Somebody to Love

By: Bourbon Cowboy

Chapter 7

Wind Take Me Home

Dawn was breaking over the Island of Berk as Hiccup and Toothless burst from a cloud bank. For once, Jack Frost sat astride the dragon. He had confided to Hiccup that he did not like to advertise his magical abilities to mere mortals. Hiccup had just rolled his eyes at his friend's antics. All he wanted to do was go home and pass out in his bed, but they had been gone for two and a half months – there was way too much work to do for sleep. Jack seemed unperturbed by Hiccup's increasing anxiety over the state of his home. The flew around a cloud bank and rolled into a dive. The shriek of the wind past Toothless' wings caused the usual yells of "Night Fury!" on the ground below. Toothless banked sharply around a pillar of stone, weaved thru the rocks with effortless grace. The cold slap of the oceans spray in Hiccup and Jack's face had both boys grinning. "Damn, but I do love to fly!" Jack laughed and Hiccup just patted his dragon's side, indicating that it was time to stop showing off and land. The dragon chortled softly, made one more looping turn and headed for home. Toothless glided silently to the ground in front of the chief's house. Once his riders were down, Toothless did a little dance, spinning around and around in excitement, tongue lolling and eyes huge. Hiccup laughed and hugged his best friend. "Go on, buddy. I'll see you in a bit." Toothless chortled and off he galloped to inspect every inch of the home he had missed very sorely while they had been gone. Hiccup remembered even as he had his responsibilities as chief, Toothless was an Alpha and had his own responsibilities as well. This cemented even more in Hiccup's mind that he should probably not return to Camelot. Maybe in a year or so if things were still going smoothly…he opened the door to his house and almost ran straight into his mother, Valka.

"Och! Hiccup! Ye gave me quite the fright! What are you doing back so soon?" Valka asked, one hand resting on her chest above her heart.

"So soon? I've been gone…" Hiccup glanced over at Jack who was doing his best to portray a look of cherubic innocence. "How long have I been gone, mom?"

"It's only been three days. You're the one who talked me into watching over things while you ran off exploring. Did you decide I couldn't handle things, then?" Valka looked more bewildered than hurt.

"No! No! I uh…I just…I've met someone! That's right! Jack, come say hello to my mother!" Hiccup waved Jack over, stalling while he tried to figure out how exactly he had spent almost three months in Camelot and yet almost no time had passed since he had left Trader Johann's ship? "Mom, this is Jack Frost."

Valka looked from one to the other, a forced smile on her lips. "Well, it's lovely to meet you, Jack. You must be quite the young man. The two of you have become quite close is a very short amount of time. I suppose though with love, time is no object!"

Hiccup face-palmed. "Not like that, mother! We met while I was out exploring. We're just friends!"

"Well when you said you had met someone…what was I supposed to think!" Valka blushed now at her mistake, "I didn't want you to think I didn't approve if this was your way of saying you were going to start dating pretty boys!"

"You think I'm pretty? Aww!" Jack grinned at the pair's mutual discomfort, leaning heavily on his staff and batting his lashes over large ice blue eyes.

"Jack, stop." Hiccup groaned. "Mom, I'm not gay!" He yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

"Ok! I'm just saying it would be fine if you were! After what Astrid did I could see you giving up on the fairer sex for good!" Valka plowed on.

"Oh gods! Don't say 'sex'. Can't you just say 'girls' like a normal person?"

"Well, you're a man grown now, you'd have no business dating young girls. You need a nice young woman or a man if that's the case…"

"Can we please stop talking about this!" Hiccup pleaded. Valka nodded. Jack just smiled. Hiccup exhaled in relief. "Well, mom, I don't want to distract you from whatever it was you were going to do this morning so…"

"Right. Be good, boys." Valka stalked out the front door, closing it a little harder than was absolutely necessary.

Hiccup whirled on Jack, glaring at the obvious amusement written all over the other man's face. "How in the world do you explain us being gone almost three months and yet no time has passed here at all? Was Camelot some sort of drug-induced dream? Did you roofie me?" Jack waggled his eyebrows suggestively and then had to dodge as the Viking tried to punch him. "This is not a joke, Jack!" Hiccup chased Jack around the kitchen table and finally caught him…just as his mother opened the door again.

