A Chance Encounter

by R-dude

Hiccup is lost. Elsa is looking for something. A chance encounter between them has far-reaching consequences.

9. Hiccup 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the HTTYD characters, places and situations that you recognize. I do not own the cameo character, either.

Acknowledgements: As always, respect, love and reverence to the Lady Sorrows, AKA Yes Miss Lady. Further ackowledgement goes to Katarina Aguilar, the mass anonymous reviewer. I love you, Katarina, and so do many other people. Life is full of wonders and, occasionally, good fanfiction. Understand this and do not do anything rash.

Last, to my reviewers, all of you sexy people. I don't know when I would have updated if you didn't keep reminding me, but it probably wouldn't have been this soon. Thank you.

Notes:

a) Hey. Here we are again, two summer jobs, one commissioned original work, two girlfriends, one new PS3 MMO(Destiny), one new university and one new house later. Back from summer break! It was a pretty busy one.

b) I finally saw HTTYD 2. Mixed feelings over it. Hiccup's mother annoyed me just as much as I thought she would, and the plot in general was all over the place once I stopped to consider it, but (and this is a very big but) none of that matters because Hiccup is so. Damn. Awesome. Very rarely is a character enough to carry an otherwise bad movie, but this guy ... damn. All in all, the movie was worse than the original, but Hiccup got an 10x awesomeness multiplier.

Also regarding HTTYD 2, it made me ship Hiccup/Astrid even harder than before. I've always supported them, and the movie only strengthened it.

And, last but certainly not least, I was surprised to realise that I can fit HTTYD 2 in my headcanon for this story. So, rejoice! The only part my story clashed on with canon is the date of Valka's dissapearance, and I might just go back and retcon that since it's only mentioned once in my fic.

c) I am not at all happy with this chapter. It seemed much better in my head. Regardless, this is how I had planned the story to progress, so this is how it's going to be.

---

~H~
A Chance Encounter, Chapter 9
~H~

---

Hiccup thought it prudent, in light of his recent falling-out with the Queen, to not join her and her sister for breakfast. Rather, he had Ernie bring him breakfast and he ate with Toothless. There was a lot to be done, and a lot that had been done to be processed.

Their fight, whilst unexpected, did not entirely ruin his plans. Yes, losing her trust was a blow that would smart for a while, but it did, if indirectly, help advance his goals. In finding out that there were more dragons, it opened the field for him. Rather than deny his overeager friend, he could allow her to visit him, and in the process reveal Berk's might to this corner of the world.

He'd been hesitant, of course. Revealing the dragons on his own terms had been the original goal of his trip south, but the hesitation, born of a war that still plagued his dreams and thoughts, stayed his hands. Now the choice had been made and it was not his, yet it was the one he was supposed to take. In a way, this outcome of events relieved him. Now, there was no turning back.

He'd already sent Frot with his positive reply yesterday. He expected the little terror to reach Berk in four days, three if the weather was on his side. Gods willing, he was expecting her at the end of the week.

Hiccup smiled. He hadn't seen his blonde-haired friend in a while, and her aggressive attitude never ceased to cheer him up.

"It's gonna be fun to have her with us, won't it, Toothless?" He asked his dragon companion. "Just like old times, eh?"

Toothless raised his maw from his breakfast and let out an excited warble, clearly just as excited as he was to see a familiar face.

Still, that was a few days away. He still had things to do here. There was the Queen's map to finish-a fine challenge that he had foolishly jumped headfirst into-, the Queen's portrait that was almost finished, and his own personal projects. Projects that included copies of the amazing crossbow design, with his personal flair, of course, or further scouting of the countryside and the castle's newfound aerial defences.

The new ballistas were crude, and if asked Hiccup would've had several suggestions, but they would work. The message was clear.

He kept Toothless company for a while, before bidding his friend goodbye and leaving their quarters, leaving the reptile to sleep once again.

Today, he had planned to hole himself in the public Library and find out what he could. To his annoyance, whilst Arendelle and Berk shared a common language, Arendelle's alphabet was entirely different, making Elsa's extensive collection frustratingly inaccessible. Still, Ernie was there to help him and had done so since his arrival in the city, and the letters were not particularly hard. He'd already reached a point where he could translate simple texts and contextually understand more complicated ones. The Librarian was appreciative of his curiosity and helped him find everything he needed.

The reason for his visit to the Library was two-fold. One, history. He wanted to learn the history of Arendelle. Fascinating to be sure, especially the legend of its founding by Elsa's ancestor, who was said to be in possession of ice powers, himself. It was more of a fairy tale than a historical account, but with Queen Elsa displaying the same alleged skillset, some semblance of truth could not be discounted.

Second, and more boring, were laws. He wanted to find out everything he could about Arendelle's justice system, for that was the system that truly controlled how a country worked. Though infinitely less fascinating, it sparked its own kind of interest. The justice system was a collection of legislations and directives, some of which were drafted a few months ago, while others dated back to Arendelle's founding. There was no body of people that drafted the laws or vetoed them. Rather, a select few individuals had the ability to draft or repeal them.

Perhaps most interesting of all his finds, was an addition made by the Commander General regarding succession. The date matched the historical day of the announcement of the deaths of Elsa's parents, and it directed that should Elsa herself pass away, the crown would pass to the Commander General rather than princess Anna, until such a time as the princess was judged fit to lead.

That made Hiccup frown as he read the passage, and he contemplated it for some time. It did not fall to him to judge another country's laws or its lawmakers, but such an order did not sit well with him. No man should be given the power to legally place himself in a position of succession preceding that of the Royal Family.

Still, he was here to learn, not to challenge Arendelle's legalities. He made a note of the passage and continued his reading.

He was roused from his research by Ernie, who informed him that Court would begin soon. Hiccup was rather startled, he hadn't noticed time passing so quickly.

"Perhaps you'd like to eat something before attending Court, seeing as you have already passed over lunch?"

With a jolt, Hiccup realized that he was starving; he gratefully accepted the young servant's offer.

Ernie led him to a spacious room near the kitchens, where a small table was set in one side while the rest of it was empty, cleared to fit his dragon companion.

Hiccup pulled up a chair, and almost attacked the meaty stew placed in front of him. He really didn't appreciate Ernie enough; the young man had eased his stay in the castle in a hundred small unobtrusive ways. Guiltily he realised he knew very little about him. Between bites he attempted to engage him in conversation.

"Say, Ernie, where are you from?"

"Excuse me?"

"I realized recently that you've told me all about your work in the castle, but little about you, personally. Did you always live in the castle? Do you have a family? A girlfriend? A pet?"

"Ahem." Ernie cleared his throat, cheeks red with the embarrassment of being put under scrutiny, momentarily losing his characteristic stoicism.
"Well, since you asked, I see no harm in telling you. No, I didn't always live in the castle. I come from a province on the far end of Arendelle, near the borders. My parents gave me to the castle's service at the age of five, in exchange for livestock and tools."

Hiccup's eyes widened, and he was thankful he hadn't been trying to swallow anything.

"You were sold?"

Ernie frowned. "I suppose that's one way of putting it, if you choose to see it like that."

"How else could I see it? You're telling me you're basically a slave?"

"It's not as bad as you make it sound, you know."

Hiccup did try to calm himself, he really did. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and allowed his anger to cool. He obviously didn't see the whole picture here, so he shouldn't jump to conclusions and wrath. Still, he'd fought very hard to make sure dragons were not treated as slaves. He hated human slavery just as much, if not more.

"I'm sorry Ernie, I didn't mean to judge so quickly. Why don't you go ahead and explain, yeah?"

