AN: Hello my fellow readers. As you all know I managed to buy a new notebook for me, so updates should resume their previous schedule without any issues. I'll be deleting both ANs so they don`t cause any confusion. I was supposed to publish this chapter on my birthday (this Monday), but due to some circunstances I am publishing it only now. I apologize for the needless wait you all had to have.

Anyay, here are the review responses:

Kilo8: Well, you no longer need to wait for an update. I managed to solve my issue (thankfully it was around my birthday, so I got eough money to buy a new computer. About that I actually hadn't thought of it, but it actually is a very nice idea. I'll write it down and see how I can put it in the story. Don't expect for it to appear anytime soon, though.

the-real-dragon-rider: Well them, I'll let you keep wondering then. Just remember that the villain may not be as obvious as you may think.

Noctus Fury: Well, I just noticed it. Another author pointed it out too. Don't know when I'll go back and fix those though. Yes I like very much the Idun-Elsa scenes too. I feel like most people put the spotlight on her relationship with her father, and leave Idun in the shadows. And thank you. Writing Elsa realistically is hard, and one of the reasons this story is a crossover is because I feel comfortable with writing Hiccup, so he was sort of a clutch for me to find the courage to write our future Snow Queen. And I'm glad that you like their interaction, since it is pretty much the core of this story. Lastly, yes, I like to think that they used to be friends, and other theories. If you have some that you think I haven't used, or don't know, please, feel free to talk about it.

SpicedGold: Ah my dear, always a pleasure to see your username on my review list. Well, I only noticed it after I began HTLIG, and only a little before we met I had solid in my mind how they were alike in some aspects even though they have very different lifes and personalities. And yes, they'll become very close friends, as I have shown you. Am looking forward to see what do you think of this chapter :)

So, without further ado:

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Elsa went to her room feeling like a mess. She felt almost ashamed at how forgiving he had been, and relieved that he didn't press on. She also felt a bit guilty that he spoke everything about him to her, and yet, when she closed off the moment he wanted to know something about her, and rightfully so, he didn't even mind; instead he was very understanding of her desire to keep her own story hidden.

Her mind was a buzz, thoughts coming and going frenetically, especially because he didn't seem angry at her at all, but more like he seemed understanding about her reluctance. She wondered if the fact that he had been an outcast on his village made him understand her hesitance, or if, dare she say so, he was simply kindhearted enough to respect her desire, even though she, more or less, had to tell him her story sooner or later. Another yawn escaped her lips, but this time she didn't bother in covering it. She decided that moment to think about those things on the next day and go to sleep.

When she reached her room Elsa didn't even bother to go to her table and lit a candle to draw, since that day she had had a better view of both him and the dragon, or even go to her vanity to braid her hair so it wouldn't be a mess when she awakes. She went directly to the wardrobe, and changed into her nightgown before dropping herself on the bed in a very un-Queenly way.

Her sleep wasn't as peaceful as the day before. Her dreams were a mess just like her head had been before she fell asleep. Mostly, her dreams were about him and the dragon, although most of them were nightmares, which mostly consisted of scenes of him lashing out at her because she shut him out, of him leaving, of her in his place when the dragon pounced at him. These nightmares plagued her mind throughout the night, making her uneasily shift on her bed.

Her last nightmare was of Toothless pouncing on her, ready to burn her with his flames, while Hiccup was lying on the ground, unconscious and shivering badly. She closed her eyes in the dream just before the flames reached her body. She awoke by jolting up, right after this scene played on her head, and noticed the layer of frost around her silk blanket. Her breathing was uneven, and despite the night being almost as cold as the North Mountain usually is, she was sweating.

She pinched the bridge of her nose while closing her eyes and sighed. She shouldn't bother about the frost on her bed since it was a result of her nightmare, but she did. She felt bad about it, not as bad as when she has an outburst, but bad nonetheless, because it reminds her of how, even when sleeping, her powers can be out of control. She breathed deeply in an attempt to even her breathing.

"It was just a dream… or nightmare more like it. None of it was real. He's not mad at you, he doesn't know of your powers, his dragon is a big softy standing right beside him and he is certainly not freezing to death," Elsa mumbled to herself as a way to calm her down. She hated how those dreams felt so real, since she already had to deal with the memories of her outburst, and the day she accidentally hit Anna.

