A/N: Here's a new chapter which I think is pretty intense. Let me hear your suggestions and ideas for this fic, share them with me and see if it comes into this and I'll shout out to you guys in the next chapter. Enjoy!
Despite the amount of people with some familiar faces among them, Hiccup didn't feel panic or afraid like on Berk. Most of them were present under his announcement as prince of the small kingdom while others have heard of his intelligence and bravery but not the full story. Hiccup looked at his girlfriend by his side, who nodded with a smile. They both had to get used to being around this amount of people for now at least.
"Princess Anna of Arendelle." Kai announced the final member of their little family. Anna rushed to the front but didn't stand by her sister and brother figure, waving slightly at the guests. That was until Kai ushers Anna to stand with the other two, next to Elsa.
"Here? Are you sure?" Anna asked quickly as Kai picked her up slightly and placed her next to the queen as the guests clapped for them. The sister sneaked awkward glances at each other.
"...Hi." Elsa greeted her sister with a gently smile.
"Hi me…? Oh. Um. Hi?" Anna replied a little surprised that Elsa was talking to her directly, especially when they haven't talked to each other in weeks because of the preparations to become queen and Hiccup's absence under his longest trip to the archipelago.
"You look beautiful." Elsa complemented Anna, Hiccup smiling at the small interaction between them.
"Thank you. You look beautifuller. I mean, not fuller. You don't look fuller, but more beautiful." Anna rambled quickly, not wanting to insult her sister in front of her boyfriend. Hiccup chuckled slightly.
"I know for a fact that 'beautifuller' isn't a word in any dictionary." Hiccup pointed out, causing the sisters giggle. "To me, you both look amazing tonight."
"Thank you." Elsa thanked them both.
"Yeah. Thank you. You looking pretty handsome yourself, Prince Hiccup." Anna replied as she bowed slightly in respect.
"Well, thank you as well." Hiccup thanked her as he bowed himself. "I wanted my suit to resemble that of your father's but with my own touch to it." He mentioned the sash with the brooch. "I owe him a great debt, it just seemed fair to wear something like his to remember him by." Elsa and Anna looked grateful at the former Viking for doing something that meant a great deal to all of them before the trio looked back at the party.
"So, this is what a party looks like?" Elsa sighed smiling.
"It's warmer than I thought." Anna pointed out.
"And what's that amazing smell?" Hiccup asked as all three of them closed their eyes and took in the smell.
"Mmm… Chocolate." All three of them said at the same time with smiles on their faces and started laughing gently. Living with the royal family since childhood, Hiccup developed an incredible thirst for chocolate thanks to the sisters and their mother, but not to an obsession like the girls. Before Anna could say anymore to her older siblings, Kai came in front of them with a slender but short old man.
"Your Majesty. The Duke of Weaseltown." Kai introduced them.
"Weaselton! The Duke of Weaselton." The Duke strictly corrected Kai before turning his attention to Elsa again. "Your Majesty, as your closest partner in trade, it seems only fitting that I offer you your first dance as queen." The Duke does a funny flitter of his feet, a hitch-kick, and a deep bow. "One, two, three. Jump." He whispers to himself as he holds out his hand, head down, his toupee dips forward. Anna giggled. Elsa looked at Anna and stifles a giggle herself together with Hiccup, who had to turn his head away slightly to hide the fact he was about to laugh.
"Thank you. Only I don't dance." Elsa replied calmly.
"Oh...?" The Duke said slightly offended.
"But my sister does." Elsa motioned to Anna now, who stared at her quickly in shock.
"What?" Anna began.
"Lucky you..." The Duke grinned happily.
"Oh, I don't think–..." The Duke grabbed Anna's arm and yanks her away before she can protest.
"If you swoon, let me know, I'll catch you!" The Duke states as Anna looked back at Elsa and Hiccup, desperately.
"Sorry..." Elsa give a small smile and wave with Hiccup trying not to laugh. She wasn't dancing if she could avoid it. On the dance floor the Duke showboats, but he's just awful. Anna tried to make the best of it.
"Like an agile peacock... CLUCK-CLUGGLE-CLUCK!" The Duke lands on his feet.
"Ow. Ow." Anna recovered quickly and continued to move to the beat of the music being played.
"Speaking of, so great to have the gates open. Why did they shut them in the first place? Do you know the reason? Hmm?" He gets in her face, suspicious.
"...No..." Anna replies, it was the truth. She really did but she wanted to know why if she could just get back to Elsa and ask.