"My parents are farmers, in a very rocky and mountainous part of the kingdom. The labor is hard, and the weather conditions are oftentimes extreme. They themselves were very poor and their equipment in disrepair. They knew no letters to teach me. All in all, when the opportunity presented itself to have me sent to the castle, to be educated and clothed and fed, they jumped at it. The things they got in return were just a bonus."

"Okay, it does sound better when you're saying it." Hiccup said. "Have you spoken to them since?"

"I … have. Once, some years ago."

Hiccup frowned. "Why just once?"

"It's pretty far away, and the journey is perilous and long. It is … inadvisable."

"I see." Hiccup scratched his chin, feeling fresh stubble there. Perhaps he'd be able to help his new friend somehow, after all.

"Any siblings?"

"None. And before you ask, my schedule is too busy to allow for a relationship of the roma- no, stop. I know what that smile means. Don't even think about it."

Hiccup grinned further. "I swear I'm not thinking what you think I'm thinking."

"Yes you are. Stop."

Hiccup raised his arms in surrender. "Fine, fine. Your choice."

"Thank you."

"Having said that, you did see that look that serving girl threw you, right?"

"Hiccup!"

~H~

After the early dinner, Hiccup once again attended Court. It was interesting to see how the Queen asserted her power. After a few days watching, he was beginning to form a concrete opinion of her. She did not even glance his way, which he thought was rather deliberate. It hurt his pride a little bit, but he had expected something like that, so he wasn't too surprised.

The next day, he spent most of his morning completing the Queen's portrait. He and Toothless spent most of the day lounging in the Gardens, as Toothless groomed himself and Hiccup lay against his side and drew. What started off as a simple sketch turned, at her encouragement, into a full-out drawing. Though he never worked with colors, he thought that it was still good. The original sketch, done on his notebook, was redrawn in a bigger version in tough paper, provided to him by Ernie.

By the evening, even the finishing touches were done. He put on a simple white tunic and went searching for the Queen. Hopefully he'd manage to fix the only hurdle that'd occurred so far and get the Queen to at least friendly again.

Not having seen her anywhere in or around the gardens, he decided to head straight for her office. He let the guard announce him, and counted the minutes until he was allowed in. Six and a half. Not long enough to be insulting, but long enough to leave an impression.

He entered her office, gingerly carrying his covered drawing. The Queen was, as always, sitting on her chair, green gown flowing around her and hair caught in a stylish ponytail. She regarded him stoically; her gaze so icy Hiccup wondered whether she was using her powers.

"Greetings, Queen Elsa."

"Chief Haddock." She greeted with a tiny nod, before asking pointedly: "I do not recall an appointment with you, or having asked for you."

Ouch. She pulled no punches.

"Indeed you have not. Perhaps, if you are not too busy, you could spare a few minutes for me?" He punctuated his words with a slight smile.

Maybe she was moved, maybe she simply didn't want to argue, but she agreed.

"I have two things I want to discuss."

"First, I would like your permission to take Ernie to visit his parents."

The Queen's raised eyebrows revealed her surprise, but her face did not otherwise move.

"So he has shared his story with you, that's nice. Still, the journey is a long and dangerous one. Ernie cannot be missing for long without having scheduled it beforehand. For that matter, neither should you."

"If Ernie described it correctly, his parent's village is only a few hours of flight time away."

She was silent for a few seconds. "You want to … take Ernie on the dragon? With you?"

Did she doubt his word?

"Of course. Ernie's a good kid, he deserves to see his family more often. If we go tomorrow morning, we'll be back by dinnertime."

"And why did you feel the need to ask me? Madam Gertrude is in charge of all the staff."

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to run it by you, first, in case you had objections."

"Why would I have objections?"

Hiccup levelled her with a look.

"You don't like Toothless at all."

The Queen opened her mouth, probably to deny it, but then stopped. Hiccup watched her, fascinated as her expression shifted.

"No, not yet." She admitted. "Thank you for asking for my input. However, I trust you to control your dragon, who in turn seems to like Ernie well enough. If Ernie chooses to, you can have the next day for your visit. I won't stop him."

"My thanks, Queen Elsa."

"Now, as for the second reason of your little visit, I assume it has to do with that thing you're carrying?"

Hiccup scoffed. "Please don't call it a thing."

"Well, can I see it? I assume it's a drawing of some sort? Is it the map?"

"No, it's not the map. It is, however, something you asked for."

She raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but Hiccup only smiled lightly, giving her time to figure it out and relishing the slight widening of her eyes and the tightening of her lips.

"I … see. So, you still consider our deal to be valid."

"I don't see why not. You sang for me, and it was beautiful. The least I could do was give you what you asked for. I only hope you don't have terribly high expectations."

She waved her hand at his words.

"Nonsense, I'm sure it's great. Well, the suspense is killing me. Can I see it?" As she said this, she rose from her chair and walked around her desk, coming closer. If her expression was not so controlled, Hiccup would have said she looked almost eager.

Hiccup brought the covered sketch in front of him, and dramatically held his hand over it. It earned him an annoyed look from the Queen. He chuckled, and drew back the fabric, revealing the sketch underneath.

Made entirely out of black ink, it depicted the Queen herself, from the shoulders up. Her hair was caught in its characteristic braid, and the Queen's expression was neutral, though pleasantly so. Hiccup had sort of rushed through this, but he thought he'd done a pretty good job. He usually drew sketches of machinery, buildings, or landscapes, but he had tried his hand at people before, and he wasn't too bad.

The Queen seemed to think so, too, if the appreciative-and completely out of character- whistle that escaped her was any indication.

"Did you draw this?" She asked before she could stop herself. "Silly question," she immediately amended "of course you drew it. It's lovely, actually. Thank you."

Hiccup honestly wasn't expecting such high praise, and found himself a little uncomfortable. Still, he did his best to hide it.

"It was nothing. Took me just two days to draw and ink. It could have been much better."

The Queen ignored him, instead choosing to approach further and extend her hands, as if to take hold of the painting. She stopped herself and looked at him.

"May I?" She asked. Hiccup nodded, and passed her the painting. She held it gingerly, as if it might break, and brought it up to eye level.

"The resemblance is staggering." She murmured.

"Well, it is meant to be you. I should hope it resembles you."

"Stop trying to be clever. You know what I meant."

Hiccup did not reply, and she lowered the painting, so that she could look at him.

"Thank you for this."

"It was only fair. One for one, as they say."

"A couple minutes of singing hardly seem equal to the hours of work you must have put into this."

"Then, perhaps, you could sing for me once more?" Hiccup asked, hopeful beyond reason.

The Queen opened her mouth to reply, but stopped before she made a sound. Hiccup could almost see the thoughts in her head, as she replayed their latest argument in her mind, and probably reminded herself that he wasn't to be trusted or to be friends with. Her excited smile melted, giving way to that carefully controlled, neutral expression.

Blast it! He had pushed her too fast.

"Perhaps." She replied, noncommittally. "Regardless, this is a great gift. I will hold it in my chambers. Thank you, again."

Hiccup could tell a dismissal when he was issues one.

"Queen Elsa." He said, nodding his head respectfully.

"I shall see you at Court." She said, and he nodded once more, before turning and leaving.

As he walked, he felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment. On one hand, she'd been friendly with him again, if only for a few seconds. On the other, it was clear she did not intend to forgive or forget easily. Still he felt that his peace offering had been appreciated for what it was, if not entirely successful.

Well, prior experience with females had not given him the impression that they made anything easy.

The rest of the day passed without anything of note. He attended Court, and put to Ernie his idea of visiting his parents by dragonback. The servant was surprised to say the least, but after Hiccup explained the ease and speed of dragon travel, Ernie accepted with what seemed as a mixture of gratefulness and trepidation.
Hiccup was somewhat surprised at Ernie's easy acceptance, he'd of thought the young man would need some convincing of the safety of dragon flight. However, the young man seemed to trust him and Toothless enough to fly with them for the first time. An honor, in a way.

