a hot bath in a small lake that they had within their own business, where, as the legend of Oaken's tale said, it was a lake of natural hot water. According to Oaken and with a certain salesman tone, he told them that the water from that spring had healing properties and that he sold it in bottles at a good price, in case they wanted one. They all gratefully denied, except Tuffnut, who did take one.

"You'll thank me when someone's shoulder pops out," he said. "You don't know how painful it is."

Neither paid much attention to him.

To return, Elsa got on Stormfly again with Astrid, this time letting the Viking take the reins. That comfortable and smooth take-off is what Elsa would have preferred to fly for the first time, but everyone laughed and explained that this way she would have lost all grace and emotion.

Returning to heaven again gave him the strange feeling of belonging and freedom. She smiled to herself. Maybe that wasn't so bad after all.

"Hey! Don't you miss the dragon races?" Ruffnut asked then.

"Not too much," Snotlout said grandly. "Being that good makes the game a bit boring."

Elsa noticed that Astrid started laughing.

"But you've never won any," the Viking said then, challenging him.

"Astrid, there are many other ways to win in life," Snotlout complained. "I may not win races, but I will win the unconditional affection of a lady…"

"Agg how disgusting," Ruffnut said. "Don't start that again, for Loki's sake…"

"What's wrong with them?" Elsa asked Astrid discreetly.

The Viking turned towards her a little and smiled.

"Last year Snotlout and Fishlegs were fighting every day for the love of Ruffnut," she explained softly, with that patience and warmth with which he always made her participate in everything.

"And did they get it?"

Astrid gave her a mischievous grin, and Elsa realized they hadn't.

"You want a race to Arendelle?" Tuffnut suggested.

"It would be very boring, we'd be there in less than ten minutes," Fishlegs said. "And Meatlug is out of shape."

"Oh come on… how boring you are," said the twin resignedly. "Come on, Hiccup, I can see in your eyes that you're wanting it. You have the spirit of competition."

"Hiccup, be the leader for once in your life and order these bums to compete," Ruffnut demanded.

"I'm not going to order anything," Hiccup said quietly, without losing his smile of authority.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut looked at each other, rolling their eyes.

"What a bore he always is!" Ruffnut observed, her brother nodding in agreement.

Elsa was afraid that she would regret saying that, but she couldn't help asking:

"Do you do dragon races?"

The twins looked at each other, accomplices. Their dragon whirled in midair to stand beside Storm.

"Oh yes, Your Majesty," Tuffnut began. And they are incredible, pure adrenaline.

"Five riders, one race, many sheep," Ruffnut dramatized. And only one winner.

"Blood, tears, and the guts of losers crushed to the ground," Tuffnut continued with a tragic air. "Honor, life and death."

"No one dies in races," Hiccup reassured Elsa. "They're exaggerating."

"And what does the victor gain?" Elsa kept asking innocently.

"The glory!" the twins exclaimed in unison.

Elsa could not hide her smile at that strange sight.

"Well, if you want, we'll bet something," Ruffnut suggested mischievously. "A kiss from me for the winner?"

That was when Fishlegs and Snotlout started paying attention.

"Oh Gods, you're not seriously suggesting…" Astrid put her hand to her face.

"What happens to you is that you don't want to participate because you know that Hiccup will win," Tuffnut reproached her.

She certainly knew where to look for the Viking's weak point.

"Hiccup wins because he cheats," Astrid said proudly.

"How?" Hiccup entered the conversation.

"What did you hear?" The girl shot him a look, tossing her hair to one side.

"I don't cheat."

"You wear your suit, which isn't fair," Astrid defended herself.

"You know I don't need the suit to beat you."

The latter was accompanied by a long 'ohh' from the twins who looked at each other with pleasure knowing that they had all entered the game. Elsa cursed herself.

"Elsa," Ruffnut called her. "What's on the other side of Arendelle?"

The queen did not know what to answer, because she did not understand the purpose of that answer.

"An abandoned cove, why?" she replied after a moment.

"Race to the abandoned cove!" yelled both twins.

"And whoever loses kisses Meatlug's ass!" Ruffnut added.

"Hey!" Fishlegs complained, not understanding the latter.

Elsa thought that no one would play that game, until Astrid ordered her to hold on tight.

Suddenly, that ride became the greatest madness she had ever experienced. All the Riders began to descend until they were at the edge of the forest. It was not enough for them just to fly at full speed in the sky, but they also liked to complicate their lives and put themselves in obstacles.

Elsa thought they would kill each other. That her life would end in the most useless way she ever imagined. And what would Anna think? So young and completely alone… At least she thanked God that someone like Kristoff would be by her sister's side. He was a good boy, she thought as she clung to Astrid's body.

However, although she expected death, she did not find it and after a while she got used to the dizzying sensation of flying at full speed. She opened his eyes to see that they were flying through the trees and skirting Arendelle through the mountains. In the lead were the twins and Hiccup and behind them Snotlout and Fishlegs.

"You're doing well?" Astrid asked her then.

"Y ... yes ..."

"Hold on."

After giving this order, they both descended a little more, following the others, but taking a path between the trees. That made them take advantage and overtake the complaining twins. Elsa and Astrid's next mission was to overtake Hiccup before reaching the cove, which was already visible in the distance.

"We're not going to make it," Astrid agreed.

"Leave it to me," Elsa entered the game.