Once the scenes stopped coming to her mind her shoulders relaxed. She sighed in relief, appreciating her evened breathing while slowly lying down again. Despite being afraid of sleeping again, only meet more nightmares, Elsa felt herself being slowly taken away to the land of dreams. She was feeling very tired, and figured it must have been the exhaustion of her last outburst added with the fact that she almost didn't sleep yesterday.

It didn't take longer than a minute for her to fall asleep again. Fortunately, this sleep was a dreamless one, meaning that the princess would be able to recover her energies. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth, and the snow around her blanket slowly thawed away as her body completely relaxed.

007

007

Elsa slowly awoke to meet this new day. The sun was shining on the sky, and the light hitting her floor illuminated the whole room. A sense of warmth irradiated from it despite almost no warmth coming from the sun these days. She absentminded discarded herself of the silk blanket, as it was feeling oddly heavy to her. She found out why after she rubbed the sleep off from her eyes.

The blanket was full of water stains, probably from the frost that she created yesterday. She groaned in frustration, figuring she would need to ask, indirectly, Gerda for a new bedding when she came with Elsa's breakfast. Still, Elsa didn't remember of the nightmare she had this night, so her day didn't begin somber.

She rose from her bed and stretched, enough so her lazy muscles would begin to work properly. She folded the wet blanket almost automatically, since, due to the isolation, she was used to make her bedding and changing it. She, unlike Anna, liked to keep her room clean and organized, more out of habit than of need.

Besides, the fact that she spent almost the whole time on her room since the isolation was barely a motivation to keep it clean. She did so because it was a habit she inherited from her father, as Agdar also liked to keep his things clean and organized, without having to rely on someone else to do so. Of course, this is expected of a King, but since he was young he had that habit, just like Elsa has.

That day she had no lessons to attend, so she settled on drawing. Her mother came to check her, but she dismissed the company saying 'she didn't sleep well and was tired'. If the Queen found odd the excuse she didn't show.

When night arrived, Elsa actually debated with herself if she should go see the boy or not. After minutes of pacing around and mumbling to herself she decided on going, since it would be unfair of her for not going, as the boy didn't do anything wrong.

007

The Queen passed all day on the library, not fully committed to her reading. She was even more confused at Elsa's behavior this day than she had been the day before. All the enthusiasm her daughter showed had suddenly vanished. Agdar that night suggested if it was her time of the month, but Idun quickly dismissed it.

She theorized that whatever made Elsa happy that night had gone, and thus her own enthusiasm vanished as well. They settled that since it was not anything too worrying, they wouldn't ask any questions.

007

When Elsa arrived she only whispered a greeting when Hiccup greeted her. Sensing that the princess was troubled, he decided to use a soft tone instead of his enthusiastic one. She also only gave a small nod when asked if she wanted to hear how he and Toothless became friends.

"So, I found him after searching in the woods. He was trapped inside a cove, and I couldn't understand why he wouldn't leave. He noticed me there, and we both stared at each other out of curiosity, which to me only proved once again that 'a dragon always goes for the kill' was not the truth."

"It was only when Gobber reunited us to tell his war stories that I realized why he didn't leave. He lost an arm and a leg in the raids." She looked at him horrified. "He had a peg leg and interchangeable tools replacing his lower arm. Even without two limbs he was one of our best fighters."

Elsa tried to picture the scene of losing a limb. Rarely, one of the ice harvesters would have a limb cut due to frostbite. But still, that was very different from losing one in combat.

"Try not to think about it. I was his apprentice when he lost his leg, so believe me when I tell you it is better not to think about that," he advised. Elsa followed his advice and relaxed when the images were gone, and she no longer felt nauseous.

"So, he was telling us about his stories when he said one thing that took my attention." He paused, and only when Elsa was giving his full attention to him that he progressed with the story.

"He said 'it's for the wings yeh must go. A downed dragon is a dead dragon'," he spoke in true Gobber fashion. "It was only then that I realized what happened. I had maimed one of his tailfins and, consequently, doomed him to die trapped in that cove."

