Another chapter another step towards the end. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 8: Nightmare

"I don't understand how you can be nervous Hiccup," Elsa said as she watched him fidget around in nervousness. Not used to the restricting clothes of royalty, Hiccup couldn't help but tug on his clothes. Elsa got closer to him and helped him adjust his clothes, "I'm the one doing all the work. Announcing our wedding, and practically declaring my love for you for everyone to see." Standing around in the queen's waiting room, Hiccup and Elsa were preparing to meet the council members and Anna.

"But you are the queen, they love you. To them you are infallible and if anything were to happen, it would be all my fault," Hiccup replied. Taking a deep breath with his chest puffed out, he let out a mocking voice, "How dare he, the villainous dragon king has tainted our precious queen, we must go out and seek his head!"

"Stop it, you are being ridiculous Hiccup. Nothing like that is going to happen." Elsa assured as she finished adjusting his cuffs. With a brief look, she smiled with satisfaction at how dashing Hiccup looked and leaned up to give Hiccup a kiss. Their bodies melded together as one as they wrapped their hands around each other. The two suddenly became lost in their own world as they continued their kiss, with Elsa mewling in pleasure. Their make out session came to an abrupt stop when, Elsa found herself pressed up against the wooden wall with a loud thump. Stopping, the two couldn't help but laugh.

"We should probably save it for the bedroom," Elsa suggested.

"You kissed me first," Hiccup defended, "you just can't seem to keep your hands to yourself little lady."

"I'll be sure to remember that tonight," Elsa said with a laugh as she started to walk away. Shaking his head, Hiccup chased after her and walked by her side. After opening the door, they entered the council room.

"Thank you all for coming, today I would like to announce my official engagement to Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third." Elsa declared.

"I object," Anna cried out as she stood up from her chair. "This is not true love."

"I have found true love Anna," Elsa said. But before she could elaborate however, Hiccup stepped forward. With relief, she smiled and allowed him to defend himself, to defend their love.

"If only that that were true, if only there was someone who truly loved you Elsa," Hiccup said with a sinister laugh.

Confused, Elsa was about to ask him what he was talking about but then dragons started breaking in through the roof and windows. The dragons roared and started killing and burning everything in sight. Elsa was frozen on the spot and tears flowed down her cheeks trying to understand what was happening in front of her. Hiccup laughed maniacally as he started to kill the councilors on sight.

"Why are you doing this Hiccup? Please stop!" Elsa begged, completely unaware of the Nightmare that crept closer from behind with its claws raised high. By the time Elsa turned around it was already too late. With a loud clang General Grahm blocked the dragon's claw with his sword.

"Run Elsa, take the princess and save yourselves!" General Grahm yelled before he was consumed by fire.

"Grahm noooo!" Elsa cried, but she didn't have time to grieve. Elsa quickly grabbed Anna as she froze any dragon in a block of ice that she could see, and ran out of the room.

Running down the hallway their path was quickly blocked by dragons. Turning around they saw Hiccup wearing his distinct brown mask with glowing red eyes and riding on Toothless.

"Why are you doing this Hiccup, I love you!" Elsa cried.

"Because I can," Hiccup replied with a laugh, "As the very last Viking it is my duty to burn down the entire world, starting with Arendelle." With a charge the dragons started shooting fireballs at Elsa and Anna. Pulling up her arms, the snow queen created an ice barrier but the sheer force of the fire blast shattered the ice, and the force of impact blew them back against the wall.

On the floor now, the only thing she could do was look up at the masked Hiccup with his sword raised high, ready to deal the killing blow. Closing her eyes, Elsa lost the will to survive.

"My love has betrayed me and my kingdom is going to burn down to the ground, is it better to just die now?" Elsa thought. She closed her eyes ready to die but the sound of metal crashing against metal was heard. Looking up to see who savior was, Elsa saw Hiccup clashing swords against the masked Hiccup and her blue Nadder against Toothless.

