Chapter Ten:
"H-hiccup?"
"Punzie!"
The spring spirit rubbed her head as Hiccup helped her sit up, brushing the loose hair out of her face.
"What happened?"
"What do you remember?" Hiccup asked.
"Everything," Rapunzel muttered. "I've spent the last century in a tower, getting visions of pain,"
"That's basically it," Hiccup muttered. "Now come on, we have to go,"
He whistled for Toothless and climbed on, helping Rapunzel get behind him.
"He's bigger now," The blonde commented. Hiccup nodded, giving Toothless a pat on the head and prepared to fly back to Bunny and Tooth. "Wait!"
"What?" Hiccup asked, turning back.
"Take us down,"
They glided down to the grass, where Rapunzel quickly climbed off and faced her tower.
"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked.
"Getting rid of something holding me back," Rapunzel muttered. "This is where Kozmotis found me - before I became a spirit. The woman who took me here? She kidnapped me, and then I was imprisoned here for years,"
Rapunzel took a deep breath, and the ground started to rumble. Hiccup watched in amazement as hundreds of green sprouts burst out of the ground, wrapping around the base of the tower. Rapunzel closed her eyes and grounded her stance, then slowly raised her hands, arms trembling. With a slow, deliberate breath, Rapunzel yanked her arms down. With a mighty crack, the tower broke in two, the earthen bricks shattering and falling to the ground. Rapunzel dropped her knees amidst the rubble, breathing heavily from the exertion.
"You okay?" Hiccup asked. "Woah, Punz… your marks,"
"What?' Rapunzel asked, looking at her arms and gasping. The winding burn marks from the fireworms hadn't disappeared when she'd transformed back, and were glowing softly, seemingly linked to her power. "That's interesting…"
"I didn't know you could control earth…" Hiccup whispered. "What if Jack… also has new powers? Like we do,"
"I don't know," Rapunzel shrugged. "It's possible,"
"Dragons and winds, flowers and earth, ice and…"
"He could already control water before," Rapunzel argued. "That's probably it,"
"I guess so," Hiccup muttered. "I guess so,"
The two spirits touched down outside of Tooth and Bunny's cottage around dawn the next morning. Both guardians were outside and waiting - with news.
"The Frost King is getting reckless," Bunny muttered. "He's lashing out - especially at the Bear Queen's borders,"
"And the Bear Queen seems to have found a new power," Tooth added. "So much so that she'd completely forgotten to look for her most trusted advisor,"
Hiccup turned a little red, embarrassed about his previous habits. The others didn't notice, and started to debrief Rapunzel about what had happened. The group then turned to what they needed to do.
"We need to stop both the Bear Queen and the Frost King," Bunny grumbled. "Sooner rather than later,"
"Merida's powerless," Hiccup said. "And we don't know what she just found, so we should go after Jack first. He can help us save her,"
"Alright," Bunny said, nodding. "That'll work. And once we defeat the Frost King, we'll be able to find North in his dungeons,"
"I can save Jack," Rapunzel interrupted. "At… least I think I can,"
"I have faith in you," Tooth said. "Spring is what melts the winter snow isn't it? You're his seasonal second,"
"Seasonal second?" Hiccup asked.
"The seasons that get along the best, in a way," Tooth explained. "Winter and Spring. They aren't too hot or cold, and the best of winter is brought out just as spring arrives. Same goes for Summer and Autumn. Winds of autumn sooth summers flame,"
"So you're saying I really do have a chance to save Jack?" Rapunzel asked, the flowers in her hair blooming with excitement. Tooth nodded. "Then I have to try!"
"Alright then," Hiccup said. "Let's get going,"
Toothless ducked to the ground just outside the Frost King's mountains. They'd passed over a few herds of Fearlings, but Hiccup had used his wind abilities to create a cloud cover that hid them. After a minute, a tunnel opened up next to the dragon, where Tooth and Bunny emerged.
"Ready to go?" Bunny asked. Both Tooth and Rapunzel nodded. Hiccup and Toothless shot back into the sky, where they'd be looping Jack's fortress in case they were needed.
Bunny tapped his foot and the other three disappeared into a tunnel that shot them out in an abandoned hallway inside the castle. Rapunzel noticed the chill in the air, and was thankful that she was able to wear boots. Tooth adjusted the heavy cloak over the blondes hair and took off with Bunny - towards the dungeons.
Rapunzel made her way in the opposite direction - the throne room.
Relying on the inner connection that had let Hiccup find her, Rapunzel slowly walked towards Jack. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been attacked by fearlings and had been shoved into icy water. If they were human, he would have most likely died. The blonde had only heard stories about the terrible Frost King, and even her visions hadn't been clear - just icy attacks and cold eyes. Rapunzel knew she had the best chance to stop him. She clutched the memory case tighter.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, Rapunzel finally reached a large ornate archway, leading into a room that overlooked the rest of the mountain range. Inside seemed to be a large map carved out ice, and… Jack standing over it, back turned.
Rapunzel took a quick breath and stepped forwards, dropping the hood from her head and straightening her back. There were so many things that could go wrong. He could attack her, not want to even see her… he might not even remember who she was. But the blonde knew this was their only chance to help fix the damage they had all caused, so she spoke.
"Hello Jack,"
The Frost King stiffened and turned around, and Rapunzel gasped at his appearance. He looked dead - eyes a dull yellow, hair and skin tinted grey, frostbite creeping along his neck and face. Even though he was dressed nicely, icicles still littered his body.
"R-rapunzel?"
Authors Note: Hello people! Coming back at you with the halfway point of Nightmare Children. I'm pleasantly surprised with how much y'all are liking it! Its been a semi rough week, so I'm glad to post this chapter and get everyone's wonderful feedback.
Some Updates: Omega Children is in the same spot it was last week. I've started outlining a short spin off - Sugar Science Iced Tea - and a oneshot - Unnamed Jariel - in the same au. I hope to get some work done on them soon!