Elsa gasped in surprise. Sure, she noticed he only mentioned the tailfin that moment, although he probably saw that when he looked at the dragon back at the Cove. Hiccup gazed to the ground feeling a bit shamed. The dragon cooed at him, as if telling him that he was forgiven.

Elsa understood too well what he was feeling. He had almost killed his best friend and, even though they weren't friends the moment he did it, he now carried a burden of his actions. Even if it meant it was what made possible they meet each other.

Still, if the dragon couldn't fly… "How come both of you are here if he couldn't fly?" She asked him.

Hiccup looked at her and grinned. He motioned to Toothless bring up his tail, and under the light of the moon, he showed it to her. "I decided to amend my mistake. So I built him an artificial tail," he pointed to the leather brown tail contrasting to the jet black one.

Elsa, again, gasped when she saw the tail. Too many things got her surprised: the craftsmanship of the prosthesis, as it mirrored perfectly the real tail, and also the meaning behind his gesture. She saw that he wasn't the only one forgiving. Toothless also forgave him for maiming his tail and apparently held no resentment about it.

"He forgave me when I won his trust, and I tried to amend my mistake. During our first tests I noticed he would need a rider to be able to fly again. Days passed as we tested it, improving his rig every time. I also learned more about dragons by passing most of my day with him, and used it on training."

"When I got better at it the teens stopped on picking me, and the village even began to praise me. When my dad returned from the nest," she assumed they didn't find, if his talk about going back to deal with it earlier was any indication, "he was very proud of me. It was actually the first time I've seen him proud…" he trailed off, remembering it.

Elsa was intrigued. "If everything was better, then why did you leave?" she asked with a small naivety in her question.

Hiccup sighed. He expected that question. "Well, it would be only a matter of time before someone found out about Toothless. I was also chosen to kill a dragon as a prize for being the best student, and coming on top of Dragon Training. So, as soon as I was named, I began planning my escape," he explained with a slightly sorrowful tone.

"I bought some maps from the trader that passes by sporadically on our island, then I convinced dad to name Astrid heir of the tribe, saying that she was respected, both as a leader and as a warrior. Which, to be honest, is quite true," he added.

"I left him a letter telling him that I would do a trip to 'gather more wisdom so I could become a worthy heir of Berk'," he recited. Elsa felt like protesting about that, since it was clear the boy was very clever, but his raised hand stopped her from doing so, as if he had been expecting her to do so.

"I know what you're going to say. You might think this is a joke, but they didn't. I became a good warrior in their eyes, but a leader's skill is not measured by his skills in combat," he told. Elsa nodded in understanding, since her father spoke something similar when talking about diplomacy: 'A kingdom with a formidable army is respectable; a kingdom with a formidable diplomacy is admirable'.

"I went to the Forge to leave some part away gifts. I was planning on doing something for Gobber, Astrid and dad, although I eventually didn't do for him," he won a puzzled look from Elsa. He didn't look like he held any grudges, so why wouldn't he do anything for his father? The question travelled inside her head.

Almost if Hiccup read her mind he said. "I've made him a hammer once, using a new technique I had developed using what I read in some forging books I bought from Trader Johann. He didn't accept it…" he finished sadly. It still hurt him that his father denied his gift because of pride. That was another reason to why he left. Stoick's pride wouldn't let him be heard like always, but this time Toothless' safety would be at risk.

"Anyway…" he said while shaking his head. Once the memory was gone he proceeded. "I was doing their gifts when Astrid came to the forge and confronted me. After we had a little argument"-'which was anything but little' he added mentally,-"she ended up telling me she knew about Toothless."

"After I explained to her what my reasons were, and introduced her to Toothless, we amended our friendship. Sadly I departed a few moments after that," he finished explaining.

Elsa was amused at how many surprises the boy had in storage to show, or how some situations he lived through were strikingly similar to her, especially the last bit of his tale, as of now. "So, you're saying that everything that you wanted you won and had to give up shortly after?" she asked in utter shock, yet also sadly understanding how it felt.

Hiccup scratched his chin, thinking about it. "If you put it that way, then yeah, you could say that." he reasoned.