She wouldn't admit it, but after getting over the fear of death, she'd started to have fun.

Elsa motioned for Astrid to ascend, and they did so, avoiding the trees that Hiccup and Toothless were masterfully skirting. However, with a simple innocent gesture, Elsa caused all the snow from the trees to fall on them, causing them to slow down.

"I cannot believe it!" Astrid yelled, descending to the beach and knowing that she was victorious.

They both effusively descended from the dragon and embraced victoriously.

"I cannot believe it!" Astrid repeated, laughing in complicity with Elsa.

"You're not the only one who doesn't like to lose," replied the haughty queen.

"You're incredible," Astrid wanted to make clear, without breaking the hug.

Elsa shook it too, somewhat shyly. Instantly Hiccup and Toothless descended onto the sand of the cove.

"You cheated," the boy ruled.

"And that loser face?" Astrid rejoiced in victory mockingly.

"A mysterious mountain of snow has fallen on us."

"Snow sometimes falls from trees, Hiccup," Elsa dared to say, emboldened by Astrid's smile.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"Now you will see both," he threatened.

The boy jumped at them as a joke, and without knowing very well or how, the three of them ended up falling into the sand. You could only hear Astrid's laugh, because Hiccup kept tickling her. Elsa was laughing too, not knowing why she was feeling so strangely happy.

"You know you've earned a kiss from Ruffnut, right?" Hiccup warned as Astrid pinned him to the sand to stop him.

"Would you rather kiss Meatlug's ass?" Astrid defended herself.

"I don't know what's worse…" Hiccup added wryly.

At that moment the twins landed, unhappy with their defeat.

"Hey! What are we going to race for now?" Ruffnut complained.

"The sea!" Tuffnut yelled. "Let's get our feet wet!"

"Yeah," Ruffnut urged him with a head butt.

They both began to take off their shoes as Fishlegs landed and Snotlout followed.

"The last one to hit the water is a Gronckle fart!" Ruffnut yelled, taking the lead.

"Hey!" Fishlegs complained again.

"Hey, you three lovebirds," Tuffnut added before running after his sister. "Come take a bath and save that for bed."

Until then, none of them had been aware of how they looked from the outside, with Hiccup pouncing on the two of them, Astrid grabbing Hiccup by the arms and Elsa letting the boy hug her, in addition to the fact that their clothes and hair had been covered with sand.

They parted immediately, embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"Let's go?" Astrid offered, getting to her feet, somewhat nervous.

"Yes of course…"

The water was ice cold, far more than frost. In that all six of the Riders immediately agreed, just from the way the waves brushed at their feet. However, they were Vikings and they were willing to compete, so after a while they were all in the water, to see who could hold out the longest in it.

All except Hiccup and Elsa, who sat on the shore to watch.

The scene was a bit ridiculous, especially since they were bathing in their underwear and their skin was red from the cold.

"They're going to get hypothermia," Elsa said, sitting next to Hiccup.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Hiccup said ironically, stroking Toothless's head as the dragon lay next to him.

Tuffnut got on his sister's shoulders and they proposed a fight to the rest, who looked like they were having a really bad time.

"I find it very strange that you bathe like that, with so little clothing," Elsa pointed out. "In Arendelle that would be a scandal, especially for them."

Hiccup noticed Astrid and Ruffnut, who apart from their underwear only wore their inner shirt. The truth is that sometimes he had seen them bathe even without that, only with the chest bandages.

"It's not normal at Berk either," he wanted to clarify. "Bathing is very intimate for Vikings. It's a matter of absolute trust and generally men and women never do it together."

After this he felt terrible, thinking that perhaps Elsa could understand that he was referring to her bath with Astrid. However, if Elsa thought about it, she didn't let him know.

"And then you?" The girl asked curiously, fighting the wind that ruffled her hair.

"We were living together on an island for over a year, like I told you about when we were rewriting the book of dragons," Hiccup specified. "We pretty much established our own rules and after a while got rid of many others. I know we have nothing to do with each other, but we are more than friends..."

"Like a family," Elsa said.

Hiccup smiled affirmatively at him.

"And why don't you take a bath?" Elsa bumped him on the shoulder. "Fear of hypothermia?"

Hiccup laughed softly. "I can't bathe in the sea with the prosthesis, it rusts."

"And you can't take it off?"

"Yeah, but it's the perfect excuse for not getting into ice water." He leaned back. "And you?"

Elsa hugged her knees and looked at him smiling, more than usual. "First, I'm not going to bathe with so few clothes and second…"

"And second?"

Elsa snorted, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Can you keep a secret?" She said amused.

Hiccup grinned like an idiot.

"It wouldn't be the first," he ruled.

Elsa nudged him, accepting that Hiccup was keeping a secret from her. One of those that make the earth tremble.

"I can't swim," she finally revealed.

"Really?"

Elsa nodded.

"It's what happens when you've spent more than ten years locked in a room," she answered ironically.

"Well, it's not something you can't solve," Hiccup shrugged. "Also, look at them." He pointed to his friends. "They're still standing on the shore, it's not that deep at all. Nothing is going to happen to you."

"Still, I'm not taking a bath."

Hiccup laughed at her authoritative tone and bowed playfully, complying. After this they stood in silence for a few minutes, contemplating the rest.

"Today has been a good day," Elsa said then, looking into infinity. "For a moment I had forgotten that I am the queen or that we are at war."