That night, as he lay on the large overly soft bed, trying to sleep, he thought of Berk. He'd missed his home. Yes, he often traveled, but his heart would always belong to Berk and its people. Arendelle … it was beautiful and new and exciting, but he could feel Berk calling him back, stronger every day.

He looked at the empty space next to him. The huge bed was too much for one person. If only …

Hiccup sighed, and cut that thought off before it even started. No. There was no point dwelling on that right now. He'd only make his life harder. He shut his eyes tighter and resolved to sleep. Several minutes later, he fell into a fitful slumber that had him tossing and turning all night.

The next day, he and Ernie had their breakfast with Toothless. Ernie was, for once, not wearing his servant uniform. As per Hiccup's instructions, he'd opted for leather clothes that covered him almost completely, and held a fur coat that he would wear just before they were airborne. Hiccup may not much mind the cold, but for someone unused the high altitude and the speed of dragon travel could be freezing. This would be doubly so when traversing the frozen peaks that lay between them and their destination.

A couple of hours after breakfast, it was time to go. Hiccup had made a few adjustments to his harness, to ensure that Ernie would not fall. As his first ever flight was going to be several hours long, he could not be trusted to not simply slacken his grip and fall, so a rider harness was advisable.

Hiccup and Toothless, both fully equipped, made their way towards the Courtyard. People in the castle had gotten somewhat used to them by now, so they received bows and nods of respect, and very few fearful looks. Progress, if nothing else.

Ernie was waiting for them, a small pack next to him and fur coat in hand, audibly nervous. Hiccup had never seen the young man this unnerved before.

"Hey Ernie." He greeted as soon as they reached him. Ernie did not reply, instead looking at Toothless with wide eyes, as if seeing him for the first time. Toothless, for his part, snorted in amusement before bumping his head at Ernie's chest. That seemed to snap the young man off his funk, for he reached with his hand to rub at the dragon's head.

"You have to relax, buddy." Hiccup said. "It's gonna be alright. Everything will be fine."

"Yes." Ernie said, obviously trying to convince himself. "You're right. So, how do we do this?"

"Well, you'll climb first so I can help you. You've ridden horses before, and though I hate myself for making the parallel, the part about climbing and sitting is very similar. So, hop on, and I'll guide you through the rest."

He mounted easily enough and fit on the space behind Hiccup's own seat. Hiccup carefully latched his harness to the saddle and explained that these were just precautions, and showed him how to wrap his legs around strings of leather belts for extra stabilityty. Once he was sure Ernie was well situated, he climbed to his spot.

"Hold on tight." He cautioned, and felt Ernie's hands squeezee around him. Good. "Toothless, let's go."

This time, their take-off was slow and methodical rather than their high speed jumps. Those kinds of stunts were inadvisable while carrying extra passengers, especially ones that weren't used to flying.

As Toothless rose with steady beats of his strong wings, Ernie gingerly extracted one of his hands and waved to the crow that had gathered in the Courtyard. Hiccup's eyes roamed and he smiled at the princess that was waving excitedly up at them from below.

As they rose higher, his eyes caught the glint of something from one of the castle's higher windows. He looked that way, and he could, if barely, make out a form on the window. The sun again glinted against what he presumed was a circlet, and he waved once.

Judging this to be an appropriate height, Toothless took off. Eerie squeaked and clamped his arms around Hiccups torso. Hiccup chuckled as Toothless extended his wings and glided on the thermals created by the city below.

"Have a look Ernie, its Arendelle as you've never seen her before."

Slowly, Ernie's grip loosened, and his head lifted itself from between Hiccups shoulder blades. Even over the noise of the wind Hiccup heard a gasp from behind him. He admitted it was an impressive sight, even for one used to being hundreds of feet in the air. Arendelle lay spread out beneath them in the morning sunlight, gleaming by the turquoise ocean like a jewel dropped by some errant giantess. The great three masted ships in the harbour looked like toys, the castle itself like a princess's plaything. Hiccup craned his neck to catch the amazed look on Ernie's face as he surveyed the scene below.

"Its… its magnificent," he finally managed "its… its-why do you ever put your feet on the ground when the sky is so available to you?"

"Ha! You'll realise in an hour or two why I come down to earth!" Hiccup laughed heartily, taking enormous pleasure in Ernie's wide eyed grin as he looked all about. "Want to see what the top of the clouds look like?"

Toothless lazily curved around to the west, leaving the sea and the city behind them. They travelled slower than the pair was used to, but Hiccup had accounted for this and they were making good time. Three hours later, they were almost there. After a lot of needling on Hiccup's part, Ernie had finally admitted that he was cramped all over his body, after insisting again and again that he was fine.

Ernie had planned the route and easily recognized the correct village from above. Thankfully, the weather was fair. Hiccup stayed on the clouds, not wanting to panic the people bellow. They landed among the nearby woods, and Hiccup gingerly helped Ernie dismount. He fell heavily to the earth, almost painfully, and immediately started groaning in pain due to all his cramps.

"Yeah. That happens." Hiccup said sympathetically.

Once Ernie was feeling better, he removed the flying gear from himself and the two of them set off, leaving Toothless to wait for them in the clearing.

Ernie led him to the house of his parents in silence, and Hiccup could understand the young man's nervousness at seeing his parents after so many years. The house was wooden, and relatively small. Nearby was a barn, with tools and a couple of half-filled carts strewn about.

They reached the door, and Ernie raised his hand to knock, before suddenly freezing. He was obviously fighting with himself.

"It's kinda cold out here, Ernie." Hiccup said, though he wasn't at all bothered by the temperature. "We should probably head inside."

Ernie nodded, and audibly swallowed. His hand rapped on the door once, twice.

Commotion from inside, heavy steps on wooden floor.

"Yes? Who is it?" A woman's voice called from inside, though it sounded muffled, as if from faraway. Hiccup thought that she was probably in a different room.

"It's-" Ernie began, but his voice broke. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "It's Arnold, I've come to visit."

Silence from inside for a few seconds. Then, they heard a bang as something metallic hit the wood and steps came rushing up to the door.

The wooden door opened quickly, revealing a disheveled woman, perhaps around her fifties. Her black hair, unkempt and barely held by a small band, were graying at the temples. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared at Ernie open-mouthed.

"A- … Arnod?" She whispered, as if not believing it, herself. Ernie smiled.

"Hello mother."

Ernie's mother had tears in her eyes as she rushed and enveloped the much taller boy in a bone-crushing hug. She laughed manically as her hands roamed all over Ernie's back, as if making sure that he was actully real. Ernie was hugging back, his own eyes watering.

"Oh my Arnod!"

"Sarah?" Called a masculine voice from further inside the room. A man showed up from further inside, dressed in heavy furns and holding an axe. He was boasting a pretty impressive mustache, but his head was otherwise bald. He was tall, almost as tall as Hiccup himself, though much broader.

As soon as he saw the boy enveloped in his wife's arms, the axe slid off his fingers and clanged against the floor.

"Hello father." Ernie said, smiling nervously over his mother's shoulder.

Ernie's father reached them in three long strides and enveloped the both of them in his long arms.

Hiccup was feeling rather uncomfortable. He felt like he was intruding in something inherently private. He had to fight the urge to fidget with his hands, or constantly shift his weight.

A minute of fierce hugging later, the three disentangled so that Ernie's mother could grasp her son's face and inspect him.

"My," she said, "look how you've grown!"

"A right man now, ye are." His father said unsteadily, looking his full grown son up and down. Then, he finally registered Hiccup's presence. The Viking gave him a smile and a respectful bow of his head.

"An' who's this here fine lad, my son?"

