Prince Andor decided to disguise himself as a farmer's son and scope out the new immigrants that arrived that spring. Another bunch of Nirhogans had set foot on Hjalfadargin. The first set of Nirhogans arrived almost two years ago and there weren't that many of them at first. The population started to grow and grow, slowly taking over the land near the beach. He had debated with his parents, the King and Queen of Hjalfadargin to let the Nirhongans in, as they had nowhere to go and they had already travelled far enough. He asked the maid to provide him with farmer's clothes and a hat. He ruffled his gelled and perfect hair, undoing the work of the maids.

"Where are you going?" Andor's younger sister, Gerda had popped her head into his room seeing he was about to climb out his bed chambers' window.

"I'm gonna see the refugees. Wanna come?"

"Why would I wanna see those people?" Gerda grimaced at the thought of her being amongst the Nirhogans.

"Alright, suit yourself. If anyone asks, just say I'm in the library or somewhere else."

"...Sure," Gerda muttered as she watched her older brother climb out his window, debating on whether to mind her business or not to rat him out to a maid or their parents. She was probably going to do the latter. Ever since her brother returned from Berk almost a year ago, Gerda hated her life. Her parents doted on her brother and showered him daily with compliments. The four years he was gone, Gerda felt a weight from her shoulders lifted and the moment she saw him again, that weight doubled and hit her to the ground.

It didn't help that her brother was now eighteen, practically an adult and of betrothal age. And with a betrothal came his reign as ruler of Hjalfadargin. Something she believed she deserved much more than him. Gerda hated how the law was the first-born was immediately the heir and not the child who displayed more dedication to the kingdom and carried a majestic air of royalty. Andor had gotten more rowdy after basically transforming into a brutish viking, as she would describe it. She was hoping he would've been scared to death after encountering a viking, but he grew more confident and more sure of himself.

—

Andor weaved easily through a crowd of villagers barely grazing against another person, something he mastered at Berk trying to get his way around the larger vikings when he would file into the Great Hall.

The further he walked to the edge of the village, the more Nirhogans he saw around him. When he was a kid, he was given lessons on the history of Hjalfadargin and was taught the mindset of Hjalfadargs being superior to other races. The mindset vanished once he settled on Berk, realising there were too many people in the world to consider yourself better and that his status was merely a status, not a reason to assert dominance or leadership. That his royal title was only to be used when there was a time or place for it.

He heard of Nirhong before through world history lessons but didn't know much about them other than the country was mostly covered in lush forests and had interesting creatures of their own. He saw illustrations of how they looked. Warmer skin, dark hair and eyes. Their eye and nose shapes were diverse, some resembling the noses of Hjalfadargs but most of them had a lower nose bridge and wider noses. Andor gathered that red and black were the country's colours, seeing the two colours on the outfits of the Nirhogans. A contrast to the deep blue and gold of Hjalfdargin.

A group of small Nirhogan children ran past the legs of Andor, one of them bumping into him and landing on his behind. Andor bent down and held out a hand, offering a smile to the child. The child looked at Andor's hand then trailed up his arm to see his blue eyes staring down at him. The child gasped and scurried backwards using his arms and legs before standing and running off to rejoin his friends.

Andor frowned at the child's frightened response and stood up, his back bumping into the side of another person who yelped as the sudden contact made her drop the items in her arms. He swished to see a Nirhogan girl who looked around his age and stood a foot shorter than him on the ground and cursed to herself in Nirhogan.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," Andor mumbled to her and went to help her up by holding her forearm which she quickly snatched away.

"Watch it," she hissed back, her eyes glaring at his apologetic ones. Andor rushed to pick up the fallen objects before she could and stood up, not bothering to offer his help again. The girl stood up and Andor pushed the belongings to her arms muttering another apology. She squinted at his stark, pale eyes and blonde strands that peeked out of his hood. What was a Hjalfadarg doing amongst Nirhogans?

"Uh, I just wanted to see the people," Andor weakly offered a response to the question she didn't realise she said aloud. The Nirhogan girl raised her fingertips to her mouth, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, you've seen us," she retorted. "You can leave now."

"What's your name?"

"Why?"