Hiccup looked at her, trying to scrutinize her face, not knowing if Elsa was happy or sad.

"Anna would have loved it," she added then, with a melancholy smile.

"We can run away another day for a while," Hiccup proposed, not knowing that he wouldn't be able to deliver.

Elsa nodded, not very convinced.

"Can I confess something to you?" Elsa asked.

Hiccup nodded.

"I may regret what I'm going to say," she wanted to make clear, "but after all the bad news, it's not so bad to be married to you."

Hiccup raised both eyebrows and opened his eyes.

"What?" he said jokingly. "Why does it sound like being married to me is hell?"

Elsa laughed.

"Understand that among my plans was not to marry and less to a Viking," the girl defended herself. "Besides, I was not the one who complained maliciously."

Hiccup didn't understand the word, but he figured out what it meant.

"Oh come on, how did you want me not to complain, you were frigid with me," Hiccup said quietly. "If you don't remember correctly, I was exhausted, desperate and on the verge of crying and you didn't even change your gesture."

Elsa laughed again at his words.

"I was more dead than alive at the time," she justified herself.

Hiccup looked at her and for a moment thought how his life with that woman might have been under other circumstances. If he had known her as a child, or in other lands; if she was not the queen or did not have magical powers, if they were other people. Or if only it wasn't so strange and impossible to be able to be with both her and Astrid without giving up either of them.

Without a doubt if that was the case, he would have fallen in love with her from the first moment. Because even as he told himself he only loved her as a friend, it was impossible not to care for her.

"Elsa," he said, looking sincerely at her. "I'm also glad to have met you."

The girl smiled at him and held his gaze for a while, indecipherable.

"Hey!" Astrid called out to them, coming out of the water with Ruffnut. "Come on Elsa!"

"You can't be a Rider without bathing with us!" Ruffnut added.

Elsa shook her head, insisting that she didn't want to be a Rider. After the lack of conviction, she began to resist when both girls approached her soaked.

"Hiccup don't stare and help!" Ruffnut demanded.

"Don't count on me to enrage a magical queen," the boy raised his hands nonchalantly.

Elsa struggled with them for a while, but after their insistence she ended up getting up. She crossed herself and blew an air kiss. If she hadn't died in the dragon race, she wasn't going to die in the sea.

Of course, Elsa bathed with all her clothes on and her grandeur as a queen made her even dishevelled.

After a while they all came out of the water frozen and lit a fire. The days had begun to lengthen with the approach of spring, but even so it was already getting dark.

They were all shivering by the fire, laughing at how bad they looked. Hiccup was actually trying to warm Astrid, insistently rubbing her arms at the girl's demands. Fishlegs' snot candle was falling off and both twins were shaking like jelly. They were all freezing, except for Elsa, who was completely fine despite being soaked from head to toe.

"We'd better go back to the castle and make yourselves mute clean," Elsa suggested, regaining some of the responsibility lost during that strange day.

"I second the idea," Astrid said immediately, clinging to the warmth of Hiccup's body.

"Hey, what happened to the award in the end?" Fishlegs asked innocently. "Who won?"

"Us," Astrid replied proudly.

"I'm not going to kiss you," Ruffnut added immediately. "Maybe Elsa, but only because she gives me her authority."

Elsa turned red up to her ears, not knowing where to go.

"No need, thank you ..." she said very softly.

"If she doesn't want it, you can give it to me," Snotlout hastened.

"Yuck," the Viking replied, sticking out her tongue.

Snotlout frowned, not understanding why Ruffnut was rejecting him. She wasn't a Goddess either.

"And who has lost?" Tuffnut asked maliciously.

Fishlegs and Snotlout looked and pointed at each other. Hiccup laughed. They always did the same.

"Well, let's leave it in that tonight there are no kisses for anyone," the Viking chief declared.

"Poor Meatlug," Astrid added with a laugh.

At that moment, Ruffnut nudged her brother, as if he wanted him to tell something. The Viking denied and that made his sister smile.

"Well, maybe there is someone who is going to kiss someone tonight," said the twin.

The girl then began blowing kisses around her brother.

"Do you have an appointment, Tuffnut?" Hiccup asked incredulously.

"Something like that ..." he answered reluctantly.

Ruffnut grabbed her braids and began to pretend they were kissing her brother's cheeks.

"And who is the lucky one?" Astrid asked.

Tuffnut turned red and began to stutter, not quite understanding what he was saying.

"It's Rose," his sister answered for him. "They're meeting tonight to do the casualty surveillance shift together, is it vomiting?"

"Rose?" Snotlout said hurt. "But what has that woman seen in you that I don't have?"

Tuffnut frowned. "Well… I have more beard than you to begin with and I'm much more fun."

Hiccup and Astrid held back the urge to laugh, shooting a knowing look at Elsa who was looking at Tuffnut with a certain tenderness.

"Rose is a very nice girl, Tuffnut," Elsa said then, to everyone's surprise. "I'm glad for you."

However, what surprised them was not that the queen said something like that to the Viking, but that they had just realized that they had been speaking in her language for a long time, without thinking that they were excluding Elsa. Most did not even know that the queen could speak their language.

"Thank you Elsa for the moral support," Tuffnut replied. "Not like these idiots…

"Do you speak our language?" He tossed the question into the air.

Elsa nodded shyly.