"Oh, all right. Hang on. They don't call me the little dipper for nothing. He dips Anna back. The royal couple peeks through the crowd, can barely hold in their laughter. Anna shot Elsa and Hiccup funny, help-me look. "Like a chicken...with the face of a monkey...I fly!" The Duke dances around like a complete idiot. Finally several moment laters, Anna limped back to her siblings. "Let me know when you're ready for another round, M'Lady."
"Well, he was sprightly." Hiccup said to Anna with a giggle now.
"Especially for a man in heels." Anna said rubbing her sore feet now. "He's even worse than you, and you have a metal peg leg."
"Are you okay?" Elsa asked curiously.
Loving Elsa's attention, she answers with, "I've never been better. This is so nice. I wish it could be like this all the time..." Anna looked hopeful to Elsa now.
"Me too..." Elsa said sincerely but then she catches herself. She stiffens up, and looked away. "But it can't."
"Why not? If–..." Anna began but Elsa turned completely closing her eyes with her hands up.
"It just can't!" Elsa said firmly as Hiccup took her close to him for comfort.
Anna's smile drops. She tried not to get emotional, "Excuse me for a minute..." She walked away. Elsa and Hiccup watched her go, saddened. Moving through the crowd, Anna gets bumped by a bowing man's butt. She falls but just before she hits the floor, Hans catches her and he smiles perfectly.
"Glad I caught you." Hans says in a calm tone.
"Hans." Anna breathes out relieved. He smoothly sets his drink down on a passing tray. He lifts her up and leads her in a romantic dance.
Meanwhile, Hiccup was sad at the exchange. He wanted them to have a great night while it lasted but with Anna now desperately wanting the gates to be opened forever when her sister wasn't ready was heartbreaking for the Dragon Prince to watch. He truly wanted them to fix their strained relationship but Elsa's trauma and fear makes it difficult.
"You alright?" Hiccup asked gently. Elsa sighed sadly before they broke from their embrace.
"I wish I had your confidence, Hiccup." The snow queen replied. "Even though you had such a horrible childhood, you still manage to make use of your hidden talents and overcome that past. While I…"
"I've learned many things these last couple of years and with that in mind, I was able to convince many people and made them see things in a different light." Hiccup explained. "You've just haven't found something like that yet. Just trust yourself more."
"Excuse me, Your Majesties." Kai interrupted the two. "But there's people who like to speak with you, my prince."
Standing behind Kai was three different clothed people compared to everyone else in the ballroom. Two women and one man, all was easily recognized by Hiccup.
"Brother!" The man exclaimed in happiness and Elsa looked at her boyfriend confused, who just shrugged before walking down the small steps.
"Dagur, Heather, Mala. I'm glad you could make it." Hiccup greater as he hugged the red haired man before hugging the black haired woman dressed with what looks like silver dragon scales on her clothes. "I hope there wasn't any trouble getting here."
"Sleuther and Windshear are with Toothless outside and resting." The black haired woman explained.
"I'm impressed how well your guards tend to the dragons." The short haired blonde woman replied with pride. "You must have taught them well to handle dragons to that extend."
"I had to. Especially when they came with me to free the dragons from the Red Death, there's a lot of reasons why I teach soldiers and scouts to defend themselves from wild dragons without harming them." Hiccup stated with a smile. "Elsa, meet a few allies I made during my travels. This is Dagur, Chief of the Berserker Tribe, and his sister Heather." The red haired man and black haired woman bowed slightly as they were introduced to the queen. "And this is Mala, Queen of Defenders of The Wing Tribe."
"It is an honor to meet you, Queen Mala." Elsa greeted politely.
"The honor is mine, Queen Elsa." Mala replied. "Your beloved have done miracles and great deeds for all of us and the dragons."
"That I know quite well." Elsa pointed out, getting to the dragon rider's side and wrapped her arms around his. "He ruled over Arendelle until today, we and the people are grateful over what he has done despite not having the same blood as me and my sister."
"That's expected from the former son of a chief!" Dagur proclaimed as he swung an arm around Hiccup's shoulders. "We're natural born leaders. It's in our blood!"
"Can we please not talk about my past life on Berk?" Hiccup asked uncomfortable about the subject. "I just want nothing to do with them. Especially when it comes from the person who used me as a throwing knives target for years."
"Yeah. Sorry, 'bout that." Dagur apologized quickly, noticing the glare from the queen. "But I've been reformed thanks to you, brother."
"However, we didn't just come here for Queen Elsa's coronation." Heather pointed out as Dagur walked back to Mala's side.
"We have a very important announcement, Prince Hiccup." Mala began to tell them.