"Don't give up yet Elsa! Grab your sister and get out of here!" Hiccup yelled as he pushed the masked Hiccup back.

"It is useless. She will die forever alone!" The masked Hiccup yelled back.

Listening to the real Hiccup's instructions Elsa grabbed Anna, and ran out to the balcony. Running to the edge, she created an ice slide with her powers that would get them safely to the ground.

"Anna, we can get down from here with this slide," She said as she tugged at Anna to go first. But Anna refused to move, her head was down with her bangs covering her face, and was unresponsive to her sister's tugging.

"This is all your fault, you are the one to blame for all of this," Anna said in a quiet whisper, "Arendelle would be better off without you!"

With a loud yell Anna pulled out a dagger from underneath her clothes and stabbed Elsa in the heart. And with both hands Anna pushed Elsa off the ledge. Bleeding and horrified, Elsa was helpless as she crashed onto the ground below.

OoOoO

With a gasp, Elsa woke up in cold sweat, her heart racing. After a few minutes, she was able to control her emotions. With a flop, she dropped back down to her pillow next to a sleeping Anna. Master Helgen said that Kristoff would make a full recovery. But nonetheless, the two had stayed up late last night to watch over Kristoff and so she wasn't worried about Anna waking up anytime soon. Brushing aside the hair that covered her face, she tried to make sense of her nightmare.

"What have you done to me Hiccup," She quietly asked rhetorically, "Even if you were to give me an answer, how would I know that you were telling the truth? How can I tell that you are not just another Hans?" Elsa thought as she remembered the exact words that evil Hiccup used were the exact same ones Hans said to Anna. Who was Hiccup? Was he the secretly evil Viking pretending to be all nice until the most crucial moment? Or was he the kind hearted savior that she had known him to be in the past three weeks?

But this wasn't where the parallels ended. Like Anna, Elsa feared she was too far gone. Her mind clouded by her feelings for Hiccup, making her rush into things, making her not see things the way they should be seen. But unlike her sister, Elsa could still see this problem and yet, she couldn't get away from it. She was simply far too attracted to Hiccup. No matter how much she tried to keep him at an arm's length, he always manages to find his way in and making her want him more. Deciding that she had reached a dead end with her thoughts, Elsa decided to go do something productive. Getting dressed Elsa gave a kiss on the top of Anna's head before leaving the room.

The entire kingdom was in an uproar. The events of last night spread like wildfire and by morning, everyone knew about it and was talking about the incident in the forest. People were running around the kingdom declaring how the Dragon King was good and how they knew it all along. While conspiracy theorists questioned just how exactly the landslide occurred and how he was able to find the convoy so quickly.

Elsa's office door had been knocking all day. Various ambassadors, dignitaries, and 'important people' had been trying to get the story directly from her. Naturally Elsa refused them all. It was simply none of their business to know what happened between her and Hiccup.

A series of knocks grabbed her attention from her paperwork.

"I said I wasn't to be disturbed guardsman," Elsa said perturbed.

"Was hoping you would make an exception for me," Councilor Eric Seranov said as he poked his head into the room. Not bothering to wait for an answer from the queen, the Councilor entered the room.

"I have already written a public statement about last night. I have nothing more to say on the matter," Elsa said.

"I'm not here to ask you what happened yesterday. I am here to ask you what happens next." Eric replied.

With a quiet sigh, she allowed him to stay. Eric Seranov from the House of Seranov was a very old and influential family that has been a part of Arendelle's politics since the kingdom's inception. Like Elsa, Eric Seranov had to assume the mantle of responsibility at a very early age when his parents were drowned at sea along with the king and queen. Marrying at an early age to secure the future of his household, the young councilor had been watching over Elsa ever since.

Councilor Eric had been rumored to be a sort of womanizer to his wife's vexation. But whenever Elsa was around him, he was only ever quite thoughtful and wise. Whether it was because he was smart enough not to try anything scandalous with the queen or the rumors were simply false, Elsa wasn't sure. "Another man who is mysterious; great," Elsa sarcastically though, "Why are men always so complicated?"