"A little," she said, "but you speak too fast and with a heavy accent."

"Your accent is horrible too," Tuffnut smiled at him without a trace of malice, as if he had said a compliment.

Elsa didn't know how to interpret it, so she just nodded.

"Well, tonight I've met the soldier with the sideburns again," Ruffnut announced proudly.

"Ruffnut that guy is an idiot," Astrid said with an annoyed grunt, recalling her past run-ins with him.

"And your boyfriend is married to another woman and I'm not telling you anything," Ruffnut answered calmly.

Elsa and Hiccup wanted to die in that instant.

"The fact is that he asked me to marry him."

"What?!" They all said in unison.

"That's what I told him," the girl replied calmly. "Should I keep sleeping with him or find someone better?"

She didn't need any more response than the denial looks from everyone.

It didn't take long for them to take flight, as everyone was freezing out there and Elsa was convinced that she had been too long away from her castle. She had had a lot of fun, oddly enough. Furthermore, she had to admit that dragons were extraordinary beings. For this reason, upon reaching Arendelle she stopped them before they went down to the dungeons to lock them up.

"Don't take them down there…" she started to say.

Astrid looked at her in surprise, stopping her dragon in midair and catching the attention of the others. Elsa thought she might regret making that decision, but Astrid's glow and smile encouraged her.

"You don't have to hide the dragons again," Elsa ruled. "They can… they can fly through Arendelle. You have my permission."

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked.

Elsa nodded.

"Completely," she said. "I can't allow them to stay locked up any longer. People will have to get used to it."

They all looked at each other gratefully. If it weren't for the cold, they might even have shown some euphoria. They all started down to the gardens, all except Toothless and Storm, who headed for the windows of Hiccup and Elsa's rooms. Astrid left the girl at her window and after that said goodbye to both of them. They would meet again later, but now the Viking desperately needed a warm bath and a clean change.

"You're not going to go in?" Elsa asked Hiccup when she saw him standing at the window, not wanting to move.

"I think I'm going to fly for a bit longer, I missed this a lot," he said. "Do you… Do you want to come?"

He regretted it the minute he said it, especially because Elsa looked at him in surprise.

"Sorry," Hiccup apologized without knowing why, as if he had offended her. "I imagine you're tired and want to change. See you later."

However, before he could react, his nose froze. The boy looked at himself, almost cross-eyed as he listened to Elsa's laughing voice.

"Wait there, rider," Elsa said mischievously from the window. "You're not leaving without me. Give me a second."

Hiccup brushed the ice off his nose with his hand as he waited for Elsa. He felt a bit of an idiot for having made that offer, and more because her accepting it had made him very nervous.

The queen came out at once, dressed in another dry set of clothes. It wasn't one of her nightgowns, but it didn't look like a dress either, since you could tell that it wasn't corseted and unlike the way she used to dress, it was very loose on her body.

Hiccup and Toothless descended a bit, sneaking under her window so that Elsa could get on. The queen still wasn't used to that feeling of vertigo when she saw the fall under her feet, but she took courage and took Hiccup's hand to jump on Toothless. She lost her balance slightly, so to add to the discomfort she practically fell on Hiccup.

"Sorry," she apologized immediately, positioning herself better at a safe distance from the boy within the available space.

"It's okay," Hiccup answered hastily.

They flew in silence for a long time, scanning the night sky over Arendelle and the surrounding kingdom. Elsa, despite her original intentions, ended up hugging Hiccup looking for some stability. Unlike when Elsa was flying on Stormfly with Astrid, Hiccup and Toothless didn't have a conventional saddle due to the dragon's own ergonomics, and Hiccup was practically lying down so that the air would not spit him out while they flew. As a result, Elsa settled into that position too. They were silent for a long time, possibly more than half an hour in which they simply worried about sorting out their ideas.

Hiccup couldn't hide it anymore. He had feelings for this woman. He didn't know how or why, but he couldn't keep his heart from racing around her. This went far beyond just idly observing that she was attractive or enjoying her company; he truly felt that he would have cried if Elsa had rejected his offer of a late-night flight.

"What are you thinking about?" Elsa asked him suddenly.

Hiccup took a breath, coming down from the black cloud that was suffocating his heart.

"In that we have more and more unknowns to solve and I still see no links between them." He focused his problem on more tangible facts. "And you?"

"I don't understand what my Aunt Marie has to do with all this." she sighed wearily, admiring the almost full moon that was shining in the sky. "You were right, by the way."

"About what?" He asked confused.

"About being up here." She recalled the conversation they had the day she opened the dome. "It is like feeling truly free."

"I'm glad you like it." He sought her gaze in the dark.

They were silent for a while longer until Elsa hastened to break the strange climate (neither of them wanted to call it 'romantic') that had settled between them. The queen began to explain the divisions of the kingdom from the air and also explained a little about Oaken's life. None of the Vikings had said anything at the time, but it was strange to all of them to see that this man had formed a family with another man. Elsa explained that Oaken had bought that land from her father many years ago, so since he did not belong to any kingdom, there was no law or God to whom he was accountable. In addition, his dream of starting a family had come true when the seller had also adopted all those children from an orphanage that was formerly in Arendelle.

"And where did he get the money to buy a piece of land from a king?" Hiccup asked incredulously.

"Oaken brought a boulder of gold as big as your dragon's head," Elsa revealed. "I remember that day perfectly."