"I recently finished the Defenders of the Wing King Trials." Dagur explained with pride. "Nailed it!"
"We're getting married." Mala finished much to Hiccup's surprise.
"Yes, we are. I'm over the moon." The chief replied as the two shared a small kiss.
"Wow, t-that's amazing you two." The Arendelian prince replied after breaking from his slight daze, not seeing it coming.
"Congratulations to your engagement." Elsa congratulating the couple.
"D-Did you know this would happen, Heather?" Hiccup stammered to the Berserker woman.
"I was as surprised as you was when he took up on doing the trials, they've known each other for a year and already getting married." Heather pointed out in slight disbelief. "But it happened and Dagur even wanted to ask you to be his best man."
"I'll be very happy if you would accept it, I'll be the happiest man in the world!" Dagur asked and Hiccup just smiled. Back when they were kids, he and the Berserker Chief didn't get along very well but now that Hiccup showed him that dragons weren't just furious monsters but amazing, loyal creatures, he and Dagur had a much better relationship that they considered each other brothers.
"Of course, I wouldn't turn down an invitation like that even if I wanted to." Hiccup pointed out gratefully. "What about you, Elsa? Want to join me at their wedding?"
"Maybe, depending on the date." Elsa answered unsure.
As they continued to talk about their many adventures and the dragons, as well Hiccup's life as a prince, Heather felt her survival instincts put in motion and felt like they were being watched. The black haired Berserker turned around and saw three people dressed in Viking outfits that were typical for the archipelago at the back of the ballroom, she was confused as the only other person Hiccup invited was Atali, the leader of the all female Wingmaiden tribe. The leader couldn't leave her island as their newborn Razorwhips recently hatched and left her with work to do and Atali needed to be there for her tribe.
"I hate to interrupt…" Heather began and the small group stopped talking. "But Hiccup, did you invite someone else except us and Atali when you gave out the invitations?"
"No, I didn't. It was only enough invitations for each tribe, not more than that." Hiccup explained as everyone turned to where Heather pointed at and peaked through the crowd of people. Only Dagur and Hiccup knew immediately who those people were and the younger of the two was terrified of seeing them present in the room.
"Why is he here…?" Hiccup barely whispered fearful.
"Hiccup?" Elsa called out worried to her boyfriend. "Do you know who those people are?"
"Know? Ha ha!" Dagur chuckled sarcastically. "THAT'S Stoick The Vast, Queen Elsa."
"...My Dad…" Hiccup breathed out and Elsa gasped. Of course! Why didn't she realize that it was Hiccup's father in the first place? But right now, she needed to calm her beloved dragon rider from having a panic attack.
"Hiccup. Maybe you should go and get some fresh air to calm down, I'll join you soon." The girlfriend suggested and her partner took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
"Y-Yeah. Excuse me." Hiccup apologized before quickly walking away to get outside into the gardens.
Fishlegs had been watching since Hiccup came as his tribe members were discussing why Hiccup was in Arendelle or if he was their dead heir at all. The scholar didn't pay that much interest in them, but more on the fact that Hiccup was friends with Dagur of all people after everything he did when they were kids and recently became chief because he killed his father, Oswald the Agreeable. The Arendelian prince then suddenly started to walk away and Fishlegs noticed Hiccup doing hand signs in his direction, Fishlegs quickly knew what it meant and barely managed to sneak away from Astrid and Stoick to follow his friend outside. When Hiccup walked out to the garden, he took in a deep breath of fresh air, wanting desperately take a flight with Toothless but he needed to attend the party because it was a prince's duty. However, the small cold breeze was enough to make him calm and satisfied.
"A few more hours, then this party will be over and done with." Hiccup thought out loud before growling, "Those idiots! They must have gotten off course and decided to invite Stoick just to thank them for their hospitality! Me and King Agnarr made it so clear that any contact with them without permission was to be told immediately." Hiccup looked down at his hands to see small flames coming out which he quickly dismissed. "Keep calm, let go of the anger and pain. Keep the fire under control."
"I get it why you want to stay in Arendelle, Hiccup." The voice of Hiccup's only friend on Berk said and said prince smiled before turning to face Fishlegs, who had an excited smile. "This place is incredible and so peaceful, it makes me so relaxed. And the party is amazing, it feels so natural even if we come from different cultures."
"Thanks." Hiccup replied embarrassed with a slight blush as he puts a hand on the back of his neck. "I'm the one who organized this event, the ceremony and all."