Ernie look from his parents to Hiccup, and extended his hand. Hiccup approached, enough so that Ernie rested his hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Mother, father; this here is Lord Hiccup Haddock, and he is the one who made my visit possible."

"Just Hiccup, please." He said hastily. "It is a pleasure to meet both of you, Master Sherner, Madam Sherner."

"Nonsense, dear." Ernie's mother said. "Please call me Sarah. And this is my husband, Bermount."

Ernie's father looked a little uneasy at the mention of his rank; he bowed ungracefully in his general direction "Thank you for this, milord. You brought our son to us, and we are grateful." He said with guarded sincerity.

"Please, there's no need for formalities." Hiccup said firmly.

"I think you will find that Hiccup here is no stickler for ranks and titles." Ernie added.

"That so?" Sarah replied, smiling widely. "Then let me show you a mother's gratitude, young man. Come'ere!"

Before Hiccup knew it, he was the recipient of the same hug he'd witnessed earlier. It was as painful as it had looked, and his lungs emptied of air forcefully.

"Let the lad breathe, Sarah." Bermount said relaxing a little. Sarah squeezed him one last time, looking up at him with teary eyes, before mumbling an apology and pulling back, wiping at her eyes.

"Why don't the both of you come in?" She said. "I was just making lunch. You can tell me everything over some food."

The Sherners' house was small, but homely. The wooden structure reminded Hiccup of Berk's houses, and the hot stew could have just as easily been from the Mess Hall.

Ernie and his family talked incessantly over lunch, with the occasional word from Hiccup. He explained that he was a foreign official who'd made fast friends with Ernie and he'd arranged for their transport here on his fastest horses. He thought it prudent not to mention Toothless, or dragons in general, not really wanting to spoil the happy moment by explaining facts about dragon nature and differentiating them from myth. Mostly, however, it was Ernie doing the talking.

Hiccup had never seen Ernie so happy. His face shone when he talked to his parents, hesitantly and awkwardly to start with but as the evening drew in he talked and laughed freely, all the restrictions and rules that he'd lived by for years thrown out the window. It warmed him inside, and assured him that he'd been right to bring him here.

After eating, they'd moved next to the lit fireplace. The hours passed surprisingly fast, and the next time that Hiccup looked out the window, it was getting dark.

"We can't go back now." he announced. He would not risk trying to navigate back to Arendelle after dark whilst carrying Ernie.

This was taken as rather good news by Ernie's parents, and even Ernie seemed to not mind that he'd basically overstepped his boundaries by not being back at the agreed upon time. They decided to leave at dawn.

Hiccup heard more about Ernie's family, as they related half a lifetime of family news, about what they did and what their life was like before and after giving Ernie away. Sarah made some sweets that she passed around. As they were quite delicious, Hiccup carefully swiped one and put it in his pocket, certain that Toothless would appreciate it.

Ernie's old attic room had another use now, but his bed was still there, for reasons that Hiccup did not want to think about. Regardless, that meant that Ernie slept in his old room, and Hiccup bunked in the-surprisingly comfortable-couch over by the fireplace. After assuring Ernie's parents that no, he did not want their bed, that yes he perfectly fine in the couch and that yes, he'd slept at far worse places, they accepted it, even if they were not satisfied.

The separation, when dawn arrived, was quite heartfelt and tearful. Since Hiccup would be inevitable leaving, Ernie did not know when he'd be able to return, so it was goodbye all over again. Hiccup made sure to say goodbye first and moved away towards the woods, leaving the family to say their farewells in privacy.

When Ernie found him in the clearing, he was still crying. Hiccup refrained from commenting on it. Instead, he held up the sweet he'd swiped and offered it to Ernie, nodding his head in Toothless' direction. Ernie let out a ragged laugh, and procured an identical sweet from his own pocket. Hiccup snorted, and both fed their sweets to Toothless, who was happy to receive them and pretty vocal in his gratitude.

The flight back was hurried, as they were late, but felt much lighter. Hiccup could tell that Ernie was still high on emotions, so they didn't talk much, but the young man seemed much happier and infinitely less nervous than on the way there.

They arrived to little fanfare, as people were only just beginning to wake up and get to work. Hiccup looked up to the same window again, but the sun was not at the right way for him to make out anything.

Ernie thanked him profusely once again and hurried away, no doubt to change and go apologise to his superiors for being late. Hiccup yawned, still a little sleepy. He and Toothless went to their quarters, where Hiccup freed the both of them of their riding gear, and stretched, letting out a loud groan.

"What do you wanna do now, bud? Sleep?" Toothless, who had been licking the soft membrane of his wing, looked at him, shook his head once, then snorted.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling much like it either. Wanna go to the Gardens?"

Another snort.

"Let's go then. Let me just grab my notebook."

Notebook and pencil in hand, he opened the doors for Toothless and followed him outside. They strolled casually through the hallways until they exited the castle and arrived in the Gardens. There, they lay down next to a pond. Toothless lazily waved his tail this way and that inside the water while Hiccup rested his back against his side and sketched or wrote. For some reason, nothing he did seemed good enough. His frown got worse and worse as he kept starting the same sketch over and over again.

Eventually, he tore out the page he was using and bunched it up, before throwing it away with all his might. Toothless stopped what he was doing-licking the base of his neck-to look at his friend inquisitively. The dragon let out a low warble, questioning tone evident. Hiccup just shook his head.

"Sorry bud. I'm just so tense right now, for some reason."

Toothless warbled again, and though Hiccup could not understand him, he appreciated his friend's effort. He felt the dragon nudge him with his head.

"You're right, bud. I gotta go let off some steam."

He rose swiftly, decision taken. He looked at Toothless, who seemed about ready to take a nap.

"What about you? You gonna stay here or come with me?"

Toothless let out a snort, closed his eyes, and rested his head on his crossed forelegs. Hiccup shook his head, before turning to leave.

"Lazy, good for nothing lizard."

He had the good sense to duck the tail strike.

He headed for his rooms first, to retrieve his gear and his weapons. He wanted to practice his sword and dagger forms as well as archery, this time. With that in mind, he wore his armor, strapped on his sword and quiver to his hips, passed his bow over his shoulder and fit his dagger into the fold between his armor and his back, where it was barely visible but could be retrieved easily. He didn't bother taking the helmet.

He made his way to the barracks, nodding to people he knew along the way. To some satisfaction, some people gave him weary and even fearful looks. It probably wasn't the weapons themselves, as these people lived in a castle with a full garrison, but how foreign his whole ensemble looked. Still, no one on Berk was ever intimidated by his appearance, so he resolved to enjoy it while it lasted.

He didn't see any of the friends he had made over by the practise range. That was unfortunate, but fine. He recognized plenty of the soldiers, and greeted them accordingly. He set himself up on a wooden table, placing his pack and bow there but keeping the rest of the weapons on his person. It would be good to practise while fully armored, more realistic.

After warming up sufficiently, he began going through his sword forms. Smoker fit in his hand as perfectly as when he'd first made it, and though never his first weapon of choice, he tried to keep himself adequately skilled with it. Of course, no amount of practise beat having a sparring partner, but he didn't know any of the soldiers around that well to go up to one and ask them.

He kept it up for roughly an hour, before taking a break, having tired himself out. His armor was light and Smoker lighter than most swords of its size, but even so, constant sword practise could tire out anyone.

After a break, he switched to archery. He picked a decent enough distance, one where he had to keep wind and trajectory well in mind but didn't require minutes of calculations, and began practising. His archery was his most proficient form of offense, a necessary development when most of his fighting was done atop Toothless, so he had to stay in top form.

He kept that up for some time, pausing only so that he could retrieve his arrows, lest they damage each other.

"Back again, I see."

