Xxxxx
"Just who do you think you are, exactly?"
Hiccup nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to find a young woman had snuck up behind him as he explored the castle. "E-excuse me?"
She was shorter than him or Astrid, but that didn't mean the angry scowl wasn't intimidating. She all but snarled at him, red hair braided into two long braids and her blue eyes aflame in rage. "You think you can come strolling in here and demand my sister marry you?! She has a country to run, you understand that right?"
Oh. Oh no. Elsa had a sister. He hadn't known that. Did he? Maybe it was somewhere, Valka might have told him such at one point. She had very similar freckles. And her eyes were the same shade of bright blue.
"You've got things all wrong, miss." Hiccup said, relieved when her snarling lowered into a glare. "Uh, you're….Princess Anna, right? Elsa's sister?"
She nodded. "I am. And you're Hiccup the horrible?"
He managed to laugh. "Hiccup Haddock, but just Hiccup is fine. Please, you have to understand, my father has raised me on this treaty. I was told I had until the age of sixteen to find someone, and then if it didn't work out...well, I had to marry her. Your parents were supposed to do the same."
Anna calmed down at that, frowning but no longer so angry. "Oh...but, but you can find someone then! I can help, we can find you a girl here in Arendelle."
Hiccup shook his head. "You don't understand how my father works. Or the treaty. It specifically said sixteen. We even waited a few more years because I was trying so hard to find someone. I thought my best friend, Astrid, was my one, but..."
"But Elsa can't just be taken away from us." Anna pleaded softly. "Can't you stay here? Rule Arendelle as King?"
"I have a duty to my people to rule Berk and keep them safe. We're too far away." Hiccup explained compassionately. He felt guilty when she deflated. "Forgive me, Miss Anna. I know this must be hard, but we would never hurt her."
"But...she's all I have left, Hiccup." Anna said. "I only just got her back."
"She'll love Berk." Hiccup tried to cheer her up and then he pointed to his shoulder pads. "Do you see this? Do you know what it is?"
Anna wiped away a few stray tears stealthily as she could before peering at his shoulder. It was black metal with a red marking of some kind. The same insignia from their ships. She shook her head, not recognizing what it was meant to be. A lizard perhaps?
Hiccup brightened up. "Have you heard the tales of dragons, Miss Anna?"
"Of course. They say a dragon melted the mountains and made the fjord." Anna replied easily. "And just Anna is fine, please."
Hiccup nodded and reached into his pockets. He pulled out his parchment and his book of dragons. He quickly showed her, opening the book up to a picture of the Red Death. "I'm what my people call, a dragon rider."
"...excuse me?"
He flipped the pages and found Astrid's Stormfly, the Deadly Nadder. "In Berk, we train the dragons that fly from the edges of the world. We have this pact with them, where they come and find food, shelter, help with their wounded and children, and in return they help us protect and build Berk."
Anna was taken aback, staring at the drawings Hiccup showed her. He allowed her to take the book and flip through it herself. She found hundreds of dragons. Maybe more. Each were beautiful but horrible in their own ways. She was entranced, amazed, to learn the dragons of the old faerie tales were real.
"That's amazing." She admitted softly.
Hiccup nodded. "I want to get to know her and surprise her with one. I helped pick everyone in Berk's dragons. I pride myself on knowing the perfect partners, Anna. I'm not trying to come in here and steal your sister. We would love her like-"
"We?" Anna asked.
Hiccup froze. He slipped up. "Uh...we, we as in...m-my people. And I."
Anna narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't appreciate being lied to, Hiccup Haddock."
"No, you see..." Hiccup felt himself getting tongue tied, silently panicking. "Dammit. No, I can't...tell you. Not yet."
"You want me to trust in you, believe you won't take advantage of my sister, but then you keep obvious secrets." Anna hummed, gathering herself and handing back his book. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Haddock, but trust me when I say my sister will never return to Berk with you. I will make very sure of that."
And with that, she stormed off. Hiccup watched her go, silently cursing himself. He just had to slip up. He sighed and went back to exploring the castle. His father and Astrid were in the Throne Room still, talking with some of the queen's adviser's. He had been given a room here in the castle and had since started exploring.
"Mr. Haddock." A servant found him some time after Anna had left. She bowed. "Please, Queen Elsa is looking for you, requesting you have tea with her. Follow me."