"You planned everything on your own?!" Hiccup shyly nodded and Fishlegs gasped in joy. "That's amazing…"
"It's not that big of a deal, really. It's just something I need to know when being a prince. Besides, the servants were happy to help and get it all done in time but otherwise, I planned and fixed how everything would go and look like."
"Wow. You've outdone yourself today, Hiccup." The two started to slowly walk towards the gardens. Hiccup hissed slightly, his stump wasn't used to walking with the new prosthetic and it was starting to hurt from the soreness. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. My leg is a bit sore, nothing to worry about."
"Is it the battle scar from that injury you mentioned in your first letter?" Hiccup was unsure if he should show Fishlegs his prosthetic or not but he nodded either way. "Gobber and I got pretty worried when we heard about it from the letter Sharpshot brought four years ago. All I can say is, you're amazing. To think that the smallest and weakest out of our tribe did the impossible. You stopped a three hundred year war without anyone knowing and trained a dragon! You're a person that should be recorded in the history books!" Hiccup stopped and looked at him in disbelief.
"Why? I'm just a traitor and nuisance on Berk…"
"But you not only stopped a war that could end Viking kind, you made friends with the enemy and made use of their individual talents to fit in with society. Thanks to you, I abandoned my tribe's traditions when it comes to killing dragons and devoted myself to field research on them with your instructions. I never knew that that grass was the thing you used when we faced the Gronckle the second time." Hiccup chuckled as Fishlegs continued to rambled up information about the usefulness of the dragons and their pet like behavior when using the methods he wrote to him.
"I couldn't have done it without Toothless."
"Oh! By the way, I've been curious. What type of dragon is Toothless? Gobber said that that dragon is one of the fastest ones so he couldn't search for you and couldn't figure which."
"That's because he's a species you've never seen up close before." Hiccup walked further away and placed two fingers by his mouth and whistled. Not long after, Fishlegs gasped when Toothless came out from the bushes and trees in the garden. His neon green eyes quickly went to Hiccup and nudged him, he wasn't wearing his flying gear because of comfort. "Hey, bud."
"I'm still not used to seeing you wearing those clothes." Toothless warbled and Hiccup just laughed.
"Is that a-?"
"Yes, Fishlegs. Toothless is a Night Fury and possibly the last of his kind, we don't know yet."
"You weren't lying… when you said you shot down a Night Fury…"
"Yeah, but nobody believed me and I'm happy for it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have discovered the dragons' true nature nor that he can't fly because of what I did." Fishlegs observed Toothless and noticed nothing wrong until he saw his tail, where only one side had a tailfin while the other didn't. "I just got curious and I showed him that I didn't mean any harm when he was stuck in a cove by Raven Point, after a while I gained his trust and became my best friend."
"We've never seen a Night Fury this close and now we can research their species and behavior. Ahhh! I'm just getting excited just thinking about it!" Hiccup just chuckled at his friend and Toothless just shook his head.
"I'll ask Elsa if you can stay for a few more days and let you read my Book of Dragons I've been working on." Fishlegs continued to fangirl about the idea of reading a new book of dragon information to his mental library. "You can go back to Sleuther and Windshear. I'll send a guard when the party's over."
"Okay, see ya later, Hiccup!" Toothless said before dashing back where he came from to join his dragon friends.
"That would be amazing! Thank you so much for this opportunity, Hiccup! First the invitation to go to Arendelle and now this, this is incredible."
"Fishlegs. I'm sorry to say this but we never invited you." The scholar looked shocked at the former-Viking, who hugged himself slightly with insecurity as Astrid and Stoick spied on them until the right moment but had just recently came and never saw Toothless or a mention of him. "I'm really happy you're here, I really am. But the messengers that gave you the invitation did so without my or Elsa's permission, I never knew that they put their course to Berk nor that they had an extra invitation. Now, those idiots managed to reveal one of the biggest secrets we have in Arendelle."
"So this is where you've been hiding..." Astrid said as she and the chief came out of hiding, much to Hiccup's dismay. Why had it be today for him to face his past? "...for nine years. You've been alive and never told us! Your tribe!"
"Why do you care?" Hiccup asked coldly, much to their shock. "Is it because I'm the supposed 'heir' of your tribe? All because I was born to the greatest dragon killer and chief in generations! You've never cared about me or my wellbeing since the day I could walk!"
"Stop all of this joking around, son." Stoick said serious and slightly angry as walked in front of his very much alive son. "After this party is over, you're going back to Berk with us." The father attempted to grab Hiccup, who instinctively pushed himself away from Stoick.