"I thought I should just introduce myself. Get to know you guys. Make you feel welcome?" Andor let out a single light laugh, scratching the back of his head.

"'We' guys don't need your welcome. Believe me, I've seen the looks you guys have been giving us. Definitely makes us feel oh-so-welcome." The girl moved around Andor, on her way to her new house before he called out again asking for a name once again.

"Doesn't matter!" She yelled back before her grandfather appeared before her.

"Seula! Help me move all of this into the house!" A younger boy who resembled the girl grabbed her arm and tugged her towards the house. Seula pursed her lips as she looked at her brother frustratedly.

Andor watched the girl trudge off away from him and hummed, "Seula…"

—

"Hello, Seula," Andor smiled at the unsuspecting girl who was hunched over, harvesting some corn for her family's dinner. Andor had visited the village again a couple days after his encounter with the girl.

"Jeez! Give a little notice," she spat back at him, almost dropping the basket of corn she rested against her hip.

"Sorry."

"It's no fair that you know my name and I don't know yours." To his surprise, Seula continued chatting to him. He was expecting her to brush him off again.

"Andy," he replied easily, as he'd grown accustomed to introducing himself with that nickname. When he returned to Hjalfadargin, he slipped up and introduced him as Andy to officials rather than the lengthy, "Prince Andor Lamont Ljungbergsen of Hjalfadargin."

"And what do you want from me, Andy?" Seula quirked a brow at him.

"The formation of a friendship?"

Seula shook her head and went back to twisting out the corn from the stalk. "You could form a friendship with literally anyone else and yet you chose me."

"You're the first person I bumped into. Literally. And plus, it's interesting you seem to think all Hjalfadargs hate you guys."

"You do."

It was hard for Seula not to notice the shooting daggers from the Hjalfadargs when she was simply walking in the village. Just that morning she heard an old woman hiss an offensive term at her. It didn't take much for Seula to fire one back at her, satisfied to see a shocked reaction from the woman. It was laughable for her to see the woman's eyebrows shoot up followed by an audible gasp claiming she was gonna report to the king. As if a merchant woman could even directly speak to the king, Seula thought.

"I don't. Maybe most of the others. But I don't." Andor said. Andor was well aware of the majority of the Hjalfadargs' opinion on the Nirhongs. His own sister would mumble to herself about how "they should go back to Nirhong and stop infesting our lands." Andor's tried countless times to convince her to stop her hateful comments and try to change her poisonous morals. But Gerda would tattle back with, "Stupid black swan." A reminder of that was the rest of the family saw Andor as. The outlier in this generation of the royal family. The so-called oddity after his great-grandfather, King Gunnar.

"Oh yeah?" Seula scoffed. "You can prove it to me by leaving me alone."

"C'mon," Andor sighed. "Let me show you Hjalfadargs aren't that nasty."

"No," she said firmly.

"I'll give you some gold?"

A couple seconds of silence floated between them.

"Okay."

"Promise you won't ignore me and just use me for gold?"

Seula let out a chuckle and looked at Andor's eyes. "Promise."

—

For the first month the two teenagers met up with each other twice a week, spending only a couple hours with one another before sundown. A few nights they spent hours talking to one another not realising the moon was hanging high in the sky. After that they met almost everyday, Andor bringing a gift from time to time. It was usually the food the royal chef cooked that night. A leftover slice of cherry pie or a corn fritter. After four months of being friends with Andor, Seula had tried almost all the desserts from the palace. Seula's favourite palace food so far was the almond cake, so Andor made sure to get her an extra piece more.

Andor told her about his short-lived life on Berk. How he basically became a viking and the types of people he encountered. He told her he'd bring her there one day. Andor had yet to reveal to her he was in fact the prince. He debated with himself almost every night before he drifted off to sleep on whether or not he should mention it. But as his indecisiveness held him back, he couldn't find the perfect time to casually bring it up. Seula understood Andor as the son of a nobleman. Because a prince would never spend so much time with the peasant girl, but the son of a nobleman could, she thought.

Andor had asked her many questions about Nirhong, about why Seula and her people had to escape, about the conflict happening within the country and few surrounding countries. Fleeing was the Nirhogans last resort but it secured them away from any more danger. Seula said there were probably Nirhogans all around the world now. It was a big country and not everyone could fit on Hjalfadargin. Andor wished for Nirhong to find peace as quickly as possible and Seula could only hope the same.