Hiccup was so startled by the voice that his concentration broke, his hands moved as if by themselves, and the arrow he was preparing to shoot flew up and over the wall of the practise range. A beam of frost stopped the arrow in its tracks suddenly, and Hiccup let of a sigh of relief. If the arrow had gone unchecked, perhaps it would have hit someone beyond the wall.

He turned to face the cause of his miss, narrowing his eyes at the Queen, who had a slightly sheepish expression on her face.

"That was dangerous."

"In hindsight, perhaps I should have announced myself a few seconds later or earlier."

Hiccup gathered his arrows and placed them, along with his bow, on the table.

"You look tired." The Queen noted. She was wearing a pleasant, white dress, and her hair was held up in a very tight bun at the back of her head.

"I've been here a while."

"Burning off excess energy?"

"Something like that."

"I see."

"And what are you doing here, if I may ask?"

She raised an eyebrow. "This is my castle, you know. I visit every inch of it, so that the people know that they can reach out to me if they ever need anything."

He nodded. "That's a good strategy."

"You seem … distracted." The Queen noted, and Hiccup noticed her slight frown as she watched him. "Is something the matter?"

He shook his head. "Just tired, I suppose."

She nodded along, obviously not buying it, but didn't press any further.

"That was a good thing you did, taking Ernie to see his parents."

Hiccup forced himself to smile. "It was the right thing to do. I could help him see his parents when he otherwise could not, so I did it."

He had to consciously hold his tongue not to say more. How he wished that someone could do the same to him, and offer him a chance to talk to his parents. But that was too private, and could not be shared this easily.

"I feel that I should thank you."

Hiccup regarded her curiously. "I did not do it for you."

The Queen simply stared at him for a few seconds, blinking once, twice, before shaking her slightly as if to clear it.

"I know, but you went out of your way to help one of my people, and for that I am grateful."

Hiccup was about to reply, but was stopped short when another man approached him and the Queen. He closed his mouth and turned to look at the newcomer. He was a sizable man, but his mass was obviously muscle rather than strength. His mustache was impressive, and his black hair was cut short. He was armored, heavily so, with great slabs of metal. He would have made a fine viking.

As soon as the man approached the two of them and the Queen had also turned to look at him, he fell to his knee and bowed.

"My Queen." He greeted, head down.

"Rise, Ser Grakhis."

A Knight. Hiccup knew about those. Aristrocrats trained in combat, forming a group of elites that could be truly fearsome in battle.

"Regards, my Queen, but I was hoping for some of Lord Haddock's time."

Hiccup blinked suddenly, not having expected that.

"Of my time, Ser Grakhis?"

The knight turned to face him directly, giving him a bow of respect. "Aye, my lord. Word reached me that the leader of a Viking tribe was visiting, so I wanted to come pay my respects. I have to say, however, from what I'd heard of the Vikings I'd expected you to be..." he trailed off, either not finding the words or not wanting to say them for fear of retribution.

"Bigger?" Hiccup ventured.

"Aye, sire."

"Well, you would normally be right, but I am a special case. Well met, Ser Grakhis. Thank you for coming all this way for me."

The knight made a show of looking around.

"Correct me if I speak nonsense, but rumors speak of a dragon, my lord."

"They would be correct, Ser. Toothless is simply not present currently."

"Aye, I hear lots about the beast since my arrival in Arrendelle." The knight said, and Hiccup had to fight the urge to snap at the man for calling Toothless a beast. Instead, he forced a cordial smile on his face.

"Can I be of assistance somehow, Ser Grakhis?"

"As luck would have it, fair lord, you could."

"Go on."

"I wish for a spar, my lord. A friendly fight between the two of us, in the spirit of good relations."

The Queen interjected, tone snappish. "I believe you're overstepping your bounds, Ser Grakhis."

The older man made a show of backing up. "Apologies, my Queen. If the Chief does not want to, then of course I shall not insist."

And herein lay the full cunning of this knight, Hiccup realized, pathetic as it may have been. By wording it this way, Hiccup would seem as a coward if he refused.

Now, Hiccup could simply claim the knight to be too lowly for him to contend with, or a number of other excuses, but he was a Viking, and the man's comment had needled him somewhat.

He turned towards the Queen, giving her questioning look.

"You have the option of refusal, of course." She insisted.

"I think a friendly contest of arms would be good. An exchange of cultures, let's say."

The knight grinned, and the Queen frowned.

"Very well. We will arrange for an appropriate time."

The knight furrowed his brow. "Why not right now, my Queen? Both me and the good Chief are armed and ready, from what I can see."

"The Chief has been practising for hours already, Ser. I hardly find it fair for him to spar under these conditions."

Hiccup appreciated the Queen's efforts, he really did, but to be defended like this was rather embarrassing, and gave him little further option beyond accepting the knight's proposal.

"It will be fine, Queen Elsa. As Ser Grakhis said, we are both ready. No time like the present."

"Very well. I will supervise. Choose your weapons."

If Hiccup remembered correctly, Arendelle duel customs dictated one weapon per fighter. The knight immediately pulled out his claymore, a monster twice the length of Hiccup's arm, and certainly wider.

Hiccup removed the sword from his belt and placed it on the table. The knight and the Queen seemed confused.

"You're not using your, sword, my lord?"

"What, Smoker?" Hiccup said. He did not doubt that if he tried to match Smoker against the knight's beast, his blade would break like glass, never mind the fact that he would simply be overpowered if they did manage to lock blades. "He's rather meant for intimidation rather than fighting."

"A curious name." The Queen noted.

"Wanna see? Check this out." With that, Hiccup abruptly pulled out his sword, holding it in hand. It seemed normal enough, about the length of his arm, and the handle was simple, if a bit blocky.

With a simple press of his hand at the right place, the entire length of the blade began oozing pitch black smoke, as if he were holding a burnt tree branch. The effect on the sword was quite impressive. Not as impressive as the fire sword with zippelback gas, but that particular piece was meant for dragon taming, not fighting.

"Sorcery?" The knight asked as he took an involuntary step back. Hiccup snorted.

"Hardly. Try engineering. The sword is hollow at its center, and the grip actually holds oil which slowly burns inside. The smoke is distributed through a system of holes that are almost invisible to the naked eye, giving it the appearance that you now see."

"Where did you find such a magnificent weapon, my lord?"

"Why, I made it."

"And you will not choose it for our fight?"

"No." He replied as he replaced Smoker in its sheath. He reached behind him and pulled out his dagger. This had a rather more intricate hilt, a slightly curved blade, was a little shorter than the length of his elbow to the end of his fingers.

"You will fight me … with a knife?"

"Yup."

"Do you mean to dishonor me, Chief Haddock?"

"Hardly. The dagger is always my weapon of choice."

The knight said nothing, but Hiccup could tell he was angry.

"Prepare yourselves." The Queen said. Hiccup did not look at her, refusing to take his eyes off of his opponent. He relaxed his stance, bending his and bringing the dagger in front of him in a reverse grip. He was already warmed up, but he started shifting his weight between his legs, ready to spring in motion.

"You are both aware of the rules of engagement?" She asked, both nodded. "Winner by my call, forfeit, or unconsciousness. Lethalities will not be tolerated. Begin!"

The knight wasted no time, letting out a battle cry and bringing down his greatsword above him. Hiccup dodge to the right, letting the sword pass him by as he took a step back and landing a lightning-fast cut on the knight's unprotected his credit, Ser Grakhis managed to stop the weapon before it impacted the ground, despite the pain. Presumably he would have done the same if Hiccup had not dodged. He followed his move by swinging the sword from below, and Hiccup once again took a step back, bringing him out of the sword's range, and retaliated by grazing a small strip of exposed skin next to the elbow.