"Get away from me!" Hiccup yelled in fear and distress. "You're calling me your son now, after twelve years neglect. Twelve years of you yelling at me in front of the entire village in embarrassment, every single time I mess up and never had an actual conversation with me that isn't one sided or you yelling at me! You just handed me to Gobber the second I was old enough to work for him in order to gain muscles!"
"Stop this nonsense, Hiccup!" Stoick roared.
"FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE WOULD YOU PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!" The Dragon Prince yelled desperate despite feeling himself starting to hear the voices coming back to haunt him. "Or else I'm going to call for the guards and have you locked up! The only thing I was known for on Berk was being 'Hiccup The Useless', the nuisance and fishbone of Stoick The Vast. I'm better of being dead than going back to a place that don't want me there anymore."
"How could you say that to your dad?" Astrid asked in order to defend her chief. "You had everything you wanted and more."
"Oh, says the girl who almost killed me and then left me to die before I left." Hiccup confessed sarcastically and Stoick looked at the Shieldmaiden next to him. Fishlegs quickly puts his hands over his mouth in shock. "That's right! The great and powerful Astrid Hofferson couldn't allow a fishbone like me get the honor to kill a dragon in front of the village, so she had Snotlout and the twins kidnap me and tried to force me into telling them how I got so good in dragon training. When I refused, she instantly snapped and when Gobber found me, I was almost beaten to death if he hadn't taken me to Gothi immediately after that. I guess your pride as a Hofferson was more important than you almost killing an innocent person in blind rage just because you wanted to get rid of the competition. Right when I recovered, I left because I knew no one is going to accept me as myself but as the dragon killer everyone wanted me to be. You see now, Astrid! You can get everything you want when I'm out of the picture but don't blame me for not helping you recover from battle because Arendelle isn't going to have any alliance with Berk. Not now, not ever."
"Wh-What does that have to do with all of this?!" Astrid exclaimed, confused and nervous over the sudden confession of what had happened when she last saw him.
"Because Arendelle needs me more than you could ever think of." Hiccup explained determined, wanting the conversation to be over with. "I've been ruling this kingdom since the day King Agnarr and Queen Iduna died four years ago until now. The people have been truly grateful for what I've done and praised me for being me. An inventor who can craft anything with his hands, a genius that manage to figure out a problem on the spot, someone who loves to explore new places and investigate instead of being stuck in one place this whole time. That's the real me that I tried to destroy to become one of you! I just want to forget my life on Berk and you leaving me alone."
Hiccup started to walk away to go back to the party but the soreness of his stumb suddenly turned into massive pain coursing through his whole leg, causing the prince to collapse on his right knee while holding where his stump was. Hiccup tried not let out noise but the pain made him pant for air, he somehow knew this would happen because of the stress but not now.
"Hiccup!" The worried voice of Elsa exclaimed and he looked up to see her and a guard run up to him. "What happened?"
"My-My leg-!" The boyfriend stammered out before closing his eyes shut and grunted in pain.
"Get some cold towels immediately." Elsa ordered the guard.
"Yes, your highness." The guard replied before running back inside.
"Come on, we need to move you so we can take a look at it." The queen replied before taking one of Hiccup's arms over her shoulder to help him up, not caring about her dirtying her dress, so long Hiccup was okay.
"Let me help you." Fishlegs offered, Elsa looked at him skeptic before noticing the honesty in his eyes and nodded as answer.
The big teen helped her to get the limping Hiccup to a bench nearby, where he sat down still panting in pain. The chief and tribe member just looked confused at what's happening until they saw Elsa taking off her blue satin gloves, rolling up Hiccup's pants left leg as she sat on the ground and that's when they saw what was actually the cause of Hiccup's pain. Instead of skin like a normal person, almost the whole leg underneath the knee was replaced with a wooden prosthetic that was made to look like a normal leg and a small belt to keep it in place. Elsa slowly losing the belt enough to take off the prosthetic and the one legged man breathed out in relief when the wooden leg finally left his sore stump and his girlfriend's gentle cold hands rubbing it.
"It looks a bit swollen, you should take it easy. It was just a false alarm." The snow queen explained as she looked up. "This usually never happens now since your rehabilitation."
"That's because… I didn't practice with it much." Hiccup let out as his breath evened out as the guard came back with two cold towels, one for Elsa to put on the stump and the other to wipe away the sweat from Hiccup's face. "Too much going on with the coronation and other things, I didn't have time to walk with. I thought I would just stand and sit down a bit under the night. Sorry for worrying you."
"You must be Fishlegs Ingerman, correct?" Elsa asked, Fishlegs nodded.
"Y-Yes, Your Highness!" The young scholar stammered out, not knowing how to act around her.