"I just forgot…oh! Excuse me!" Valka hurried out again.

Hiccup released Frost and sank to the floor, head on his knees. "Great. Now she really thinks I'm gay!" Jack just examined his fingernails in a show on nonchalance. "Okay. Jack, what happened? I can't have imagined Camelot and everything I saw there…" Though as he tried to remember all the things he wanted to build for Berk based on inventions from Camelot, he found the ideas slipping through his mind like water from between his fingers. He stared up at Jack in horror. Jack held his hands up placatingly.

"Whoa there, Hiccup! Take a deep breath! You're not going crazy. I swear I didn't roofie you. It was all real. I know King Arthur explained that you would not be able to remember a lot of what happened there when you got home, right?" Hiccup nodded dumbly. "That's just part of the magic. Some of the stuff you have seen there will not exist in this world for hundreds of years! Your civilization has got to be allowed to grow and thrive on its own without undue influence from the outside. Okay? The more times you visit Camelot the better you will become at figuring out things that you can take home that aren't breaking the rules, so to speak. Try and remember something. Anything."

Hiccup thought for a few minutes, but it was like trying to hold on to the last vestiges of sunlight at the end of the day. What he could feel though, was that his imagination was primed to work. His fingers itched for a pencil and his sketchbook. Jack must have seen that look come over his face, because he nodded in approval. "Good. Alright! Now, I have to get going but first I am going to give you back this," he opened his satchel and pulled out the little hand mirror that the Blue Fairy had given Hiccup before he had left for Camelot. "I didn't show you this before because there wasn't much need. Most people get to Camelot by means of a Magic Traveling Mirror, like this one. When you're with me, there's no need for the mirror but if you want to go when I am not here or if you want to call me or someone else from Camelot, this is the way to do it." Hiccup turned the mirror over in his hand, feeling a slight tingle shoot through his fingers and up his arm. "Let's put a call in to someone so you can see how it works. Hold the mirror out before you, that's right. Now to call someone you would say the word 'mirror' twice, and then 'call whoever'."

"I don't know anyone with a magic mirror in Camelot," Hiccup argued, feeling stupid sitting there staring at himself in the tiny hand-held mirror.

"Everyone in Camelot has one. What about that guy you met last night? Kovu?" Jack tapped the mirror.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and then tried. "Mirror, Mirror, call Kovu."

Nothing happened.

Jack frowned. "That should have worked…Oh yeah! This is an older model. It only speaks in rhyme. You have to phrase your request to it in rhyme form."

"What? That's the most ridiculous…"

"Shh! Here, let me see it." Jack snatched the mirror away. "Mirror, Mirror oh so blue, please call Kovu."

"That was terrible." Hiccup deadpanned. Jack shushed him and shoved the mirror back into Hiccup's hand, stepping back to stay out of the frame. For a moment nothing happened then the glass rippled like running water. A second later, Kovu's bright green eyes were peering back at Hiccup. The black man smiled, his white teeth flashing in his dark face.

"Horrendous Hiccup!" Kovu chuckled, "I see they have given you a mirror. Am I your first call?"

"Yeah. This is…this is amazing. How does it work?" Hiccup started to turn the mirror over but Kovu stopped him.

"It's magic, my friend. Just go with it."

"Oh. Right. Well, thanks for being my first mirror call, I guess." The two said their goodbyes and the image disappeared. Jack came over and waggled his eyebrows at Hiccup.

"You sure you're not gay? I sensed a little bromance happening there."

"I don't even know what that means." Hiccup got up off the floor and went to put the mirror in his room, somewhere safe and hidden. "You said I can get back to Camelot through the mirror too? How? It's so small."

"Size doesn't matter," Jack said primly, "What matters is how you use it. Just hold the mirror, tell it you want to open a door to Camelot and it will do so. Okay?" Hiccup nodded and shook his friend's hand. Jack nodded and the window blew open in a gust of cold air. "I've got to go. I'll be back though. Take a few days to let your mind settle, I know that's difficult for you. I've got Guardian stuff to do, but I'll be back. If you do decide to visit Camelot without me, just be careful. Mirror travel is great, but it can be dangerous. Anyway…see ya later!" And he was gone.