Something struck inside Elsa. It was much like her own situation three years ago. She had everything that she wanted, just for it to slip away from her grasp. Her powers were under control, she was speaking with Anna, she left the room sometimes, and she was closer to her mother and her father. And then that day happened, and everything she struggled to win was lost.

She decided to apologize to him. It was the least she could do. One day she could tell him her own story, since he does look like he is open minded. If befriending a dragon while living in a village full of dragon killers proved anything.

"Look Hiccup…" she took a sharp breath. "I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday." And this time she was the one to hold up a hand to ask for silence. "Please let me finish," she asked. Hiccup pouted a little but nodded. "I was wrong acting like that without giving you a reason… one day I'll tell you my story, but not for now. I hope you understand," she added the last part quietly.

"I see…" he said. The prospect of learning about her past, and what haunted her, was good to him. Since he didn't plan on going anywhere, he could await. Still, he wondered why such hesitation. Maybe… "Are you afraid of something…?" he inquired, sensing some fear coming from her. "You don't need to answer that if you don't feel like doing so," he added the last part when she clearly showed a frightened face.

Elsa bit her lips. Maybe it was because she was hugging herself that he figured it out. Or the look she had on her face. She nodded slowly before speaking. "I'm afraid of you will you react," she answered.

Hiccup felt confused. A million different thoughts ran through his mind at what horrible thing she could have done so she would be afraid of her reaction. "You do know I come from a dragon killing Viking village don't you?" he asked, wanting to subtly say he had seen some pretty nasty things.

Unfortunately Elsa nodded without hesitation, which worried him a little. "I do. Just promise me you'll have an open mind when I tell you." Hiccup nodded, since it was pretty much the only thing he could do.

Elsa's gaze fell again on the tailfin. She wondered how he built it if the dragon was not around so he could see the tail… "Hiccup? How did you build his tail?" she said, also changing the subject.

Hiccup furrowed his brows, noticing the not so subtle change, but didn't say anything. If he was to stay at the tower for a while, he might as well not press her into saying anything. Especially when she said she would eventually tell him. "Well. I first sketched him when I found him trapped. Then, when I decided to build the tail, I made some blueprints of how the tail would be, and then forged it based on those blueprints," he stated. Honestly he didn't see anything extraordinary on the process. It was much like every process on building something other than weapons.

"So that means you know how to draw?" Elsa asked. She was no fool. She noticed the precision used on the artificial tail. Being a good blacksmith wouldn't be enough. Since she loved geometry, she could tell that to build a tail like that, he would need very accurate blueprints of it. And since he did the blueprints…

Hiccup's confidence was thrown through the window the moment her words reached his ears. He definitely won more since his talk to Astrid, but still, he was a fifteen years old scrawny boy who was shadowed, for a decade, by both men and women from his tribe, and was having an actual conversation with a beautiful princess. His confidence was bound to leave at some moment.

"Y-yeah, I guess," he stammered, feeling awkward. No one ever wanted to see his sketches, so if was only natural that this kind of attention made him feel sheepish. He rubbed the back of his neck while averting his gaze.

Elsa smiled. The boy was definitely shy around girls. She liked how he spoke with confidence about his story, but also at how awkward he could get when she asked about any abilities he had. He was a humble person, this much she had figured, and she liked it. Both her parents were humble, even though they were the rulers.

She felt a little sheepish at what she would say. But since he was pretty much done telling his story to her, probably leaving out some part for her own mental safety, they wouldn't have anything else to discuss. And she wasn't ready to bring up her past, not yet. "Good. I also like to draw. Maybe we could show each other some drawings, don't you think?"

His eyes widened in surprise. He actually forgot for a moment how to talk. He could only imagine how her drawings were. And she wanted to compare with his and vice versa. This was something he never expected to do. He always drew to himself to occupy his mind, so it wasn't like he tried to make each sketch perfect, although he did like to pour some attention to each one.

When he regained control over his vocabulary he spoke, still not meeting her eyes. "Y-yeah, s-sure we could," he stammered. Elsa smiled, and was about to speak when Hiccup yawned.