Tea? Odd. Tea was very foreign and not something Berk ever imported. They stuck to mead and beer themselves. But he didn't want to seem rude, so he followed after her obediently. They went up several flights of stairs, Hiccup struggling slightly against their clean, slippery surface. They stopped at a dark oak door, which the servant opened and allowed him in.
"Hiccup Haddock. I'm glad you could meet with me." Elsa greeted him cordially. She was sitting at a small table, glass and crystal, with a teakettle and several small cups. It was very elegant, far more than he'd experienced before. "I heard you met my sister."
"You….you did?" He asked, sitting down across from the queen.
"She told me. My sister tells me everything." He tensed. "Of course I knew she was lying, I'm her big sister after all. But I won't pry. It's none of my business what Anna said to you."
He relaxed, almost sighing in relief. "I see...I, I do want to apologize, your highness. If I had known you had no idea about the treaty, I would have put up more of a fight."
She nodded, pouring him tea before offering it. He took it politely. "So you were against this as well."
He flinched slightly. "I don't want some piece of paper dictating who I marry. But I still have a duty to my people. And one of those duties is carrying on my family name."
"So you want a breeder." She said somewhat coldly.
"What? No!"
"Then what do you want, Hiccup? Because my entire life is being stripped away because your fancy for someone wasn't quite enough." Elsa argued as the room around them suddenly got colder.
"I just want this to go over smoothly so no one gets hurt." Hiccup answered honestly.
She stared at him, eyeing him before she poured herself a cup of tea. "No one gets hurt you say yet my feelings are the ones being ignored."
"Because I know you'll love Berk! Everyone who visits us does." He said.
Elsa ignored that. Hiccup sighed and took a sip of his tea. It wasn't his thing, but he wasn't disgusted with it either. He added several sugars before trying again, finding it better. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking to themselves.
"Do you know the tale of the Eastern Wind?" She asked softly.
He nodded. "My father told it to me a lot. Was my mother's favorite."
She nodded back. "My mother told me it, and afterwards I had nightmares of a huge, white bear taking me and Anna in the night. He'd eat one of us, then marry the other. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to check on her several times."
"Very brave of you. I don't think I could creep through a dark room after a nightmare like that." Hiccup offered.
She gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You're that bear, Hiccup. Only you're here to take me away, not Anna."
"But the story goes, they fall in love and she comes to his rescue." Hiccup reminded her. He then paused, thinking. "What if….what if we married here? In Arendelle?"
She paused, confused. "What? Why?"
"You'd be surrounded by the people you love. People who love you. Your sister. My family is already here, we can arrange it before we leave for Berk." Hiccup hesitated before he reached out and took Elsa's hand. "I want this to be as painless for you as possible, your highness. I know Berk isn't Arendelle, and I know you've giving up an enormous amount here. But I'll be the best husband I can be for you."
"War frightens you that much?" She asked. She didn't pull away from him.
"My people don't want war. Not with a kingdom as big as yours. But don't for one second think my father wouldn't burn it down. We're Vikings." He gave her a humorless smile. "It's what we do."
"...Give me time to know you first at least." She all but begged him.
He nodded. "Yeah, of course! Uh, let's just...talk then. I want to know more about you as well."
Elsa smiled at that. Hiccup was attractive. He was charming. He had charisma and yet was somewhat awkward around her. She could see herself having a decent life with him. And perhaps one day, she'd come home…
"Ask her what flowers she likes."
Elsa frowned, hearing a whisper. But when she looked around, there was nothing there. Nothing there except Hiccup, who had all but jolted in his chair and was now looking out the window.
"Hiccup? Is everything alright?" She asked.
"Yeah! Yeah, sorry. Just a chill."
She winced. Likely her from her nerves. She tried to take a deep breath and sipped her tea. "Well, we're here now. Let's talk then."
"What, what kind of...flowers do you like?" He asked her, flushing in embarrassment.
She blinked. Hadn't...she heard that? No, she had just heard things. "Water lilies. We rarely get them here, it's too cold."
Hiccup smiled. "Same with Berk. If it's not cold or rain, we can enjoy the five minutes of sunlight."
Elsa laughed at that. "Weather doesn't bother me. There's something calming about the sound of rain."
"What food do you like? I'll make sure we import anything you want." He offered cheerfully.
Elsa looked surprised by that but managed a smile. "How kind of you, but I prefer fish. We live on the sea, after all."
"Excellent, Berk has more fish than-" He paused, wondering if she'd believe him. "Than pets."