"Thank you." The Queen thanked him with a genuine smile. "For keeping Hiccup safe from Berk. You have my deepest gratitude for keeping everything concerning him a secret, it must have been hard keeping your silence from your tribe. You're welcomed to stay as a sign of my gratitude."
"T-T-Thank you, Queen Elsa." Fishlegs stammered a thanks as he blushed in embarrassment.
"And now, the two of you…" Elsa said sternly as she stood up to face the other Berkians with a cold glare. "You're lucky that you're guests of my coronation. However, once morning comes after the celebration, I ask of you to never return to Arendelle without a proper reason."
"Queen Elsa, that's my son!" Stoick exclaimed. "He belong with his tribe!"
"What have you done to make it feel like a home for him to grow up in?" Elsa asked with Hiccup closing his eyes as he continued to listen to the slight argument. "Hiccup has never felt like he belonged on Berk or in your tribe, the treatment he received all because of how he was born and how his mind work would be a high crime in Arendelle. Abuse of any kind towards a child is a serious crime, both physical and mental abuse. I know Vikings have their own rules but such a treatment to a child shouldn't be allowed in your society either. Am I right, Chief Stoick?" The Berkians were speechless. How much had Hiccup told her about his past? "I thought so."
"What 'thought so'?!" Astrid yelled in anger, not caring about the woman being a ruler. "He's our future chief and hope for our tribe! Besides, how do you know so much about him? Did you interrogate him the first thing you did when he came here?"
"My father wouldn't do such a thing! And never speak of him like that." Elsa snapped, with a collected expression but inside she was really angry and started to lose control. "All he did was to protect Hiccup from you!"
"Elsa…" Hiccup said while calmly taking her hand into both of his. "Calm down, you aren't wearing your gloves at the moment." The ice user took a trembling breath when she realized she had forgotten to put her gloves back on after tending to Hiccup's leg. Elsa quickly puts on her gloves again, the Dragon Prince smiled slightly before putting his leg back on. "Elsa and I are much closer than you think. We've courted for over four years now, besides I have nothing to hide from them since they're more like family than you ever were. Even though I was a Viking, they just thought of me as one of their own and praised me for being me. Nobody else." Just then, Kai came to the group and this made the couple a bit concerned.
"Queen Elsa, Prince Hiccup." Kai announced and the auburn haired prince stood up from his position on the bench. "Your sister, Princess Anna, requests your presence in the ballroom."
"What for?" Elsa asked. The Vikings were still not used to hear Hiccup being called prince.
"I don't know the details, she said it was urgent." The royal stewart explained and Hiccup sighed.
"Tell her we'll be there soon." Hiccup replied and Kai bowed his head before walking back to the party. "Let's see what our little sister is up to." He then turned to the Berkians. "I suggest that you don't go near me nor my girlfriend until we fix this mess."
With that, the royal couple walked back to the ballroom to meet their sister and left the Vikings to themselves. They were stunned. That wasn't the Hiccup they knew anymore. The small Viking that always messed up, making a mess and never wanting attention was now someone calm and collected young man with a missing leg. By the Gods, he is even dating a queen and friends with one of the most insane people in the archipelago. Hiccup had truly changed in the nine years they thought he was dead.
"Was that really Hiccup?" Stoick said in shock, almost not recognizing his own son.
"More importantly, what happened to his leg?" Astrid asked both worried and quite angry at the queen's behavior towards her as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Last time I checked, he had both his legs when he left."'
"He… lost it in battle." The two immediately turned to Fishlegs as he spoke out. "Hiccup lost his leg under some battle that ended the dragon raids four years ago. I don't know the details but what I know is that Hiccup was in a coma after that battle, I was shocked that the injury he was talking about was him losing most his leg."
"How long have you known about all this?" Stoick commanded with a glare at the teen.
"Just a little over four years!" Fishlegs exclaimed terrified. "He saved me from some wild dragons when we were scouting for supplies on another island. He subdued them before they flew away and told me everything that happened under the years but Hiccup made me promise not to tell you or the others about his whereabouts because that would destroy the happy life he has now as Arendelle's prince and boyfriend to Elsa. The only other people who knows he's alive is Gobber and Gothi!"
Both Stoick and Astrid were shocked but it disappeared quickly as they realized that Hiccup had lived such a good life for nine years and simply tried to forget everything about Berk as a whole, even stopping the raids to make sure they would never put a foot in Arendelle. And to hear that the missing heir had taken care of an entire kingdom until Elsa was old enough to take over the throne must have been pretty stressful.