Ser Grakhis followed Hiccup's steps, raising his greatsword and using its momentum to bring it around for another swipe. Hiccup ducked under it and waited until the swing was completed before rising again. When the next downward swing came, he titled the dagger just so that the greatsword slid off of it, passing harmlessly by him once again. He took this opportunity to shove the knight with as much strength as he could. It was a testament to Grakhis' fatigue that he stumbled backwards, even though he easily doubled Hiccup's mass.

The fight continued for another minute in the same vein, with Grakhis attacking again and again while Hiccup dodged his attack and used the dagger only to deflect the greatsword and land small cuts everywhere the armor didn't cover.

Ser Grakhis was panting hard, feeling the toll of swinging the greatsword, carrying the metallic armor around and bleeding from well over a dozen small cuts. After another missed swing and a shove, which had him take several steps back so as to not fall, he finally snapped.

"Fight me, coward!" He yelled, swinging once again. Hiccup stepped out of the wild swing's range and took a few steps to the side, constantly staying in motion and forcing Grakhis to follow him.

"I am fighting you." He said.

"You've done nothing but react!"

"And yet the fight is about to end."

The knight once again attacked him, grunting in anger. Again, Hiccup expertly deflected the sword to the ground.
What Hiccup did not expect was for one of the knight's armored fists to unlatch from the sword and swing at him. The blow found his cheek and Hiccup saw stars, blacking out momentarily as fell backwards on the sandy ground.

As Hiccup struggled to regain his senses and stop the world from spinning, the knight lumbered towards him and raised the sword, intenting to be threatenign enough to force the fight to an end.

Hiccup's fist closed around a handful of dirt. When the knight was close enough and had began the slow swing, he threw the dirt into his open helmet. The knight yelled, reflexively closing his burning eyes and letting one hand go of the sword, which continued its course, though misdirected.

This time, the knight was not controlled enough to stop the swing, and the heavy blade crashed against the soft floor of the training area. Before he could clear his eyes or raise the sword again, Hiccup acted. He jumped to his feet and snapped a quick kick to the weapon's handle with his good leg, forcing Grakhis to let go of the heavy weapon and let out a cry of pain and surprise. Hiccup followed the move by stepping behind him and, quick as a viper, slashing at the exposed spot behind the man's knee. The knight cried out in pain as his legs gave way, forcing him to fall on his knees. He felt Hiccup's hands wrap around his throat, and had the presence of mind to bring his armored hands up, about to grab Hiccup's head.

The cold feel of metal against his neck stopped him. Hiccup held him in a chokehold, with his left hand holding the knife against his jugular.

"I win." He announced, before looking to the Queen. He could not discern what her expression meant at his current condition.

She nodded. "Winner, Chief Haddock. Release him."

Hiccup did, letting go of the man's neck and stepping back. Grakhis wheezed for a few seconds, before staggering to his feet and looking at Hiccup with wild eyes.

"You … you … cheater!"

"Pray tell, how did I cheat? I do believe I simply won our friendly match."

"With tricks and stalling!"

"One must use any tool in his arsenal to beat his opponent."

Ser Grakhis spat on the ground, face red. "You fight without honor. You disgrace your tribe, unless they are all spineless tricksters like you."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "Careful there, Ser Grakhis. One more word about my tribe or my honor, and next time I might go selectively deaf when the fair Queen demands I remove my dagger from your neck."

"Enough of this!" Queen Elsa shouted, drawing pauses from both men. "The fight is over. Ser Grakhis, accept your loss with the honor you claim to have, of which I have seen little sign today. Chief Haddock, please refrain from threatening my subjects."

"But my Queen-"

"I said enough! Do not test my patience, Ser Grakhis, Leave now to treat your wounds, and be sure we will have a thorough discussion about this incident soon."

"I … yes, my Queen." With a short bow, the man slowly left the area. The cut on the back of his knee was shallow and not really dangerous, but it was a painful spot to get cut on.

The Queen turned to Hiccup. He was still fuming, trying to keep a straight face and refrain from flinging the dagger at the back of the man's head.

"I apologise for his behavior." The Queen said. "Some people do not take to loss very well, especially to tactics they consider unnatural."

"Do you think I cheated?"

"You stayed within the regulations, there was no cheating involved. Please, let us forget about this sad little incident, yes? Take a walk with me?" She seemed rather hopeful and apologetic, but Hiccup shook his head.

He was not in the mood to play games with her, right now.

"Apologies, but I am feeling rather averse to further human company right now. I think I will retire. Good evening."

Giving her a tiny nod, he gathered his things and left. As he passed her, she looked like she was trying to find words to voice her thoughts but coming up short. He left the bewildered Queen behind, heading to his quarters to rejoin Toothless.

His attempt to cheer himself up by letting off some steam had backfired spectacularly. Now he was feeling worse than before, and the day was coming to an end.

He did not exit his quarters for the rest of the evening, He busied himself with Toothless, and did some more work on the map, before giving up for the day and going to sleep.

When he awoke, he was feeling no better than the previous day. In fact, he'd go as far as to say that he didn't sleep well, so breakfast found him particularly moody. He asked Ernie to bring him breakfast to his quarters, and the servant complied. For lack of something better to do, he started work on the map again.

Perhaps sensing his friend's sour mood, Toothless stayed outside in the balcony and enjoyed the sun.

Taking a small break, Hiccup flopped next to his friend, trying to locate the source of his misery but coming up empty. Toothless nudged him with his snout, and it drew a smile from Hiccup as he rubbed him under the chin.

"I miss Astrid, bud." He said. "I wish she were here. She would know, she would tell me what to do, wouldn't she?"

Toothless looked at him, letting out a sound from deep inside his throat. Hiccup shook his head.

"You're right. She'd probably just punch me in the shoulder like she always does."

He stayed lost in his thoughts for a while longer, before returning inside and to his work.

Sometime before lunch, Hiccup was disturbed from his work by soft rapping against the door.

"Yes?" He called, and the door opened. In walked the Princess herself, wearing a lovely brown dress and having her hair held back by a circlet.

"Good day, Hiccup."

"And to you."

Toothless, upon noticing the new arrival, got to his feet and tried to enter through the door. The problem with that was that he didn't wait for Hiccup to open the balcony doors for him.

Upon hearing the crack, Hiccup's head snapped towards Toothless, who was standing atop the right part of the door which he had pushed off its hinges. Toothless looked rather sheepish.

Hiccup sighed, palming his face, but was not in the mood to scold Toothless. He was feeling bad enough as it was.

"Great work, bud. Really, good job." Toothless warbled lowly, in a tone clearly meant to be apologetic. Hiccup turned to the princess. "I'm really sorry about this. I'll fix it, of course."

"Nonsense." She waved it off. "No one will care, and I always thought these rooms needed a better draft. Leave it if it doesn't bother you."

"Let me just get this out of the way." Hiccup grabbed the fallen door and picked it up, setting it carefully against the wall outside, on the balcony.

Anna came closer, and frowned upon seeing the organized mess that was Hiccup's desk.

"Have you been working all morning?"

"Most of it, yes. Why?"

Anna sighed and rubbed her temples, as if chasing away a headache. "I swear you're the same as her. It wouldn't hurt to get out a bit, take a break sometime."

Hiccup was in a foul mood and was about to say something sharp, but held his tongue in the last second. The Princess had been nothing but kind to him, and he would not allow himself to be rude to her just because he wasn't allowed to cut that stupid knight's neck open.

"I'm sure whatever you have in mind will no more work for me than it did with the Queen."

Anna smiled broadly. "That's great, then, because Elsa agreed."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, and it's great. Come on!" She grabbed his hand and all but yanked him to his feet.

"I don't know if-"

"You can either come with me and see what Elsa has planned or stay up here and brood some more."