"I've never had a pet..." She mused to them both. She shrugged. "Perhaps we could get something."
"Oh don't worry. I've got a few ideas." Hiccup reached into his pocket and handed her his book. "I showed this to Anna earlier."
Elsa took it warily. She then began flipping through, eyes wide. "Dragons?"
"We help raise them." He explained before moving closer to her. "See, Astrid, my ex-girlfriend, she rides this one. And my cousin Snotloud, has this."
The queen paused on Toothless. Hiccup smiled. He missed his best friend. "You...care for dragons on Berk?"
"And they help us in return." He added.
She turned the page again. "This is amazing, Hiccup, but..."
"I know. It's not like this will replace everything." He took her hand again. "But isn't something to look forward to worth it?"
She stared at him. "You want to give me a dragon?"
"Everyone in Berk has one, it makes you part of the clan." Hiccup shrugged it off easily. "I have a few ideas about who would fit you. Toothless will love you, and I really hope you like him. We're kind of a team."
Elsa smiled, seeing the way Hiccup perked up talking about something he was passionate about. "Toothless?"
"He's a Night Fury." He showed her which page it was, giving her a moment to read Toothless' stats. "Very rare, especially now. But really he's a big baby."
"He's beautiful." She whispered in awe.
"Wait till you ride him."
Hiccup finished his tea as Elsa kept flipping through the pages of his book. She paused now and then, reading something about a certain dragon. She paused on the rare Light Fury, noticing the small differences between it and the night version. A cousin species perhaps.
"Why not bring him?" She asked curiously.
"We wanted to come peacefully as possible. Having a flock of dragons heading here doesn't look very friendly." He said.
"That...would have caused panic, yes." She admitted.
Hiccup nodded. "I really wanted to bring Toothless, he gets anxious when we're separated."
Elsa hummed and nodded. She then motioned to his leg. "If I may, what happened?"
Hiccup grinned at that. "Well, this big girl happened..."
He opened the book to a specific page. Elsa frowned, not seeing what was so special about this dragon when she noticed the small human next to it for scale. She gaped, amazed and alarmed at seeing a dragon so huge.
"She nearly got me. But Toothless, he saved me then. Well...most of me." He explained heartily, looking proud. "That was the day we Vikings stopped hunting dragons, and instead we learned to live together. That's why I think you'll love Berk. There's nothing quite like it elsewhere, your highness."
Elsa nodded slowly, thinking to herself. But something caught her eye. She turned away, seeing a young man sitting on the window sill. His hair was a snow white, and his skin was paler than hers. She didn't recognize him, and wondered if perhaps he was from Berk as well. Hiccup's guard, maybe?
The young man heard the silence and turned to towards them. He carried a large, crooked stick and wore no shoes. Elsa wondered why this strange man had snuck in here and how much he'd eavesdropped.
"Ask her what her favorite dragon was." He said at Hiccup.
Hiccup didn't react, though he did roll his eyes. Elsa frowned. How had he gotten by Kai and Ira? Who was this young man?
"Your highness, if you don't mind..." Hiccup pointed towards the book. "Which one is your favorite so far?"
He had heard the man. Elsa wanted to ask what kind of game they were playing but when she looked back at the window, the young man was gone.
"What?"
"I said, which one is your favorite." Hiccup repeated. "It's fine if you don't have one."
"Oh, right..." She flipped through a few pages but landed back on the so called Light Fury. "Can you tell me more about this one? How does it differ to the Night Fury?"
"They aren't as rare as Toothless, but still rare. Mostly because they can camouflage into its surroundings. We've busted a few dragon traders that were selling them."
Elsa frowned at that. "Dragon traders? That's awful."
He nodded. "But that's the one you like, huh? She fits you."
The queen flushed at that. "Oh? How so?"
"Well, the few we've come across are all shy." Hiccup explained. "Definitely like you. Regal and beautiful, like you. And they're all hard to tame or control."
Elsa's face turned pink. "I see."
"Do you have any wedding traditions you want?" He asked next.
She paused at that. "No, not really. But I do want my sister there. She's all I have left."
Hiccup smiled at her reassuringly. "Of course. If I had to, I'd come and get her myself for you."
Elsa stared at him. "You're a kind young man, Hiccup Haddock. I appreciate you trying to ease my fears."
She went to pour more tea, but grabbed a different kettle. This one had a strong smell that Hiccup recognized instantly. Mead. Strong, steaming mead from the smell of it. "Are we celebrating?"