"He can't stay inside that ice fortress of his forever," Councilor Eric stated as he stood beside the window of Elsa's office overlooking the gardens.

"Of course he can, if he wants to stay in there forever, who is going to stop him?" Elsa asked.

"Your Majesty will," he replied.

"Me? Why would I do that?" Elsa asked with a confused look on her face.

"Because you are not going to have a choice," Eric said as he turned around to face her,"Initially when the dragons arrived, everyone was in a panic. All the surrounding kingdoms were rallying troops and were preparing for a dragon invasion. After nearly a week and a half, in which nothing has happened and then news that the Queen of Arendelle was spending her nights with the Dragon King in an ice fortress arrived. In response the kingdoms sent their ambassadors to Arendelle looking for answers.

"So? Send them home. It's not like it's the first time I have denied them what they wanted." Elsa said.

"In previous circumstances, yes, that would have been possible. No one had seen the Dragon King before, but the events of last night have tipped the iceberg. Now they 'really' want to see him.

"And what if my answer is still no?" She questioned back.

"I don't understand why you are being so difficult about this your majesty," Eric said with a frown on his face, " You knew that this was going to happen the moment you let him loose to save the princess did you not? You knew there would be no turning back."

"I still fail to see how this is any different. I have said no to numerous ambassadors, nobles, and princes before. And now, I am still saying no."

"But that was when they were all competing against each other. They share one goal now. They want to see the Dragon King and so they will combine their efforts. Arendelle will not sleep a wink until we give into their demands," Eric replied. Watching Elsa let out a sigh, it became very apparent to councilor Eric that the Queen was very much aware of their current situation. But it seemed that her majesty was very much dead set on fighting until the bitter end."If your majesty insists on resisting, then I shall endure hell with you without a single complaint. But please allow me the opportunity to say, 'I told you so' when you eventually give in." With a simple bow the your councillor left the room to leave Elsa alone with her thoughts.

The rest of Elsa's day went by in a flash and soon enough night time came. Checking the buckles of her saddle on the Nadder, Elsa prepared to depart for the ice fortress.

"Are you really going to go?" Anna asked.

"Of course Anna, Hiccup was generous enough to let me stay for the night so I could be with you to watch over Kristoff. It's now time for me to return to him." Elsa said as she turned around to face her sister.

"A few acts of kindness does not excuse him from what he is or what he has done Elsa."

"Which is why I am going. Our deal still stands and as long as I return to him, Arendelle will remain safe."

"Fine, then take this with you," Anna said as she lifted up a mysterious basket.

"What is it?" Taking the basket from Anna's hand Elsa opens up the front flap to find food.

"This is a gift that the head chef put together. Lorraine, his wife, is one of my handmaidens who was also with us on the mountain last night. Despite the method that he took to save us, no one can argue with the end result. This picnic basket is a thank you for saving his wife's life." Anna explained.

Careful not to damage the inner contents, Elsa used her ice powers to lift herself up to the Nadder. Sitting pretty on top of the dragon, the Nadder gave a short ruffle of its spike before standing at full height

"So how was it? Your first flight on a dragon?"

"Aww gee, I was kinda too busy worrying about my dying boyfriend, sorry." Anna said sarcastically, a bit perturbed by her question.

"Oh, sorry Anna," Elsa apologized for her inconsiderate question.

Having successfully tricked Elsa with her false anger, Anna couldn't help but let out a smile as she remembered what it was like up in the sky.

"I expect flying lessons soon Elsa," Anna said, as she watched Elsa take off.

Flying at a breakneck speed, Elsa soared through the clouds. Yesterday both General Grahm and Hiccup said that she wasn't a strong enough dragon rider. They were both correct. In these past three weeks, Elsa had merely been a passenger. No better than mere cargo as she was sent from one destination to the next. But all that was going to change, Elsa was finally confident enough in the air. Hiccup had made her a saddle so she was now safely tied to her dragon. No longer was she going to be a passenger. It was time for her to become a dragon rider. And most important of all, Elsa wanted to impress Anna with her flying prowess when the time came for her lessons.