"But if he said he was the son of innkeepers ... do you think ...?"

"Yes," Elsa finished for him. "I'm sure that was also written in the story that my aunt gave her."

"Maybe she wrote The Princess and the Dragon for you."

"Do you believe?" she asked hopefully. "Because I don't look like the princess in the story."

"Nobody would want to look like her, she's very bland," Hiccup jokingly said to cheer her up.

He was surprised then that the girl hugged him, since Elsa did not usually maintain physical contact with other people beyond the strict and necessary.

"Everything's going to be fine," Hiccup said, thinking that maybe she was a bit depressed about the situation.

"You promise?"

"Promise," he assured her.

Elsa then gave a light laugh and broke away from him.

"I hope you're right, because I have a bad feeling about the dance," she confessed then.

"Elsa, you don't have to worry, we have everything under control," he tried to reassure her. "We go to that party, we make a fool of ourselves in front of the nobles, we find the original book or manuscript, and we take off. It's a piece of cake."

"What if Drago attacks these lands in our absence?"

This was the possibility that most concerned them both, but especially Astrid, who had begun to plot escape plans with Anna in case of danger.

"We're only a day's flight away," Hiccup said. "Besides, we won't be able to do anything if Drago gets what he wants before we work out what he's after."

"He won't, I won't allow it," Elsa countered, her expression as grim as the day they met.

"Do you know what I fear most about the spring dance?" Hiccup said then, to relax the atmosphere a bit. "I don't know how to dance."

That made Elsa's eyes widen, surprised, annoyed, and incredulous.

"You can't dance?" she asked, her expression torn between amused and expectant. "Hiccup, why didn't you tell me!"

"I don't know, I thought it was more important that I knew how to use the hundreds of silverware you have," he responded, knowing that deep down Elsa felt grateful for having helped him through that particular fear.

"But Hiccup, it's a dance," Elsa repeated. "Of course it is important to dance, we are obliged."

"We're oblig- you mean we're forced?" Hiccup looked at her in surprise. "You can't force anyone to dance."

"Well, welcome to the nobility of these lands," Elsa grinned, allowing herself a silly laugh before she looked at him with an exaggeratedly solemn manner. "We have to get back to the castle immediately; I'm not going to let us make a fool of ourselves."

"I warn you that I'm very bad at dancing," Hiccup wanted to make clear, sarcastically.

"And I dance like a stuffed duck," Elsa agreed, "but that's no excuse."

They descended with Toothless back to the castle, where they entered Hiccup's room through the window. Elsa picked up the papers on the floor a bit and dragged a couple of pieces of furniture to make room while Hiccup changed his clothes in a closet and put on something more comfortable and not filled with sand.

Toothless tried to help Elsa, but the dragon was too big to be in that room.

"Too bad you can't help me," Elsa complained, stroking the dragon's head. As she touched it, she felt the tingle of magic in the dragon once again, just like the first time she had touched it. He didn't understand the nature of dragons, but Hiccup's dragon was certainly very special.

"Wait, I'll help you," Hiccup approached, already dressed. "You still have to learn a few things about dragons."

Saying this, he grabbed some papers from the floor, letting Toothless lick them before he stuck them on the wall.

"Aggg…" Elsa growled at the sight, though she had to admit that it was quite practical.

With the room clear and Toothless huddled in a corner, Elsa and Hiccup stood in the center of the chamber and looked at each other, unable to contain a smile.

"Ready for a masterful dance lesson?" Elsa said good-naturedly.

"Do I have more options?"

"I'm afraid not," she smiled at him.

However, seeing him alone began to make Elsa a little nervous. Elsa had never been to many dances before, and usually when someone asked her to dance, she would decline the offer gracefully, or even glare at anyone who made an unwanted effort. The few times she had danced it had been with her sister or her parents. Only once did she dance with a young man at a party and because Elsa had just signed a peace treaty with the boy's father. However, those occasions aside, dancing had been something she'd crossed off her to-do list.

"How do you dance in these lands?" Hiccup asked, used to the hustle and bustle of Viking dancing.

Elsa looked at him uncertainly.

"Well, it's basically a ballroom dance," she explained. "So we will only dance with each other, although there will be more people on the floor."

"Mmm… okay."

Elsa took a breath. "Let's see… give me your hands."

Hiccup obeyed confused and somewhat uncomfortable.

"You have to…" She tried to explain herself as she tried to figure out how to put her arms around Hiccup. "Well, men take women, but since you don't know, I'm going to play a man."

Hiccup nodded again and let Elsa position him.

"Okay, you put your hand on my shoulder ..." she explained, as she placed her own hand on the Viking's waist. "And now give me your other hand."

Elsa separated herself as much as she could from him, as if that distance could also drive the boy away from her head.

"You have to act as a mirror," she said then, looking at their feet. "If I move my leg forward, you move backward and so on…"

"Okay," he agreed.

The first movements were very orthopaedic and they nearly stepped on each other several times.

"I feel a little ridiculous," Hiccup confessed after a while.

"That's because it's ridiculous," Elsa agreed, looking at the ground. "I promise you that with music it improves."

That comment amused Hiccup.

"I hope so, because whoever invented it must have been pretty boring."

Elsa shot him a questioning but amused look.

"You know," the queen countered, "this is truly the dream of any noble lady."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Dancing with a lame man?"