Hiccup followed Jack's advice. Despite wanting to investigate the mirror more, he wrapped it in soft cloth and hid it in the locked chest at the end of his bed. Kneeling before the chest, Hiccup rested his hand on the lid and thought of Camelot. He found that if he concentrated he could remember some things, like he had stayed in a large room in the castle. He remembered the castle had a huge library and that he had spent a lot of time there…but what had he learned? Hiccup shook his head bewildered. "Magic." He muttered. With a grunt, he pushed to his feet. Hiccup crossed to his desk and lit a candle over his workplace. The graphite was in his hand almost instantly. Hiccup found his hands flying over the pages of his notebook, transforming swirling thoughts and ideas into the tangible. He could not remember the things he had seen, but he felt full to the brim with inspiration. The sun continued it trek across the sky and Hiccup looked up in surprise as the last rays of sunlight disappeared. His candle had run out and the room was suddenly dark. Toothless was still absent, but that was not cause for concern. Hiccup stood, stretched, rubbed his lower back. A glance down at his workstation and the sketches had Hiccup smiling from ear to ear. If one trip could inspire him this much, how much more could he achieve if he went back? It was no longer a question of if he would return, but when.

An idea struck him suddenly and spurred Hiccup to motion. He grabbed up a handful of his notebooks and the maps he had been working on prior to leaving Berk, shoving all of these into a satchel. Hiccup slung the satchel over his shoulder, threw open the door to his room, and dashed down the stairs and out into the growing dark. He rushed to the Great Hall, ordering the guard at the door to send for his council. The guard saluted and headed off. Hiccup took up his place on the great throne that once belonged to his father, trying not to think of the large shoes he worked hard to fill every day. His council members came in by twos and threes, confused by the summons but curious too. Spitelout and Snotlout were first, taking seats at the table nearest Hiccup. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs came together. Then came Gobber and Valka. Astrid and Eret were there as well. There were a few others. Hiccup was so immersed in his thoughts that he did not realize everyone had gathered until Valka approached and touched his arm gently. "Son?" she asked gently. Hiccup glanced up startled. Remembering himself, he cleared his throat and thanked everyone for assembling so quickly.

"I know it is getting late and you are probably all ready for dinner, so I will be brief. For some time now I have tried to think how best to live up to my father's legacy. Someone told me recently that trying to replace my father is no way to lead. I cannot be Stoic the Vast. I can only by Hiccup. I want to focus on the expansion." Several of the people at the table groaned, started to speak. Hiccup just held up a hand to quiet them. "We've talked about it and talked about it, debated it a hundred times. The data Fishlegs presents is accurate. We cannot keep feeding this village, all the dragons, with our current farms. We will run out of food and soon. We need to expand, cultivate some of the islands further south. This is our new goal. It is what is best for our people. This is how we protect our way of life. We are farmers and fisherman. We are boat builders and navigators. We are strong, brave, stubborn, proud. We are Vikings!" They banged their fists and their cups on the table and roared their approval. Hiccup caught his mother's eye and smiled.

Elsewhere…

High above the clouds an icy wind carried Jack Frost towards his heart's desire. His heart, his love, his lady in her frozen fortress of solitude. The sudden flurry of ice and snow that had helped the wind to carry him so fast across the wide world suddenly abated and the sky was clear and bright. Jack shielded his eyes from the glint of the sun off the towering minarets of the castle. "Where are you, my queen?" he whispered, floating ever closer.

With his own affinity for cold, it was no surprise that he had felt the shock of the Snow Queen's magic even from the other side of the world. It was shortly after his induction into the Guardians, perhaps only a year later. Jack had been enjoying a free-spirited snow day romp with some of his new mortal friends. The novelty of being seen had not worn off. As Jamie and his friends Belief was shared with more and more children, Jack had become something of a celebrity and it felt great. Then suddenly he felt it. Like a sucker-punch right in the solar plexus of his magic. Someone, somewhere was manipulating his element – and they were strong! The kids called after him as Jack suddenly launched into the air and went streaking across the sky towards the source of the magic. Jack found himself halfway across the world in a land of mountains, glaciers, and deep coastal fjords. Landing gently on a green space between Viking museums and art, Jack looked around confused. He knew that the magic had come from here. He could still feel the vibrations of it in his very core. He could not explain how he knew, but he knew the magic was simultaneously here and not here. The Guardian sat on a bench to consider, leaving a trail of ice in his wake that an oblivious dog walker immediately slipped on and went sprawling. Unconcerned, Jack put his chin on fist and thought. The sun, which had been on the ascent when he had first arrived in Norway, was fast disappearing beyond the horizon when from the corner of his eye Jacks spotted a jewel-like glimmer. "Baby Tooth!" he waved.