Being so high up in the sky Elsa felt free, and the serenity helped her clear her mind to think. Flying around in zigzags Elsa took much longer to reach the ice fortress as she needed the extra time to think. It has been so long since she felt like skies gave her that same feeling of when she was first free and alone on the snowy mountains.

"It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small, and the fears that once controlled can't get to me at all." She thought, then smiled at the memory.

Task one, organize a welcome party for Hiccup. A part of her still wanted to keep Hiccup away. Whether it was to protect Hiccup from the world, or to protect the world from Hiccup, Elsa wasn't sure.

Task two, figure out what happened with Hiccup. Spending the night with Anna, she was told of everything that happened on the mountain. There must have been a reason why he was angry. Elsa was a bit nervous to ask Hiccup about it. Would the act of simply asking make him angry?

And yet, Elsa had this overwhelming desire to throw herself at Hiccup. Despite the nightmare that she had last night. The urge to kiss him, to be in his embrace, had not disappeared and she couldn't figure out why. "I guess this is what happens when your fiancée saves your sister," Elsa thought to herself. Spotting the entrance to the ice fortress, Elsa directed her Nadder into a nose dive.

"I am one with the wind and sky."

With a spin Elsa's dragon landed inside the fortress, and she hopped off with practiced ease. Turning around, Elsa gave her thanks to her Nadder. Cooing and giving a scratch to the blue dragon as it gave a small squawk in delight.

"It's finally done," a voice said from behind.

"It's finally done?" Elsa asked, turning around as she hastily fixed her hair.

With a big smile, Hiccup gave nod, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Well, then let's go. You have kept me waiting long enough," Elsa said as she reached out her hand to grab onto his. Leading her through the caverns they come to an open area. So far Elsa only ever seen at most thirty dragons in the hangar. Where had Hiccup been hiding the rest of them? Compared to the rest of the fortress, which is rock and ice, Elsa stepped onto soft grass. Everywhere she looked was filled life with green, trees shrubs, and plants. Looking around Elsa could see the walls were still made of ice but looking up she could see the open night sky.

She was amazed by the sight of so much life in an ice fortress of all things. It was truly beautiful.

"I guess you could say this is a dragon sanctuary or habitat. It was badly damaged in a battle a long time ago," Hiccup explained to her. Running up the hill to get a better look, she spied the massive white dragon from the first day resting in a pool of water. Tiny terrible terrors flew around him and played on top of his tusk.

"He is called a Bewilderbeast," Hiccup told her as he walked up to her side, "His species is known to be king of all dragons, an alpha dragon.

"Bewilderbeast," Elsa repeated slowly taking in the strength and power that came with the word. The white dragon seemed to respond to her call as it started to rise up. With eyes that were as big as Elsa, the dragon watched her with a discerning and critical eye. With a blow of his icy breath, Elsa and Hiccup found themselves covered in snow. With a giggle, Elsa returned the gesture by cupping her hands in front of her mouth and blew snow at the Bewilderbeast until a layer of snow was on his head, face and tusks.

Laying out a patterned blanket, the couple sat together at the top of the hill. With his legs crossed and hands on his knees, Hiccup watched Elsa with sparkling eyes as she unveiled the contents of the mysterious basket.

"This is a gift for you from my head chef, as a thank you for saving all those people last night," Elsa explained.

"It was no trouble at all, but tell your head chef that I appreciate the gift anyways," Hiccup said.

"No trouble at all?" Elsa questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Because from what Anna told it was the exact opposite. Crying out in pain and threatening my people. What exactly happened last night Hiccup?" She questioned him.

Stiffening, Hiccup knew that the question would eventually. With a straight face, Hiccup gave her the a straight answer.