She giggled a little at the irony. "It seems like someone here needs to rest," she playfully teased. Hiccup all but gave in, not even minding her little teasing, as he felt like he would sleep at any second. He leaned on Toothless, and opened his eyes just to bid her goodnight.

She also bid him and left shortly after that. She didn't feel exhausted as yesterday, but was still tired. Not to mention that sitting on the floor was quite uncomforting for her. That night Elsa slept soundly, although she had a couple of nightmares… some involving a brown haired boy with green eyes looking at her with horror as she revealed to him her powers. Weirdly, her dreams were constantly changing, so the nightmares ended up lasting little more than a couple of seconds. The same went for any good dreams she had.

007

007

Days passed, in which most of them Elsa would visit Hiccup at night. Since her new found knowledge about his drawings skills, she was ecstatic on having something in common to talk about. Sure, she liked to hear his story, and found many likenesses they shared, albeit from different situations, but it still wasn't something both could talk.

Well, if a couple of phrases a conversation can be considered a conversation. When they compared each other's sketches and drawings, Hiccup would be, most of the time, awed at her drawings, much to a slightly blushing Elsa contentment, and when he wasn't, he would be complimenting her drawings. Of course Elsa did the same with Hiccup's sketches, but her shy and closed nature would stop her from ranting about them like Hiccup did sometimes.

Elsa found that, when Hiccup wasn't acting like the shy insecure boy she found out he is inside, his curiosity and talking would remind her of Anna. Still, the comparison would last until he did a sarcastic remark, most of the times playful. This trail was unique to him, and something Elsa grew found, since it made her giggle most of the times.

Neither attempted to have any sort of physical contact, not even a handshake, though. Hiccup's shy nature would return every time he looked at Elsa for longer than a second, and her own shyness and fear of her powers kept her from giving the first step. She would great him with a wave, and he would reply with another.

007

Two weeks has passed since they started comparing their sketches. Agdar and Idun noticed the odd behavior their daughter was having, but didn't complain. Elsa's attention at the lessons brightened her mother's mood, and she was slowly opening up. While it was not common of her to start any sort of conversations, Idun's hope only flamed more every time Elsa started a conversation, no matter how brief it was. Both of them reached the conclusion that whatever the source of her change was, it was coming from the almost-daily visits on that tower.

They also agreed that, no matter how painful for them, especially Idun, they would have to wait until Elsa revealed to them what made her changed. Granted that it was a subtle change, but since the isolation began seen years before, no member of their family took anything from granted. Especially after Elsa shut out all kind of physical contact with her parents after her power outburst three years prior.

One night, Elsa reached the tower and saw what she would consider one of the funniest scenes she has ever seen. Both Toothless and Hiccup were soundly asleep, but lying down in very funny poses. Toothless was lying on his back, his paws hanging in the air like a puppy, and Hiccup was asleep in his belly, all thrown out. She observed the scene for a few seconds, capturing all the details that she would definitely put on a drawing later that night, before disrupting it.

She gave a fake cough, but neither stirred up. She decided to call for him. "Hiccup?" she called, in her normal tone, which was a little low when compared to the usual. The boy stirred, but stood stubbornly asleep. She sighed, a bit annoyed, and increased her volume slightly, since it was too foreign to her shout. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup awoke startled. Even though the tone she used wasn't higher than the one he usually uses when speaking to her, it was unexpected nonetheless. His jerking made him fall face-planted on the floor. He heard a faint laughing, and turned very confused to look at the princess standing before him.

"Oh man…" he mumbled, gripping slightly the side of his head that happily encountered the floor. As he was half-asleep, he didn't register much of his surroundings, except for the princess.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her confused. When she stopped giggling and returned a confused look to him, his surroundings became clearer. He turned to look at the window and gasped when he saw it was night. "Wow, night already? I guess I overslept," he commented to himself.

Toothless had awakened with Hiccup's fall, and crooned in agreement with his rider's statement, also confused at how it was already night. Elsa, meanwhile, was completely lost. "So, would you tell me why all the fuss?" she asked, vaguely gesturing to them and feeling slightly embarrassed that she brought them out of their sleep.