"To our future marriage." She teased, pouring him some.
"To your future partner." He toasted as well as she poured herself a glass.
"To my new pet dragon." She echoed back at him, sipping her mead.
Hiccup watched her before doing the same. He then glanced around the room, looking for a certain someone hiding from view. He didn't find him, and hoped he'd imagined it. Maybe he just missed the man so much, he was pretending to have him here.
But the most likely answer was, Jack had likely followed them.
"You're cradling it like a pup, Hiccup." Elsa teased him. She motioned for him to drink more. "Drink it before it gets cold."
"I like cold mead." He argued back playfully.
Elsa raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged, sipping more of the mead. It was certainly higher class than the homemade mead he'd had. He whirled around when he thought he heard something, but nothing was there.
"Are you okay, Hiccup?" She asked him.
"Oh, fine! Fine, I just thought I heard my dad."
She made a noise, seemingly not fond of the man that came to take her away. Hiccup cleared his throat, wanting to stop the awkwardness that followed. "Uh, so you like water lilies and light furies. Anything else I should know?"
"...I never get cold." She admitted softly.
Hiccup made a face. "You say that like it's a bad thing! That's great where we're going."
"What's her favorite color?"
Elsa heard that one. She looked around, finding the same white haired man from before now standing next to the door. He was leaning against his stick, staring at the back of Hiccup's head. They made eye contact but he didn't react.
She did.
"Who is that?"
Hiccup frowned, following her gaze. He was not surprised to see Jack Frost. But he pretended not to, turning back to Elsa. "What?"
"That man. With the white hair." Elsa said.
This time, it was the man himself that responded. "...Can she see me?"
"Of course I can see you! I can hear as well." the queen replied hotly, eyeing the two men. "Just what is going on here? I didn't ask for your friend to be in here with us."
Hiccup stared at her, alarmed and confused. But the other man's eyes widened as a grin spread across his face. "She...she can! She can see me, Hiccup!"
"No one can see Jack..." Hiccup whispered, frowning in thought.
"Why not? Is it some kind of spell?" Elsa asked. She jumped when Jack suddenly leaped over next to her, taking a seat between the two.
"Can you really see me? What's the color of my eyes?" He asked her excitedly before closing his them.
"Blue." Elsa answered easily.
He gasped in shock, grabbing Hiccup's arm. "She sees me. She hears me. Hiccup, this is amazing."
"You've heard of Jack Frost?" Hiccup asked.
Elsa paused. "Of course. My mother always warned Anna and I about Jack Frost. He's a trickster, and he likes blowing blizzards..."
She trailed off in realization. She then blinked and stared at the white haired man again, this time closer. His eyes were icy blue, colder than hers, and his skin far more paler. He looked unnatural, alien, to her. But for Hiccup to insinuate that the Jack Frost was sitting here with them…
"Jack Frost?" She whispered.
He nodded, smiling wider. "I am! And you can see me! This makes everything so much easier!"
"Jack." Hiccup cut in, giving him a look. Jack looked sheepish. "Elsa, you can't tell anyone else about Jack, okay?"
Elsa stared between the two of them. "Excuse me?"
"Most people can't see him. Last time I tried, people thought I was crazy. I thought my dad was going to put me in some kind of hospital." Hiccup explained softly, looking around like someone was spying on them.
That seemed ridiculous. Perhaps Jack had snuck in. But why lie about who this man was? Before she could decide, there was a knock on the door and Kai stuck his head in.
"Your highness, the, uh, Vikings are preparing to head back to their ship. Shall you see them off?"
"I suppose we should, it'd be only polite." She mused. "What do you two think?"
Hiccup shot her a look but Jack just grinned. Kai looked confused, glancing at Hiccup and...and her. No one else. It seemed Hiccup had told her the truth. She was sitting next to Jack Frost, the spirit and embodiment of winter.
"Please give us a moment and we'll be right down." She said instead.
Kai bowed and left. Giving him a moment to leave, Elsa turned back to the two men in front of her. Hiccup swallowed the rest of his mead before offering it to Jack, who declined it. Elsa nearly chugged hers, finding herself almost desperate to get her mind off things.
"So, you train dragons, keep in contact with Jack Frost...what else should I know about?" She asked.
Hiccup laughed nervously. "W-well, it's...it's a little bit more than being in contact."