"Excuse me?" A pert little fairy with short cropped hair the color of fresh snow and big blue eyes paused in her duties and fluttered up to where Jack was sitting. "Were you calling me?" She asked in a politely confused tone. Her white hair framed her heart shaped face. She wore a blue leaf tunic, trimmed in white fur with dark blue leggings and tiny blue shoes with white cotton balls on their toes. Even for a fairy, she was adorable. Jack had a fair amount of respect for the fairies, especially winter fairies like this one.

Jack grinned rakishly, hiding his disappointment in charm. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. But maybe you could help me, Miss?"

"Oh! I'm Periwinkle!" Enthusiasm bubbled from her. "You're Jack Frost! Gosh! I never thought I'd actually get to meet you. Of course, I've always wanted to meet you! Big fan, by the way! And here you are. What are you doing here anyway, Mr. Frost?"

"Just call me Jack." He debated how much to tell her and then decided a curious, bubbly, fun personality such as inhabited this tiny denizen of Never Land could be helpful in solving the mystery he had spent the whole day pondering. "I was all the way on the other side of the world when I felt this…I don't know what you would call it..."

"You felt that blast of frost magic all the way on the other side of the world?" Periwinkle looked impressed. Though Jack felt she was probably easily impressed. He just nodded. "Of course you felt it, you being so tied to frost magic yourself. Gosh! It shook the Winter Woods! Then you came all the way here searching for the source of the magic?" She asked. Jack nodded again, he held out his hand, the elbow resting on his bent knee, and allowed Periwinkle to alight on his outstretched palm. Periwinkle twinkled and jingled in the musical language of her people as she paced back and forth on his hand. "I think I understand the confusion. The magic is here, but it's not really here, do you know what I mean?" She asked.

"Actually yes, I do. But I don't understand how a thing can be here and not here simultaneously. Unless…" realization hit him like a bucket of ice water to the face. After being inducted into the Guardians, North had told Jack about the Other Place. He had described it as the place where all magic in their world came from. "Even the Man in the Moon?" Jack had asked. North had rubbed his chin, shrugged, and said something along the lines of "Manny is Guardian of the Other Place. He acts as the gateway. Manny allows the magic from there to get to the here." Jack had spent a good bit of time reading about the Other Place in North's library at the Pole. As best as he could understand, it was another world that existed somehow simultaneously with the real world but that was purely magical. Only certain people could cross over. Jack Frost, as a Guardian, was one of those people. Jack had been planning on making the excursion soon, having only wanted to be sure that all of his Guardian duties were attended to before he left. Now it seemed the decision of when to go had been made for him. As the sun finally withdrew its last tendril of warmth from the sky and the moon rose in all its glory, Jack smiled from ear to ear. "It's on the other side! It's not here. It's there!" He stood up, being careful not to dislodge the fairy. "I need to go to Never Land. But I could use a guide." Periwinkle saluted him and Jack resisted the urge to laugh at the comical sight as the tiny fairy was being utterly serious.

"It would be my honor and pleasure to escort you, Mr. Jack Frost." Periwinkle's wings flitted, catching the moonlight enticingly. "Follow me! Just head for the second star to the right, then straight on to morning!" And with that the unlikely pair set off on what would be the greatest adventure of Jack's long life. Periwinkle introduced Jack to the denizens of the Winter Woods and together with a contingent of those frost loving fairies they traveled on to Arendelle to discover the source of the magical quake they had experienced, which turned out to be...