"As I started searching for your sister, I began to have flashes of my past. As the rain stormed down on me, I started to get these images of a man with a scar standing over me and he was surrounded by hundreds of roaring Vikings. With his axe held high and his foot on top of me, he laughed at my face." Hiccup described slowly to make sure Elsa was able to take it all in. Instinctively Elsa reached out and held his hands in comfort as he continued on with the story.

"I started to feel tremendous pain and I could hardly breathe. My body started to spasm all over and I could barely breathe. It was as if my body was remembering the past. By the time I found where everyone was trapped I was on the verge of collapsing and was too consumed by the pain to even think properly." He continued on with his side of the story.

"As I broke into the cave and looked up at the terrified faces of your people, an entirely new scene flashed before me. Everywhere I looked there was fire. Screams of terror and crying filled the air. And there was blood everywhere."

Listening to his recollection, the queen could practically feeling the pain herself. His pained voice struck her deeply to her very soul. Wrapping her hands around Hiccup's head, Elsa pulled him into her warm embrace. Closing eyes, Hiccup listened to the steady rhythm of Elsa's heart to comfort him.

"I wasn't thinking clearly and I wanted the pain to stop. I'm sorry I scared your sister and all those people." Hiccup mumbled with his eyes closed against her body.

"It's okay Hiccup, it wasn't your fault."

Pulling away from Elsa, Hiccup let out a loud exhale.

"But do you know what the worst thing about all of this is?" Hiccup asked rhetorically, "All of that trouble I had to go through, all of that pain and my memories still haven't returned."

Completely frustrated Hiccup fell onto his back and looked up at the now night sky.

"My memories feel closer than ever before. And yet, they won't return to me no matter how hard I try." Reaching out in front of him with his two hands, Hiccup grasped the empty air, "I feel as though they are right in front of me. So close that I could almost touch them but still out of my reach," Hiccup said.

"Toothless has been with you most of your life right. Why don't you ask him? Maybe it will jog your memories," Elsa asked.

"I've tried, but Toothless refuses to tell me anything. He says it will return only at the right time and not a moment sooner." Hiccup said shaking his head.

"It's okay Hiccup there is no hurry. I'm sure they will return soon enough," Elsa comforted as she offered him his food. Smiling Hiccup graciously accepted the food. In comfortable silence, the couple shared a nice late night dinner. They both had much to think about and were relaxed in each other's presence. When they finished eating, they cleaned up and laid down next to each other to watch the stars.

"You've been here for three weeks now Hiccup. I want to hold a welcoming party for you at my palace." Elsa said, having finally broken the silence.

"You don't have to go through all the trouble of throwing a party just for me." Hiccup replied nonchalantly.

"It's no trouble at all Hiccup. Besides a lot of people want to meet you."

"I don't know Elsa," Hiccup said, unsure of himself, "A thousand years is a really long time. The world is so different from what I once knew. I don't want to embarrass myself or you."

"You couldn't possibly be more embarrassing and disastrous them my coronation a few years back" Elsa said with a laugh. Amused at how timid Hiccup was being, Elsa turned to her side to get a better look at Hiccup. Wrapping her arms around his, she rested her chin on his shoulder, "There's no need to worry Hiccup, and I can teach what you need to know."

Despite Elsa's reassurance, Hiccup had his reservations about the idea of a party, still unsure of what his answer would be.

"The thought of meeting people scares me Elsa, humans are scary. I would much rather stay here for the rest of my life with you, Toothless and all the other dragons."

"The world is a scary place. And as the Dragon King, you worry about your subjects rightfully so, but cowering away from it is not the right answer. This isn't living Hiccup. Together we can secure a future for you and your dragons."

"Funny thing about that. You call me the Dragon King but technically it is Toothless who is the Dragon King. They go wherever he goes. He is my best friend and ever since we first met, we've always been together. He wanted to watch over me and protect me until my time on this Earth is complete. And when I die they will return to their world."

Silently Elsa listened and contemplated his words.