"Don't be silly," Elsa scolded him, not knowing how Hiccup always had such witty answers to everything. "I mean, uh, letting a young, foreign, handsome guy take them out to dance."

"You think I'm handsome?" Hiccup asked in a mischievous tone that made Elsa blush.

"I was speaking in general," the queen justified herself.

"And this was your dream?"

Elsa looked at him haughtily, with her huge blue eyes.

"What do you think?"

"No," Hiccup replied.

They both smiled at each other, overwhelmed by the closeness to each other.

Despite the blush, Elsa had meant it. Hiccup could perfectly be anyone's dream. He was an intelligent boy, witty, patient and with a strange kindness that Elsa had not seen in many people. And although she had told him that she spoke generally, she was lying. He did look very handsome to her. Terribly handsome, with his crooked smile, his freckled face and those lively eyes that stared at her as if they saw her soul. Never in all her life did she think she could like a boy the way she did Hiccup. She could not compare it to any previous experience, because her relationship with him did not resemble what she had with Lena or the attraction she had felt for other women or men at other times in her life. It was strange and heartbreaking, and she felt more guilty than relieved.

Dancing with him was definitely not a dream, but a nightmare. Not because he was bad, even if his prosthesis made it trickier for him to track his own movements, but because she couldn't control how she felt and she hated herself for it. Because seeing Hiccup smile was like a dagger through her, a dagger with the face of the most beautiful and special woman she had ever met. A dagger with Astrid's eyes.

"This was more like Anna's dream," she continued, marking distance between them, while continuing to manage their movements. "She's always been very romantic. She dreamed of a prince charming to take her out of this palace. She said that she would meet him at a dance, that their eyes would meet, and that they would dance all night until they couldn't anymore."

"All night? Hiccup interrupted, showing inordinate amazement. "I'm not sure I could manage that long."

"Yeah, I couldn't dance that much either," she agreed with him.

"And then what?" Hiccup then asked expectantly.

"What do you mean, then what?" She returned the question, surprised.

"After dancing all night," he specified. "I would need an urgent chair."

Elsa laughed at his silly idea.

"Anna had it all planned," she continued explaining, getting into that joke.

Deep down Elsa knew what Hiccup was playing. Possibly he was just as uncomfortable as she was and all he wanted was to put something away and pretend that it was not for them. And deep down it seemed funny to her that the boy wanted to daydream to imagine another reality funnier than the two of them making a fool of themselves in a room full of papers soaked with dragon saliva taped to the wall.

"She said they'd have some appetizers later ..." Elsa continued.

"That does seem realistic to me."

"… As they ran through the corridors," Elsa finished, while Hiccup shook his head. "And of course they would hide from the guards."

"In that at least I have experience."

Elsa felt very stupid, but she began to divert their movement around the room, while recreating with very clumsy gestures that strange rambling on what the dance would be like according to Anna. The truth is that that closeness to Hiccup made her tremble, especially because unlike most of the times, this time they were face to face with each other, holding hands and although it was strange, it made her feel more difficult than flying with him, hugging him or fighting hand to hand.

"Then they would go out to the gardens, where he would pluck a flower and kneel to ask her to marry him."

"Well, we can save ourselves that step," Hiccup went on.

"Well, the next one too, because according to their fantasy they kissed until the sun rose, rode on a horse at dawn, and went to a church where they were stealthily married."

Hiccup laughed.

"Your sister thought big, huh?"

"You don't get the idea." Elsa rolled her eyes.

"And did she just marry like that?"

"I already told you she asked for my blessing to marry the same night she met Hans, so yeah, there wasn't much more dialogue in the story."

"Well, these dances are intense," he said wryly.

"Yes they are… yes…"

They fell silent again and before he could get uncomfortable again, Elsa offered Hiccup to change their position and for him to try to guide her now. The boy obeyed somewhat awkwardly, placing his hands where the queen used to have them and wrapping his around her waist.

"What did you want?" Hiccup asked then.

"What did I want how?" Said the confused queen.

"What was your dream?" Hiccup specified. "Because I can't imagine you getting on a horse at dawn to get married."

Elsa laughed.

"My dream was to be able to take advantage of the distraction of the dance to escape for a while," she said amused as she slightly separated from Hiccup. "I would dance with someone not very smart and while he went for drinks I would disappear among the people."

"Okay, I'll remember not to go for drinks."

Elsa accused him with a look.

"My plan was to hide in the gardens and lie down to watch the stars until dawn," she confessed. "Hopefully no one would bother me and then at least I wouldn't have excruciating foot pain the next day."

Hiccup then released Elsa, who looked at him blankly. However, when the boy lay down on the floor of the room, she could not help but show her astonishment.

"What are you doing?" Elsa asked puzzled, with a silly smile.

"Follow your plan," Hiccup said. "You don't know how good it feels to lie down. I was getting dizzy with so many laps."

Elsa laughed and felt a bit stupid without really knowing what to do. He hesitated and made to lie down beside her twice. Perhaps seen from the outside it was somewhat pathetic, but in the end she agreed, although not very convinced.

"There are no stars in this sky," the queen announced, staring at the dim ceiling of Hiccup's room, lit only by the sparkle of a candle casting ghostly shadows.

"Don't break the magic," Hiccup asked.

Elsa then raised her arm and with her magic created some flakes that levitated on the ceiling, like frozen stars.