One hot summer afternoon, Andor was trudging through the forest with his hand in Seula's.

"Where are you taking me?" Seula questioned after walking for what seemed like miles to her and the beating rays of the sun peaking through the treetops didn't help. She was sweating to her dismay, something she never enjoyed. She wiped the back of her hand across her tanned forehead, brushing off beads of sweat, only for new ones to form in the matter of seconds.

Andor looked back at her and grinned. "It's a surprise."

"Oh, you're gonna kill me, aren't you?" Seula groaned. "This was a whole elaborate plan to finally kill me. You planned this when we met, didn't you?"

"No! Never…" Andor knew she was joking, but his response was serious.

Andor had stopped with Seula almost bumping into his back about to yell out a, "Hey!" before her eyes landed on the sight before them.

A massive tree with a thick trunk and hanging long leaves. Andor led her towards the tree, pushing back the curtain of leaves to a shaded area. Seula looked up to see twisted branches and squinted when she accidentally looked into the sun through the leaves.

Andor spoke, "This is one of my favourite places to be. I'm certain I'm the only one who knows about this place. I come here when I feel stressed or even just to nap."

"It's… amazing," Seula commented. "With the lake too." Adjacent to the tree was a lake with reeds growing from it. The sun hit the surface of the water beautifully and the lake looked like it was sparkling an unknown magic.

"It's a willow tree. Do you like it?" Andor looked at Seula's charmed face who was still looking at her surroundings.

Seula looked at Andor's hopeful face and smiled, squeezing his hand in hers.

"I love it."

He was glad.

"We should make this our meetup spot. Maybe?" Andor suggested. "Every afternoon before sundown. Do you know how tiring it is for me to walk all the way down to the village from where I live?" Andor frowned at Seula who only laughed in his face.

"I'm sorry, Mr. I'm-too-tired. But yes, I do agree. Deal."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

—

Through the rest of summer, autumn and even the cold winters, Andor and Seula met everyday. Every afternoon, a couple hours before sundown as they agreed on.

Andor and Seula found themselves inseparable. Even if Andor was surrounded by visiting royal families and his noble family friends, Andor found their presence the least bit entertaining and would impatiently wait for the afternoon to roll around so he could excuse himself to see Seula.

Seula would always be there first, sitting by the trunk of the tree looking up through the top of the willow, bathing in the filtered sun rays. All the snow on Hjalfadargin finally melted and spring was here. She recalled how it had already been a year since she crossed paths with Andy.

"Sorry!" Andor came jogging to the willow and collapsed to the ground next to Seula, his knee knocking into hers. "Sorry, I'm late. We had visitors. Again." Andor rolled his eyes with the last word.

"Who was it this time?"

"A family from a neighbouring country. They're trying to set me up with their daughter…"

"Oh." Seula's face dropped.

"I don't really like her much though," Andor reassured. "I'm not interested in someone like her."

"Then... who are you interested in?"

"Preferably someone who lives on Hjalfadargin too. Someone who's like a friend to me. She's strong and fearless. She doesn't take shit from people who look down on her. She cares for her family and is proud of where she came from. She's got pretty hair and eyes too… She's beautiful." He turned to Seula who looked ahead at the lake in front of them. His eyes softened as he took in the details of her face - the few freckles on her cheekbones, the gentle slope of her nose down to her ample, pursed slips.

The girls Seula could think of were the daughters of the noblemen. She didn't know if Andy knew many other girls, but she could only imagine how much more beautiful they were compared to her. A Hjalfadarg noble girl compared to a Nirhogan peasant girl. Seula wouldn't even compare. Seula poked her fingers through the holes on her long skirt, not looking at the boy next to her.

Seula stuck her tongue to her cheek and furrowed her brows, her shoulders tensing, "Do I know her? Or at least seen her around?"

"Yeah, you've definitely have. She's always walking around your village, talking to the people."

Seula scoffed, "I haven't seen one daughter of a nobleman anywhere near my village."