Hiccup turned to look at her to explain. "Well, I didn't have anything more to sketch on my journal, so Toothless and I decided to do some wrestling. We played until we both ended up tired and I guess we just fell asleep. I didn't think we would sleep through most of the day…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck while a little embarrassed. He didn't even want to think how he looked like sleeping, although he wished the princess didn't see anything embarrassing.

"I see…" Elsa said, a little thoughtful. Since they pretty much compared every drawing and sketch both had, there wasn't much else to do. "Well… you told me your story, but not much about you…" she mused, happy as she found a new subject.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was anything but happy. In fact, he was shocked. Of course, old habits die hard, so it was a bit difficult to wrap his mind around the idea. "A-about me?" he stuttered nervously but also surprised.

"Yes, is there anything wrong about it?" Elsa asked, although a bit too innocent. She liked Hiccup's shyness because it made her feel somewhat normal. It drifted her mind away from her powers, and everything associated with them.

"Well… No, I guess…" Hiccup mumbled thoughtful. "What would you like to know about me?" he asked, feeling completely at a loss about what should he speak.

"Well, how about we start with what you liked to do on Berk. You said you used to work in a forge back there…" she pointed out this fact as a push to encourage him to talk.

"Well… yeah, I've spent almost a decade working there…"–'and the subtle nudge apparently worked' Elsa thought amusedly-"After my apprenticeship finished I became an assistant to Gobber. We would usually make swords, axes and sharpen them most of the times. During the raids I would usually help him fix the broken weapons, mostly heating them while he mended those. Of course when I was not out testing a new contraption I built."

Elsa listened, carefully to his talking. Hearing him made her feel at ease. Sometimes, when discussing literature with her mother she also felt that, although not for long. The explanation Elsa found for this was that these secret meetings were like an escape from her isolation, a part of her life unaffected by her powers. He didn't expect anything from her and had only made her uncomfortable once, and it had been accidentally. Her mind drifted astray, trying to imagine all the scenarios that he spoke of as he regarded his life.

"Well, I also spent a good portion of my time designing new contraptions, or improving my own designs. It was mainly because of these things that I know how to, as you say, flawlessly draw," he playfully teased, earning a smile from Elsa. "I also used my perk of knowing how to read so I could get some books with Johann to improve my forging," he added.

"Wait." Elsa interrupted. "So, you like to read?" she asked, with a tad hint of hope in her question. Perhaps this was another subject they had in common. Elsa herself fancied reading a lot, ever since her mother read to her poetry. Although she doubted there was such a thing in his tribe, he could also enjoy it if presented with the idea.

"Well, you could say so" he answered a bit uncertain. "Not like Fishlegs, who memorized the Book of Dragons after reading it seven times, but yeah, sometimes I used to grab a book and read. That is, when there was a book to read. Since it's not something Vikings do often, and because of the dragons, we only had few books on Berk, and most of them were with Fishlegs. The majority of the books I read I got with Johann," he explained.

Elsa nodded in understanding. She deduced the subjects that he read must have been limited, especially since his main goal on reading books was to improve forging techniques. Maybe… "Well, the castle possesses a huge library. I could bring some of the books, so you could see if you fancy anything. It would also help you with your boredom problem," she said while gesturing for both human and dragon.

Hiccup's face turned scarlet at the mention of the situation they were when she arrived. Still, his mind thought about what she said. "Yeah, it would be nice. Most of the things I read were about forging, so it could be nice to read about other things…" he pondered, scratching his chin.

Elsa smiled at his acceptance about the idea. Given the broad arrange of books the castle library had, she guessed they could spend many days talking about those, that is, if he likes any of them. It would allow herself to be comfortable enough around him to talk about her story, and her powers. She had no doubts that he wanted to know, but was grateful that he was patient and respectful to wait until she decided to speak.

Hiccup saw this idea with a similar interest. He picked from Elsa's enthusiasm that she must like reading a lot, though about what he was sure he would discover on the following days. It would also allow him to see if she was comfortable enough to be introduced to Windwalker. It's true that she had won his trust in between those two weeks they have known each other, but not once she came close to him. The closest she came was to lend him a drawing she did or grab one of his sketches. They had yet to share even a handshake, let alone any other kind of physical contact, like a pat on the shoulder.