Hiccup glared at the cheeky girl, but offered no further resistance. With a giggle, the princess lead him outside the quarters, not letting go of his hand as she practically ran and dragged him with her. Sometime along the way, Ernie joined them.

They went through the now familiar path towards the Courtyard. Stopping at the gates to catch her breath, the princess opened the great doors just a crack to peek outside. Snow and wind flew in from the small opening, and when she closed the doors and turned to him she had snow on her hair.

"It's already started!" She announced excitedly, before pulling the doors all the way open and letting Hiccup pass.

What he saw gave Hiccup pause. While he had enough presence of mind not to gape openly, he was still left speechless and unmoving.

"Welcome, Chief Hiccup," Anna said dramatically as she waved at the Courtyard "to the Arendelle versus Snow Queen Winter Games!"

The Courtyard was encased in snow and ice. Though it was a pretty sunny and all-around good day, there were fierce clouds above the Courtyard and it snowed heavily. There were two obvious sides in this engagement. One side of the Courtyard was full of people. Mostly citizens of Arendelle, but a good percentage were castle personnel, as well. They would crouch behind snow forts, or run around from one cover spot to the next, all the while preparing and throwing snowballs by the dozens. There must have been hundreds of people hurling snow at their opponent.

Said opponent was standing alone in her side of the Courtyard, hands extended and aura glowing a light blue as she controlled the weather around her. Queen Elsa was a maelstorm-literally- as she directed the fierce blizzard around her to intercept the incoming snowballs and throw new ones back.

Like Frosti himself has possessed her, he thought.

"There are rules, of course." Anna said.

"To give her a chance?" Hiccup ventured a guess. She shook her head.

"No, silly. To give them a chance."

Seeing the blizzard that the Queen directed around her and the amounts of snow she was effortlessly hurling around, Hiccup did feel slightly silly for his question. The Queen had the entire crowd pinned down with her relentless fire.

"She is not allowed to control the snow on their side of the Courtyard, or the incoming snowballs. She has to block or dodge them."

The Queen was constantly moving, even as snow rose from the ground or swirled around her and intercepted the incoming snowballs. Her hands were moving in patterns, directing waves of frost as they went about bombarding her opponents with endless snowballs.

Five minutes after Hiccup's arrival, it was obvious that the Queen was going to clean house, as most of her opponents were lying either half-buried in snow or were completely out of breath from dodging. Eventually, someone had the idea of creating a makeshift surrender flag. The Queen accepted their unconditional surrender and showed mercy, sparing everyone and even freeing those covered in snow.

Watching from the door, Hiccup was rather bemused that the usually reserved and calculating Snow Queen would put up such theatrics.

The Queen had not come out of the battle entirely unscathed, breathing heavily and dusted with snow. She clapped her hands and called out gleefully. "As the victor, yet again, of the Arendelle versus Snow Queen Winter Games, it is my pleasure to announce that now begins the Free For All! Forget your friends, betray your family, make alliances with your bitter enemies and then betray them as well, for it is every man for himself from here on out!"

The crowd erupted into chaos, as any semblance of organization or position vanished from the other side of the Courtyard. The battle raged once again, and though no one dared to challenge the Snow Queen one on one, they saw no problem in turning on each other.

The Queen was approaching them, a content smile on her face and aura still glowing slightly. Hiccup had to admit that she looked … impressive. Inspiring.

"Nice of you to join us, Chief Hiccup."

"An interesting method of keeping morale."

"You disapprove?"

"On the contrary, I think it's a great idea. They look like they're having fun."

"Yes, they do. That is why-" Queen Elsa did not finish her sentence, for a medium sized snowball crashed against her cheek, sending snow all over her face, hair, and down her dress. About half of it stayed pasted to her cheek.

Very, very slowly, the Queen turned to face her sister. When she spoke, her voice was low, dangerous, and promised a slow and agonizing death.

"What exactly did you just-"

The second snowball nailed her on the forehead, and she let out a surprised yelp as she was off-balanced and ended up sprawled on the snow.

Princess Anna, not intimidated in the slightest, reached down for more snow.

"You think you're tough, don't ya? Well, I'll take you on, so bring it, Snow Loser!"

Her third snowball was blocked by a torrent of snow as the Queen rose to her feet, aided by a column of ice pushing her back. Her eyes shone an eerie blue, and a dozen snowballs floating in a perfect circle around her waist.

"Prepare yourself, sister."

The princess ran like her life depended on it-which it very well may have- and the Queen gave chase, unleashing scores of snowballs after her sister. The princess' loud laughter echoed even as she tried to take cover and fire back.

"You should join us!" She called to Hiccup when she was passing from close enough by.

He shook his head. While he could appreciate the fun they were having, he was in no mood right now for snow games.

"No thanks. I'd rather just sit here."

No sooner had he completed his sentence, when he felt something wet impact the back of his head. He reached his hand up and, sure enough, he had snow all over his hair.

He turned and levelled a venomous glare towards Ernie, the only one between Hiccup himself and the gates.

Ernie, for some reason, was looking around, bewildered.

"But …" he murmured, "but … I didn't…"

Hiccup didn't know who the the young man thought he was fooling, because there was no one else there that could have thrown the snowball. His patience snapped, and his anger over this day and the previous was about to erupt in what he could recognize as one his few but intense temper tantrums.

Ernie was looking terrified as Hiccup was about to give the foolish servant a piece of his mind, but before Hiccup could speak, a particularly daring snowflake landed in his eyes, forcing him to close them instinctively and shake his head.

When he opened his eyes again he was seeing everything in shades of blue and silver. He thought he saw another form standing next to Ernie, but when he blinked again his vision was fine and Ernie was, like before, alone.

Quite inexplicably, he was no longer feeling like chewing Ernie out until he'd unloaded all of his frustration. Oh, the insolent whelp would still be punished, but in a much more fitting way.

He reached down for a handful of snow.

"Hiccup?" Ernie asked, obviously nervous. "Now, let's not do something rash. We can talk about this."

Having spent his entire life in Berk, Hiccup was no stranger to snowball fights. In fact, he would go as far as to say that he was quite good at them. Years of having virtually no friends and a lot of time to kill had insured that his accuracy would be almost perfect.

"You should know by now, Ernie." Hiccup said conversationally as he prepared his snowball. Not a lot of snow, so that it wouldn't hurt, but enough that it would be solid. Not too dense so that it wouldn't break on contact, but not soft enough to break apart on the way there, either. Simply, perfect.

"I am a marksman." Hiccup's hand was a blur as he reared it back, aimed in a split-second, and unleashed the snowball. It hit Ernie square between the eyes before the young man had time to duck, and the force of the throw threw Ernie to the snow, rubbing at his aching forehead.

Hiccup smiled in satisfaction, playing with another snowball he had in hand.

Very slowly, Ernie began to pick himself up, ending in a kneeling position and still trying to rid his head of snow.

Hiccup caught something on his peripheral and ducked. The first snowball soared above his head, but the second hit him on the shoulder.

"Got you!" The princess screamed as she streaked past. She all but tackled Ernie behind a snow mound.

"My my," Hiccup said, "I do not think I can let this assault on my person go unanswered."

The Queen approached him with casual steps.

"Quite right, Chief Hiccup. The nerve of these peasants, wouldn't you say?"

"I think that they need a reminder of who they're dealing with."

"Indeed. I propose an alliance."

"Mutually beneficial to our cultures. I accept."

One of Elsa's floating snowballs landed on Hiccup's hand.

Behind the mound, Anna had managed to rouse Ernie's fighting spirit.

"We do not fear you!" She yelled from her spot. "This is where we'll make our stand, so come at us!"

"You hear that, Queen Elsa?' Hiccup said casually 'They do not fear us."

Elsa smiled slowly "They should."