"I didn't say it was the daughter of a nobleman." Andor felt a small smile grow on his face, hoping she would finally catch on.

Seula finally looked at Andor, who she saw was already looking at her. Andor scooted towards her, his face coming close to hers and he looked into her eyes.

"Can I-"

Seula closed the space between them and pressed her lips against his. A hand moved to his shoulder and his hand moved to hold her cheek. Their bodies melded into each other as Seula adjusted herself by sitting on her legs so her head could be at the same height of Andor's head. They continued to kiss, their noses bumping into each other. Andor's heart pounded crazily against his chest as he fell deeper into Seula's hands. Seula was just the same, not realising she's been yearning for this moment to come and she was glad it happened.

"Your highness!"

Andor froze when he heard the voice of the newest maid, Linnea not far from behind him. Andor pulled back and whipped his head around to see a flustered Linnea, face red from jogging from castle to the willow.

"Oh, who's this?" Linnea peered over to Seula whose eyes shot up in confusion and surprise. "I've never seen you around before! Are you a friend of the prince? I mean, of course you are. You look to be more since you two were just… you know!" Linnea rambled, her hands fidgeting with the apron hanging on her waist.

"Linnea…" Andor warned, hinting for the maid to leave before she made it any more awkward than it already was.

Linnea read Andor's tight-lipped smile as her cue to leave, not before throwing in, "Of course! I was here to let you know that the King needs you. Sorry for interrupting, your highness!" Linnea laughed nervously before running off in the direction she arrived in.

Andor feared what he'd be met with if he turned back to Seula, so he remained stuck in his position, watching the maid retreat. He heard the rustling of grass behind him, finally causing him to swivel back around to see Seula standing before him with her fists balled, her knuckles turning white.

"You're not a lower-ranked nobleman's son, are you?" Seula snarled.

"... No."

"You're a prince. The prince. Prince Andor." It was the first time Andor heard his actual name from Seula's mouth. And it wasn't the way he wanted it to hear it.

"...Yeah."

Seula scoffed, turning her body away from him. She couldn't believe how clueless she was. Of course, the Hjalfadarg boy named Andy was in fact Prince Andor.

She was angry. Angry at him for not telling her. Angry he probably used her to get information about Nirhong out of her and he probably only saw her as a charity case. Angry she spent so much time with him. Angry at herself for falling for him.

She stormed off back to her village, not looking back at Andor.

"Wait! Seula!" Andor sprung to his feet, about to chase after her but figured it was only best to give her space. The only thing he could do right now trudge back to the castle was make Linnea swear to not tell anyone what she just saw.

—

A week has passed since Seula found out about Andor.

Andor found himself at the willow tree one afternoon, hoping to take a nap and try lift the heavy weight of guilt that has been sleeping on his shoulders for a day. He circled around the tree, about to plop down to the space facing the lake when he found Seula there, her knees close to her chest and her eyes boring into the lake.

He gulped and quickly shot his eyes away from her figure a millisecond before Seula looked at him.

"I'm surprised you're here." Andor mumbled. "I thought I wouldn't see you again."

Seula looked at Andor's profile, her eyes lingering on him before she looked back at the lake. She uttered, "I promised…"

Andor released a breath he didn't realise he had been holding in as he sat down next to her. Not as close as yesterday, but close enough to hear Seula's steady breathing as she tried to collect her thoughts.

Andor took a deep breath in and gulped before sputtering out, "Listen, I really wanted to tell you. Believe me. But, I didn't know how you'd take it!"

"Well, you saw a week ago," Seula said dryly.

"I'm sorry. I swear I wasn't doing this for fun. I truly did want to learn more about Nirhong. Then days turned into weeks into months and I didn't want to ruin our friendship. Please forgive me, Seula. I still want to be-"

Seula shut Andor up as she leaned it to kiss him. Andor didn't take a second to think and kissed back and held her hand as he tilted his head to fall deeper into the kiss. Seula pulled back and held Andor's other hand with her free one.

"I forgive you. Andy. You may not have shown me Hjalfadargs are fully accepting of us. But you've definitely shown me you care. That you care for me. And I know how scandalous it would've been if people knew a prince was… fraternising with a peasant."