"Geez, sometimes I forget you can do that," the boy said, turning his head towards her.

Elsa looked at him too, once more scrutinizing his face. However, he was not able to hold his gaze too long and looked back at the floating stars in the room.

"I hope I'm up to it," the boy pointed out, "I don't want you to be ashamed of me."

Hiccup's sudden sincerity took her by surprise.

"Don't be silly, Hiccup; of course you're going to be up to the task."

The boy took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"I don't know, Elsa, I'm not some foreign prince that the nobles of your land fantasize about," he explained. "And I know you hate that dance and getting attention and I'm a magnet for trouble. I'm ... I'm afraid of letting you down."

Elsa smiled sadly at him.

"You're not going to disappoint me, Hiccup," the queen encouraged. "I just want them not to make you feel bad. Nobles can be very cruel, so I'm sorry if I've pushed you a lot these last few days."

"You haven't pushed me, these are things I had to learn."

"Or maybe not," Elsa said. "Today I had a really good time and it's because we haven't done anything that I am usually forced to do… You know, they've never let me do what I really want."

Elsa again had that look that Hiccup hated to see on her. That look of pain to have to conform and carry all the problems in the world.

"And what do you really want?" Hiccup asked.

Possibly never in her life had someone asked Elsa that and she did not know what to answer.

The easiest answer would have been to tell him that she didn't know or that she wanted the war to end. However, they were still queen answers that didn't reveal anything of hers, as she continued to hide herself under the weight of her responsibilities. What did she want? Maybe to be free to run out of that damned kingdom and go live alone in the mountains, in her ice palace, or go to a distant land. However, all those things were still far from having a true plan beyond running away from her problems.

What did she really want? Possibly that Lena would forgive her or that she and her sister could spend some time alone having fun, something like that afternoon at the beach or when they made snowmen as children. Yes, that would be good. And she would also like to really get to know Astrid. Throughout the day that she had been hugging her flying, she had not been able to stop praying that the Viking would really let her get close to her, that she would show her true self, the woman with that sweet look who silently watched the sunrises with her nose frozen from the cold. To allow Elsa to enter into the complicity that Astrid somehow shared with Hiccup.

Hiccup.

Why the hell was he asking her something so complex? It was impossible to have answers for that. What did he want her to tell him? That perhaps what she really wanted, without thinking, here and now, was simply to kiss him once and for all and for him to drag her with him to calm once and for all that unbearable heat that he caused her.

The Viking couldn't read Elsa's thoughts, but he wasn't an idiot, and his heart immediately raced at the silence of the queen. Because that silence was not a normal silence between the lines, it was a silence of hunger. And he knew it as soon as he realized that Elsa wanted the same thing as him.

Neither knew very well who took the first step, but as they drew closer together, and realised that the other wasn't backing down, they kissed.

It was a shy kiss that saw Hiccup cradle Elsa's face in his hands. And although Elsa took a little longer to react, she hugged Hiccup's body as best she could and tangled a hand in his hair, to deepen that kiss. How long had they wanted that? Possibly from the day the dome fell or maybe earlier. It did not matter. Be that as it may, they had wanted it too much and neither seemed very willing to break off such a pleasant contact. From skin to skin, from cold to heat.

In fact, the shyness of that kiss on the lips faded and little by little they both let themselves be explored, allowing their tongues to meet and their bodies to search for each other in the hostility of the frozen ground. How had it been so difficult for them to take that step before? It was unbearable to discover what they had needed to have that contact with each other, that warm moisture that shook them like a current. Elsa was not even aware that perhaps it was the first time she had kissed and she allowed herself to be kissed so desperately. As a child, her kisses with Lena had been promises of eternal and sincere love, but this kiss with Hiccup demanded a much more adult, more human and more animal instinct in her. A more carnal, more physical, more real kiss. She couldn't have imagined that Hiccup's lips could be so warm or his mouth so welcoming. That his tongue would caress her and claim with that need, or that she would reciprocate in the same way. And the worst thing is that she couldn't think. Neither of them could.

Hiccup just wanted to let himself be carried away and be swept away by that magical tingle emanating from Elsa's body, calling out to him and asking him not to let go of her. And Elsa just wanted him to touch her, to hold her against the warmth of his body. In fact, both she and Hiccup took their hands away from each other's heads and began to try to quench that curiosity of touching, exploring and being explored. Elsa was immediately lost on the Viking's back, the one she had seen naked on more than one occasion and that she had mentally imagined playing other times. And Hiccup, much more shy, was amazed at how cold Elsa's skin was despite being covered by that nightgown that he wanted to remove from her body.

However, they both snapped out of that trance when they heard a knock on the door.

Elsa practically shoved Hiccup and jumped to her feet, barely able to breathe from the shock. The boy, a little slower than she, helped himself off the bed just as Astrid and Fishlegs opened the door.

"You don't know how much I needed that hot bath," Astrid said by way of greeting. "By the way, we've been talking along the way that maybe the books are interrelated, right Fishlegs?"

Elsa turned as soon as she saw them enter and pretended that she was reading some notes on the table while Hiccup sat on the bed, trying to calm down and hide that painful erection that miraculously had not come down in fright.

"We have remembered that some place names are repeated and they all belong to the same area," said Fishlegs proudly.

"Is something wrong?" Astrid asked, noticing some tension between the two of them.