"We're courting." Jack quipped up eagerly.
Elsa froze. Her teacup clattered to the tabletop, making Jack wince. "….what?"
"Jack!" Hiccup yelled at him, face red. "I told you, you can't just DO that!"
"Sorry! I can't help it, I want everyone to know!" Jack said. He looked reasonably sheepish but didn't seem genuine. "It's not my fault humans these days limit who they're allowed to love, it wasn't like that a couple hundred years ago."
Elsa stared at the two of them. "What...Hiccup, were you hiding this on purpose?"
The room's temperature lowered dramatically. Jack looked around curiously but Hiccup met her eyes. "No. I just wanted you to get to know me before I added that...well, added Jack into it."
"You claimed you needed to find someone to marry and yet you have someone." She pointed out. "So why come here?"
Hiccup sighed, glancing at Jack nervously. The white haired man smiled back reassuringly. "Because...no one sees him. No one but me. And now, you."
Oh. Elsa frowned at that, thinking. She couldn't imagine loving someone, only for no one to see them, hear them, ever know that they existed. But the realization of what exactly Hiccup was asking of her was setting in; she wasn't marrying just one man. It was overwhelming. She was being forced to marry a Viking, and the embodiment of winter.
It seemed like a cruel joke on her.
"Elsa?" Jack met her eyes and smiled. For some reason, it made her feel better. "I know Hiccup and I are asking a lot of you."
"You are...but I understand that it's not just you asking me this. It's more than the two of us." She said.
"We should see my father off..." Hiccup reminded them, standing up.
Elsa nodded, standing up when Hiccup offered her his elbow. She hesitated; she still wasn't overly fond of touching other people. But it was something she would have to get over, being betrothed. Swallowing, she forced herself to link their arms.
"Deep breaths." Jack told her softly. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, just...just a lot to take in." She lied.
Jack seemed to fight with himself over what to say, so instead said nothing. Elsa appreciated it. She was still coming to terms with all of this. Marrying a Viking was one thing. She'd read horrible stories about the Vikings as they raided and pillaged. While Hiccup seemed far kinder than she'd ever imagine for a Viking, she didn't get the same feeling from the rest of his people.
Especially his father.
"Ah, son!" Stoick greeted them, visibly brightening up at seeing the two of them walking together. "Your Highness, thank you for your hospitality. And, I cannot understate how much I appreciate you allowing my son to stay here until we embark."
Elsa nodded. "Of course..."
"Great." Stoick gave a bow and herded his men out the door of the castle.
"...he, he grows on you." Hiccup offered weakly.
"No offense to you, Hiccup, but the chance of me liking the man who forged a treaty demanding my future enslavement is very unlikely."
"But your parents did it too." Jack pointed out, looking more curious than offended.
Elsa glanced at him. "They ruined my life in equally horrible ways already."
He winced and kept quiet. Before she could add anything or explain herself, the door opened behind them.
"Elsa!" Anna greeted, pausing when she saw Hiccup. "Mr. Haddock. I'm going into town to grab some things, do you wanna come with me?"
As she walked forward, she walked through Jack. Elsa gasped, flinching at the sight. But Jack just looked annoyed, and Anna seemed to not notice anything wrong, just seeming concerned over her older sister. "Elsa?"
"W-well, uh..." Elsa stuttered, thinking. "I have to show Hiccup around first. Maybe we could later?"
Anna perked up. "Aw, that's fine!"
"Maybe the three of us could go." Hiccup offered. "I'd love to see your town, and maybe I could learn more about your culture here. It's...less chaotic here."
Anna shot him a look but Elsa perked up. "I would love to show you around, Hiccup. Anna knows the best shops when you having a craving for something."
Her sister huffed but seemed to get over it quickly. "Oh, we can get Oaken's sandwiches then!"
"Anna, you had one yesterday." Elsa teased her gently.
Hiccup smiled, watching the two of them and sharing a glance with Jack. Elsa was completely different around her little sister. It was a new side to her, one that was far more comfortable and open. He hoped one day she'd feel like that around them.
"Shall we then?" Elsa offered Hiccup, still smiling.
Hiccup paused, his heart skipping a beat at the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled. She had made him stare yesterday, but standing next to her like this, seeing the way her eyes crinkled when smiling or how she always cupped her mouth when she laughed…
Behind her, Jack gave him a knowing look.
"Yeah, lead the way." He replied.
Xxxxx