Andor kissed her again and Seula immediately responded back. This time, the kiss was longer and more intense. Andor snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her to his lap, Seula's hands making their way to cup his face.

Seula pulled back again to speak. "Can I even be doing this with someone like you?"

"It doesn't matter who or what I am," Andor reassured her and pushed her hair behind her ear. This is what I want and I don't care if they find out."

"That's a lie."

"That's true. I'm scared shitless. But I promise, I won't let them hurt you."

"You promise?" Seula reached for Andor's head near her ear.

Andor squeezed her hand tight and smiled.

"I promise."

—

"...And that's pretty much how they got together!" Eulianna said.

"And they had you."

"Wasn't that easy though. My mother had gone through so much trying to be accepted but she and dad pushed through. After the country found out dad was seeing my mum, there were mixed responses. How could a prince fall in love with a peasant? Especially a Nirhongan peasant. Most Hjalfadargs had these deep-rooted prejudiced views against Nirhongans and now their beloved prince was gonna marry one. Apparently they even thought maybe my mum put dad under a spell or cursed him with Nirhongan magic."

"Nirhong has magic?" Hiccup quirked a brow.

"Yeah, that's what I want to know too. But yeah, my parents dated secretly for a year, then my dad revealed it to his parents and they got married when they were twenty one. Had me when they were twenty four."

"Do you think you'll get married by the time you're twenty one?" Hiccup asked, earning a surprised look from Eulianna.

"Maybe… At this rate, I don't think I'll wed at all."

"Why not? Any guy would be glad to marry you." Eulianna's heart skipped a beat as she tried to hide her blush and Hiccup realised how his message came across but didn't say anything. "I mean! You're a princess."

"I've rejected six- well now, basically seven princes."

"Were they all that bad?"

"Pretty much, yeah. The fourth prince was the worst. Told me I'd look prettier with lighter skin and suggested for me to stay indoors, away from the sun."

"That's a bit…"

"I know right? Then I called him out for it and he went off at me with slurs and I slapped him across the face. Now Hjalfadargin is no longer allied with that kingdom," Eulianna laughed at the past memory and how ridiculous it was now that she looked back on it. "He was horrendous. Ilda and I actually nicknamed him 'Prince Horrendous McAwful'."

"Hah… horrendous," Hiccup let out a single light laugh as he muttered the word.

"You say that as if you know someone named horrendous," Eulianna turned to Hiccup.

"Oh no. It's not that. It's just…" Hiccup turned on his side to face Eulianna and stuck out his hand to her. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock."

"Oh my gods," Eulianna's face twisted into an expression which was a combination of disgust and confusion.

"The third."

"Oh my gods! You're a third!" Eulianna chortled, placing a hand on her belly. "Well, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third." Eulianna placed her hand in his. "Princess Eulianna Ursuline Ljungbergsen of Hjalfadargin… the first." She grinned as she shook his hand, flailing it around.

"My pleasure, your highness," the boy responded mockingly.

"Eugh, I'm so glad you don't actually call me that," Eulianna let go of his hand. "You know that was the first time we actually introduced ourselves to each other?"

Hiccup thought for a moment before nodding, realising he found out her name because Gobber announced it to the whole village and he was pretty sure she found out his name through mouth of word. Though, he's never heard her say his name much, given that she's nicknamed him "Freckles."

"Hey. Since you call me 'Freckles' and not by my name, I think it's only fair I give you a nickname," Hiccup mentioned.

Eulianna narrowed her eyes at him. "What've you got?"

"Calling you princess or your highness all the time is a bit much and not original at all," he wondered aloud.

"Ilda calls me Euli."

"Then, how about Eules?" Hiccup suggested. "One syllable and just simple."

"Sounds like Yuletide, but I'm not against it." Eulianna shrugged. She didn't know it, but she was delighted he gave her a personal nickname.

Hiccup responded, words dripping with sarcasm, "Yes, cause you're just as joyous as Yuletide."

"You know it," she winked at him. "Oh my gods, let me tell you about the fifth prince," she suddenly remembered the second worst prince she's met.

Toothless who laid still under them awoke from his nap when he heard the two human teenagers laugh, but didn't dare to move and was satisfied hearing the two of them talk until night fell.