"I haven't seen that trouble maker all night. Where is Toothless anyways?"

"Toothless wanted us to have some alone time, told me to hurry it up as he was starting to get impatient." Hiccup said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh," Elsa said, regretting having asked the question as she turned away red in the face. Embarrassed the two fell into another bout of silence

"When is this welcome party for me you are planning?" Hiccup asked to draw back her attention.

"An exact date hasn't been decided yet," Elsa responded. Rubbing her legs together, Elsa squirmed as struggled with her inner turmoil. Hiccup's previous comments about Toothless whereabouts had lit a spark inside of her. The dirty thoughts from the previous night had returned.

Elsa had long moved past the 'conceal don't feel' mantra her father had taught her, but her fears had simply turned it into 'feel don't reveal' which was hardly any better. However, today was going to be different. Tonight Elsa wanted to take the next step.

"I think it's time for me to give you my thanks." Elsa said suddenly and resolutely as she lifted herself up with her elbows and looked down at him.

"For what?" He asked confused.

"For saving my sister." With the tips of her fingers, Elsa brushed her loose platinum blonde hair behind her ear, then leaned down and gave Hiccup a kiss. The brief kiss lasted only a second but it was enough.

Separating, Elsa stared into Hiccup's soft emerald eyes. His eyes were so clear that she could practically see herself in them. Leaning down once more Elsa gave Hiccup another kiss and then another. What had only meant to be a single kissed of gratitude turned into a flurry of kisses. With a soft moan of delight, Elsa wrapped her arms around his neck and grabbed onto the back tuffs of his hair. With each touch, Hiccup responded in kind with great fervor as he glided his hands across her back.

Completely forgetting any form of restraint, Elsa pulled her leg over and straddled herself on top of Hiccup. Greedily, she allowed herself to be consumed by Hiccup touch and passionate caresses. Her body continuously pushed up against him, begging to be touched more as her hands grabbed onto everything and anything that it could. Elsa fell into a state of euphoria as her mind could no longer distinguish anything outside of Hiccup. His scent put her in a drunken haze, the catch of his breath every time she touched him was melodic to her ears, his kisses were practically sucking the life out of her as it left her completely breathless and his every touch made her chest to tighten further and further.

With ragged breathes the two finally separated. Completely sure of her abilities, kissing prowess and by the sounds that Hiccup was making, Elsa looked down with a huge smirk. After that type of performance Elsa was sure what lay beneath her would be nothing more than a grinning and stupefied Hiccup. But what stared back at her was a mask with glowing red eyes.

"Aaaaaah!" Elsa screamed as she tried to stand up but fell backwards onto her butt.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked as he tried to get a closer to Elsa only to have her shuffle away from him completely scared out of her life. Stopping Hiccup watched her terror-stricken face. With a sigh, Hiccup took a step back.

"When are you going to tell me what's wrong" Hiccup said, frowning at Elsa, "I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong.

Completely panting and wide eyed Elsa didn't know how to respond, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. It was only when Elsa's chest stopped heaving did she finally speak.

"I am sorry Hiccup. I know this keeps happening but this is something I need to deal with on my own. I just need a little more time. So can you be a little bit more patient with me? Please Hiccup." Elsa begged.

"Alright, I will let it go for now. But I still wish you would tell me what's wrong."

"Sorry," Elsa apologized as she truly was remorseful about not being able to tell him.

"It's getting late I think it time we turn in for the night," Hiccup said, brushing off her heartfelt apology.

Nodding silently Elsa followed after Hiccup to their room and left the Dragon Sanctuary. The bed never felt more awkward for the two. They both had more things to say to each other, more feelings and emotions to convey but at the same time they both refused to look at each other. For the longest time the two simply laid there, alone with their thoughts. It wasn't until Elsa reached out her hand and grabbed Hiccup's hand did the couple finally fall asleep.

Thank you Colonel Pepper for his help with this chapter as always. And thank you to all my reviewers and all future reviews. They really do help.