"Let's do what Hiccup says, and hope he'll tell us everything and why he left Berk from the beginning." Stoick concluded after thinking through everything. "Come on, we still have a party to attend to." The chief started to walk away with Fishlegs slowly following him, he took a worried glance at Astrid before leaving her.
The Shieldmaiden was petrified of Hiccup's confession of what had happened the last time they saw each other. Astrid could see the distress and fear in his eyes when he told them what she and the others had done to him, the Viking girl now realized what she had done. Not only did she almost kill their tribe's heir, but was also the biggest bully of them all and the final straw for Hiccup to leave their home forever.
"What have I done?" Astrid said to herself in realization.
Hiccup escorted Elsa back to the ballroom. Hiccup explained everything that had happened before the snow queen came to the gardens and was grateful about her standing up to Astrid of all people. However, they can't relax until the party was over and done with. Once arriving, Anna spotted them immediately in the crowd and dragged Hans with her to her older siblings.
"Hiccup! Elsa!" Anna said before reminding herself that her biological sister was now her ruler too. "I mean… my queen. So glad you could make it. May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."
"Your majesty. Prince Hiccup." Hans greeted while bowing.
"A pleasure." Hiccup greeted while bowing his head slightly in respect and Elsa gives him a polite but reserved curtesy.
"We would like-" Anna began looking at Hans.
"-your blessing-" Hans added looking back at Anna with a smile.
"-of-" Anna giggled out.
"Our marriage!" The two finished together as they leaned in to one another. Both the magic users were surprised and utterly confused over what just happened, when are they going to get a break from all of this.
"Marriage…?" Elsa asked in disbelief.
"I'm sorry. I'm confused." Hiccup said in confusion.
"Well, we haven't worked out all the details ourselves. We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony. Of course, we'll have soup, roast and ice cream and then- Wait. Will we live here?"
"Here?!" Elsa asked in disbelief.
"Absolutely~" Hans replied while nodding.
"Anna-" Hiccup tried to get her attention.
"Oh, we can invite all twelve of your brothers to stay with us…" Anna jumps in with her suggestion.
"Is it just me or does this feel too rushed to you?" The Dragon Prince whispered to his girlfriend before receiving a glare from her.
"Hiccup, you know how Anna is. She might have been rushed into this." Elsa replied before turning back to her sister. "Anna. Slow down. No one's brothers are staying here. No one is getting married." This stopped the two's rambling.
"Wait, what?" Anna said with worry and slightly hurt, why wouldn't Elsa and Hiccup allow the marriage? She didn't understand.
"May we talk to you... alone." Hiccup stated, feeling Elsa getting tense.
"No." Anna answered firmly before taking Hans' arm. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it to both of us."
"Fine. You can't marry a man you just met." Elsa sighed heavily as she leaned against her boyfriend.
"You can if it's true love." The young princess retorted.
"Anna, what do you know about true love?" Elsa asked calmly, trying to keep herself together.
"More than you. All you know is how to shut people out." Anna stated boldly, she didn't care. She wanted answers and marry Hans. The Vikings and the guards listened carefully, wondering what was going on. Hiccup quickly puts a defensive arm around Elsa's shoulders.
"Don't say that to your own sister." Hiccup said sternly. "You've been around people for one day and you already getting engaged to someone you barely knows. There's no logic in any of this. No one gets engaged to someone they don't know unless it's an arranged marriage."
"Says you who became close to Elsa in one day when you came into our lives." Anna retarded.
"That's was different!" Hiccup said irritated at her questioning their relationship.
"You asked for our blessing, our answer is no. Now, excuse me." Elsa stated as the two prepared to walk away. They've had enough of this party.
"Your majesty, if I may ease your-" Hans started as they stopped but didn't bother looking at him.
"No, you may not. And I-I think you should go." The queen stammered slightly before Hiccup started to lead the blonde towards the door.
As they passed a guard, Hiccup ordered, "The party is over. Close the gates."
"Yes, sir." The guard said before walking away.
"Elsa, no. No, wait!" Anna said, being desperate now, reached out to grab Elsa's hand, accidentally pulling her glove off. Elsa gasped in panic, reaching for the glove.
"Give me my glove!" The ice user stated with worry. There was a reason why she chose to wear them for the day. But, Anna holds the glove away.
"Elsa, Hiccup, please. Please. I can't live like this anymore!" Anna begged. She wanted answers why her brother figure kept the gates closed after her parents passing. Why her sister locked herself in her room for years, only allowing Hiccup to go into her room. Spending so much time together when he was just a stranger to them from the start.