"A baby?" Jack asked the fairies in a whisper, as they peered over the lip of the window into the queen's bedchamber where a tired new mother held a fair-haired girl child close to her heart. But even as he said it, Jack sensed the magic in her. The baby opened up eyes of ice blue and cooed softly. Tiny snowflakes began to fall around the bed. The queen and king appeared startled. "What's happening?" The queen asked her husband. If the king was frightened, he hid it well. He smiled at his wife and pressed a kiss to the top of the baby's head. "She's just magical, that's all dear." That's all. As if it was no big deal that your new baby could make it snow indoors. "What should we call her?" The king asked, possibly to distract his wife from the concerns that played so prominently on her face as she studied her child. The queen shook back dark brown hair and smiled up at her husband and the tension fell away. "Her name is Elsa."

That had been the beginning. Jack had watched over Elsa. He watched her grow into a beautiful and powerful queen. The winter fairies too spent a good bit of their free time in Arendelle, enjoying the chilly climate so similar to their home in Never Land. Shaking out of his melancholy reflections, Jack circled the castle until finally! There she was. He knew her smile in an instant. He knew the curve of her face. He knew the hauntingly beautiful sound of her voice, raised in song both jubilant and defiant. But Jack Frost did not the warmth of her arms. He longed for the taste of her lips on his. He was desperate to look into those big, beautiful crystalline eyes and know that she really saw him. He started towards her only to be stopped by a cold voice behind him.

"Jack."

His back went up. His shoulders snapped to attention. Jack clenched his staff tightly and turned to face the owner of the voice. She was a tall, handsome woman in her long blue silk gown and gossamer wings. Her eyes though, displayed not a hint of emotion. The expression in those eyes told Jack that this was not the enchanting fairy who enticed young lovers to take lover's leap. This was a proud and vengeful Valkyrie.

"Blue."

"What are you doing here, Jack?" the Blue Fairy asked, not unkindly.

"I was just checking on her. I saw Anna in Camelot and was wondering…"

"You are wondering why Anna is there and Elsa is here. Where she is still ignorant of your existence. You wonder why I have gifted the wrong sister with a mirror and an invitation to the one place where you and Elsa could be together."

Jack shrugged, uneasy. "Something like that. I thought if I got Hiccup to go to Camelot that…"

"You've done splendidly, Jack Frost. But the job is not yet done. I told you before that even miracles take a little time." She smiled and Jack felt warmth steal over him. He clutched his staff so tight that the wood cut into his hands, making them bleed. The pain helped him see through the fairy's manipulation of his emotions. The Blue Fairy did not really fill him with warmth and a desire to do as he was told, as his emotions would have him believe. No. He was afraid of this woman and needed to have a care what he said.

"Chief Hiccup just needed a bit of a break. He is only just starting to understand the time difference between his home and Camelot. You know it's not an easy thing for mortals to wrap their heads around. He had to see the truth of it with his own eyes, that's why I returned him to Berk. But he's got the mirror and has already used it to contact a friend in Camelot. Trust me, he will request to return before I have the chance to suggest it. I will have him back in time for the Grand Ball. Will the princess be there?"

"Don't worry about Princess Merida. Their meeting is predestined. Now, I have other matters to attend to. Do not linger here long, Jack. Once we've helped Chief Hiccup and Princess Merida with their Happily Ever After, you will have your time with the Ice Queen."

The Blue Fairy disappeared in a shimmer of stardust. Jack waited several moments before he allowed himself to relax. He glared up at the moon reproachfully then shook his head. There was his queen. She reclined in a lounge chair reading a book on the balcony of her ice castle, oblivious to the drama that had unfolded merely feet from her. Her pale hair was braided over her right shoulder and she wore a comfortable blue dressing gown, her legs curled up beneath as though she were cold. One pale bare foot stuck out from beneath the hem. Jack's naked feet were on the balcony before his thoughts had caught up. He did not know why the Blue Fairy needed him to help get Hiccup and Merida together and he told himself he didn't care. What did it matter? The two would find True Love. They would be happy. And then Jack could finally be with the woman that he loved more than his very existence. He crossed over to where Elsa sat and pressed a cold, gentle kiss on the top of her head. Elsa became still. Her hand reached up and brushed the spot where Jack's lips had been a moment before and her eyes searched the balcony around her questioningly. Jack stood staring right into her eyes but Elsa just looked through him.