"No, nothing, my head just hurts a lot tonight," Elsa rushed to say nervously. "Maybe you should excuse me."

"Wow," Astrid smiled at her. "Maybe it's because of the pressure, it also happened to me on the first flights."

"Could it be…" was all Elsa managed, unable to meet Astrid's eyes.

The queen curtsied and left.

"And what's wrong with you?" The Viking asked Hiccup, who was very red and still.

"Ahh…" He didn't even know what to say. "I'm… I am somewhat worried about the dance. I was just telling Elsa that I still don't know how we're going to get a copy of the book if there is one."

Astrid nodded and flopped down on the bed as Fishlegs sat down in the chair by the table.

"I think the same," Astrid said. "Did you think that maybe it's a trap for you to go to that dance? I can't stop thinking about it…"

Hiccup however was unable to hear her. He felt too agitated and guilty, and suddenly felt like he couldn't even breathe.

"Oh Gods," he said impulsively. "I forgot that Elsa… kept one of the books; I should just go and get it before she goes to sleep."

"Okay, we're still investigating ourselves," Astrid said simply, sitting up and walking over to Fishlegs.

The path between his room and Elsa's seemed endless. But what the heck had crossed their minds? He didn't have to knock on Elsa's door when the girl opened it, almost as if she could have sensed it.

"What are you doing here?" she said almost angrily.

"Elsa… we need to talk. What… what just happened…"

"Was a mistake," she answered for both of them, bluntly.

Hiccup, in a way, had the same opinion as her, but he didn't know why it hurt so much to hear her say those words with such contempt.

"I know and I'm sorry, I don't know what happened to me," Hiccup apologized.

"I'm sorry too," Elsa said, mood shifting from contempt to shame, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. "Well, that's settled; goodnight, Hiccup."

The queen was about to close the door before Hiccup slipped his artificial foot into it.

"Hey," he said, looking earnestly at her. "Elsa, I don't want this nonsense to make us uncomfortable."

Elsa took a deep breath, not knowing what to say.

"And it won't; it was a silly slip that didn't mean anything," she said firmly. "Besides, I don't even like men, Hiccup. I don't want you to get the wrong idea; it was a silly mistake and that's it.

If Elsa had stabbed him in the chest at that moment, it might have hurt less than those words.

"Great," was all he managed to say. "Everything will be fine."

Hiccup pinched his septum, uncomfortable and thoughtful.

"Astrid is going to kill me…" he muttered, half to himself.

Elsa's eyes widened with terror when she heard him.

"What?" she said scared. "Hiccup, you can't tell Astrid."

A sudden tremor shook the queen at that moment, with the terrible certainty that if Hiccup told Astrid this, the female Viking would cut her completely out of her life.

"Elsa, Astrid made me promise that if something happened between us I would tell her," Hiccup explained.

"She did?" Elsa said, fear shifting to confusion. "But when have you talked about that? And why?"

Hiccup sighed, running his hands over his head, not sure what to say.

"Hiccup, you can't say this to Astrid," Elsa asked almost pleadingly. "It was a silly mistake that meant nothing to either of us, and it won't affect your relationship with Astrid if you don't tell her."

However, Hiccup didn't seem very convinced.

"Hiccup," she demanded his attention desperately. "You are going to make her suffer for no reason."

Hiccup took in what the horrible pressure of guilt could do and made an effort to calm himself. He had screwed up, but it should be fine if they were more careful.

"Elsa, this can't happen again," he said, with a look that tore her apart, as if the boy might start to cry. Elsa suddenly wondered if she was being selfish; maybe Hiccup and Astrid did need to talk about these things, even if it meant that they would leave her…

"It's not going to happen again, I swear," Elsa said, meeting his eyes for the first time and smiling at him. "The last thing I want is for you to have a problem with Astrid."

Elsa inhaled all the air she could hold in her lungs.

"I… don't want anything to change between us, Hiccup," Elsa said. "I mean… you've been… you're a good friend."

A good friend…

Even as the words were true, Elsa felt the sheer inadequacy of them in expressing her deeper feelings; she was still struggling to define or ignore her exact feelings for Astrid, but the queen already knew that she had never shared the simple warm intimacy with anyone that she had shared with Hiccup (aside from with Anna, but she was Elsa's sister; they basically had to get along).

"Me neither, Elsa."

They were silent for a moment, in which neither dared to move.

"It was all that talk about your sister's dream ball..." Hiccup broke the ice, trying to regain some humor. "Too inspiring."

"Sure," Elsa answered, relieved, with a nervous smile. "In the end these fantasies end up distorting reality."

"Totally agree..."

"Everything's okay then?" Elsa asked shyly.

The boy nodded, with a huge anguish that did not quite dissipate. However, he found the strength to smile at her and for the girl to smile back. Especially when seeing that Hiccup stretched his hand towards her, as if he wanted to agree on something.

"No more dance lessons?" he suggested with an understatement.

Elsa looked at his lips, the ones she had kissed and felt the world collapse under her feet. Then she looked up into his eyes, those that had regained some brightness and were staring at her.

"No more dance lessons." She took him by the hand, sealing with that pact a tacit agreement that they knew they could never fulfil.

What they did not know is that that day had been the last day of calm in their lives, and they wouldn't be enjoying one again for a long, long time.

Because somehow it was the end of a lethargy and the beginning of chaos, although they still couldn't even imagine it.