"...Then leave." Elsa said weakly while she was fighting tears. Anna's eyes widened with pain at what Elsa had said to her. Hiccup saw the pain in the younger sister's face, getting reminded of his past but he knew Elsa was hitting her limit.
"Let's get you to your room." Hiccup said calmly as they turned back to the door but at a faster phase.
"...What did I ever do to you?!" Anna yelled heartbroken. The party had gotten silent and everyone watched the scene between the royal siblings.
"Enough, Anna. You're making a scene." Hiccup pleaded as he kept his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders as she hugged herself.
"No! Why?! Why do you shut me out?! Why do you shut the world out?! WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?!" Anna yelled angry at them.
"WE SAID ENOUGH!" Elsa yelled back in a firm tone as she whipped around. Ice suddenly shoots out from Elsa's palm, making spikes across the floor around her and the fire user as guests cry out in shock, backing away. Both Elsa and Hiccup were terrified, their secret was out.
"Sorcery. I knew there was something dubious going on here..." The duke said has he ducks behind one of his men.
Anna looked at her older siblings, with worry instead of fear. This was why the gates were always closed, wasn't it. And Hiccup knew about this, too. That was why he kept the gates closed while he ruled despite wanting to explore the many places and dragons, sacrificing his freedom to protect Elsa. The gloves Elsa always wore kept her from activating her powers. They were the reason why she was so afraid of, losing control and letting out her magic.
"Elsa…?" Anna asked before noticing Hiccup's terrified face as well. Without another word, Elsa tried to find the door handle behind her and quickly opened the door when she found it, rushing out of the door. Hiccup met Anna's gaze.
"What have you done…" He breathed out before rushing after his lover despite his sore stump.
Elsa bursts out of the castle doors, meeting the many citizens that was waiting in the courtyard to see her. They cheered when they noticed their new queen by the doors, but Elsa needed to get away.
"There she is. Your majesty! Long live the Queen!" One shouts at her as she tried to find a way to escape.
"Queen Elsa…" Another says as he bows to her as Elsa cuts her way through them as she heard people from the ballroom coming closer.
"Come drink with us." Says another citizen from the distance. Elsa ducks through the crowd holding her bare hand.
"Your majesty? Are you alright?" Asked a woman holding a baby, her motherly instincts sensing the distress.
Elsa shook her head slightly as she backs away from the baby in fear until she knock into a fountain behind her and grabbed its edge. The water freeze as her bare hand let out more ice and everyone in the courtyard gasps in shock and fear. Just then, the Duke and his guards arrive at the door, seeing what happened.
"There she is! Stop her!" The Duke yelled to his guards.
"Please, just stay away from me. Stay away!" Elsa pleaded to the duke while moving her hands in front of her. Magic accidentally shoots from her and incased the stairs in ice, causing the Duke and his guards to fall on the ground.
"Monster… Monster!" The Duke wails while pointing at her. The crowd starts to panic while Elsa flees, Hiccup and Anna ran out of the castle doors with Hans trailing them. The princess still holding the glove in her hand.
"Elsa!" Anna called out. All three of them ran after the queen with worry. Elsa took a short cut to the fjord from a door to the back side of the castle, stopping near the edge and turned to the still opened door, noticing the frost spreading from her feet to the shoreline. "Wait, please!"
Elsa glances at Anna and Hiccup, but turns away. She collected all her courage and steps out to the fjord, the water underneath her foot instantly freezes to solid ice. Elsa realized this and broke into a run, the water freezing with each step she takes.
"Elsa, stop!" Hiccup called out as he rushed out onto the fjord but slip with his prosthetic hard with Anna falling as well.
"Anna!" Hans exclaimed as he rushed to Anna's side to help her up. The Arendelian royals watch with worry as they see Elsa reaching the shore on the other side and ran towards the mountains.
"No…" Anna whimpered a little. Hans looked over the fjord and gasped in shock at the sight.
"Look… The fjord." He points out and the two looked around. The ice had spread across the entire fjord, locking the ships in place as snow started to fall from the sky.
Hiccup was really worried, Elsa was so scared now that her powers were revealed just like he felt when he found out his dad and tribe members was present at the celebration party. But now their worst nightmare had now come true, the secret the royal family have kept secret for thirteen years had finally been revealed to the public. The guards had taken it pretty well when it came to Hiccup's powers but Elsa's was on a different level, it was contained and ignored for so many years except when she was training with the fire user. Now, all that raw energy plus her fear had caused her powers to get out of control. When is Hiccup going to get a break from trouble.