And the fight was on.

Queen Elsa could have conquered all, but what would be the fun in that? Hiccup was a precision shooter that never missed, so they opted to go for a system where the Queen kept up their defense while supplying Hiccup with ready-made snowballs to continue the offensive.

Anna and Ernie fought valiantly. Ernie challenged Hiccup directly, and even showed a pretty good innate talent and a strong hand, while Anna pelted them with as many snowballs as she could, forgetting accuracy in favor of volume.

It was perhaps a tougher fight than it should have been, but the end was inevitable. Hiccup and the Queen stood above the defeated half-buried bodies of their opponents, who were awaiting their fate.

"What say you, Chief Hiccup, do we spare them?"

"I don't know. This one attacked me from behind."

"Wasn't … me."

"And he's lying. Not sure I can forgive that."

Anna dramatically raised her hand and pretended that it shook, badly. She directed one of the most powerful puppy dog eyes Hiccup had ever seen at the Queen, who reeled as if hit physically.

"Sister … please. Have mercy." The princess pleaded.

The Queen looked torn, but after a few seconds of staring at that expression, she caved with a sigh.

"I will be lenient, this time."

"Yay! You're the best."

With that, their little game ended. Hiccup helped Ernie to his feet and helped him be rid of the snow, though that was a hopeless endeavor if ever there was one.

Everyone was happy but exhausted and drenched, so they said theire goodbyes and left for their respective quarters.

There was little Hiccup desired more at that moment than a bath, some food, and maybe a nap. He left a trail of water behind him as he walked.

Idly, he pondered his sudden shift in mood from an explosive anger to playfulness. He had no explanation for it, but decided to not dwell on it too much.

On the way to his quarters, he noticed a door ajar. Vaguely remembering this room from his first tour of the place, he peeked inside. What was it that Ernie had called it?

Oh, yes. The Bath-house. He still remembered the impression the big room had left him with. He had marvelled at it and what it was supposed to do.

But now, the giant bath, pool thing was not empty. It was full of water. Hot water, by the looks of it. The previously empty room now had several towels and other bathing equipment, and looked like the best place to be right now.

Temptation, temptation. Was he even allowed to use it?

"Excuse me!" he called to a passing servant, a young woman who looked at him, turned red for some reason and then looked at her feet.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Is the Bath-house restricted?"

"No, my Lord."

"So, I could use it?"

She hesitated for a few seconds. "Technically, yes, you are allowed. But-"

"That's grand, then! Thank you very much!"

He left the flustered servant behind and all but raced to his rooms. There, he retrieved a set of clean clothes before returning to the Bath-house. No one was there, so he let himself in and closed the door behind him.

He approached the pool and touched the water. It was warm, but not hot.

He divested himself of his robe, and then the shirt he wore under it, leaving him with only the soaked, brown leather pants. He set about removing his prosthetic, and he was still at it when he heard the door open.

He looked up, half-ready to apologise for something, when the words died in his throat.

What stepped through the door must certainly have been Gersemi, goddess of beauty, herself.

The crazy thought left his mind as soon as it had arrived, and Hiccup mentally chastised himself. The woman in front of him, beautiful though she was, was not Gersemi.

Queen Elsa wore a light satin robe and white slippers. Her golden-white hair was loose, and framing her face and falling in waves to her hips. The robe was so flimsy it was ridiculous. It practically embraced her body.

"Chief Hiccup," the Queen greeted, equally surprised to find him here as he was to see her. "I did not expect to find you here."

"Sho- ehem... should I not be? I asked, and they told me it was okay, but if I'm bothering you I can leave." Hiccup said cursing himself as he stumbled over his words.

She seemed to consider him for a while, arms crossed in front of her, before she relaxed. A small, slightly naughty smile found its way to her lips.

"No," she said "no bother. Please, stay. This might be the time that I usually take my swim, but nothing is actually stopping others from doing the same. The pool is public."

Hiccup now understood the magnitude of his blunder. He paled as he considered that he'd invaded one of the Queen's most private moments.

"I should go."

"But you went to the trouble of releasing your foot. I wouldn't want you to miss out on the water."

With a start, Hiccup realized that he was naked from the waist up, and that he had indeed removed his prosthetic foot. A sudden wave of self-consciousness hit him as considered his stump, and the scars that littered his torso.

"Does it bother you, that I am here?" The Queen asked gently, coming closer to the edge of the pool.

"Not exactly. I got used to my injury a long time ago. It's just … old habits. Regardless, I don't want to intrude on your personal time."

The Queen did not reply to him immediately. She was facing the pool, away from him. Slowly, her hands opened from their clasped position, each holding a hem of her robe. She wasn't going to- Slowly, she moved the robe over her shoulders and then let it gently fall to the ground.

Hiccup was speechless, his throat feeling drier than charcoal. He was again having trouble distinguishing who exactly was in front of him. Perhaps it was indeed the goddess, playing tricks on him?

The Queen's underthings consisted of a smaller, dress-like white piece that covered her from just below the shoulders to her thighs. It was white though, and see-through enough to make out the Queen's underthings.

Elsa turned her head sideways, barely keeping him in her field of vision, and smiled.

"But you are not intruding. Please, join me."

With that, she slowly descended the steps into the pool, each step submerging more and more of her.

When she was in the water up to her neck, she turned to him, shooting him another enchanting smile.

"Will you come?"

Hiccup tried to think beyond his kneejerk reaction to that, but his brain was not being very co-operative. He had a feeling that this could end very badly, but then again, he was a guest here and had to play along with the Queen's requests, right? She had said it was a public bath.

He removed his leather pants, leaving himself only with the underpants, a dark brown piece that reached his knees.

He considered for a while. Without his foot, he would have to hop over to the pool and then descend by sitting in each step, a process that did not seem at all fitting for the situation.

The Queen seemed to share his thoughts, because she waved her hand outside of the water, and a single railing made of smooth ice created itself next to Hiccup. Rather than be embarrassed at the help, he was grateful that he was saved the embarrassment of actually hopping over and doing a balancing act.

"Thank you."

With the rail's help, he reached the pool easily enough. The steps were also easy to descend, as the rail continued inside the pool. It led him close to the Queen, who was waiting for him in the middle of the pool. Being quite a bit taller than her, part of his chest was outside of the water. To remedy this, Hiccup bent his knee, bringing him and the Queen to eye level.

Well, this was uncharted territory, to say the least.

"How do you like the water?"

"Honestly? I'm trying to figure out how this whole water mass is heated."

The Queen laughed softly. "Typical. I do not know enough of the engineering to give you the conventional answer, but…"

As she said this, she scooted closer to him. She raised her hand above the water, and dipped a single finger not five centimeters away from his chest. She swirled it a little, and a few seconds later Hiccup had to repress a gasp of surprise as the water turned cold, incredibly so.

"And I can also reverse it." With these words, she repeated the process, and the cold that had surrounded him vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"I see." Hiccup cleared his throat at tried to keep his eyes in the vicinity of her face "You must be handy to have around."

Her eyes were blue.

Hiccup had known that, technically. It was one of the first things he'd noticed about her. But this seemed like a whole new realization.

Her eyes were a shining blue, almost sparkling. Her lips were a reddish pink and slightly open, her breath coming out in uneven bursts. Her cheeks had a rosy tint to them. She was gorgeous.

Hiccup had strained to not lose focus. He was treading on very thin ice, here.

The finger did not retract. Rather, she used it to touch him, trailing the finger softly along the length of a faded scar above his collarbone. He could not decide if her touch felt like fire or ice on his skin.

"Can you tell me about this one?"

"Knife wound."

She hmm'd, and he'd be damned if it wasn't the sexiest sound he'd heard in a while. The finger trailed further, going left to a round puncture wound that was still slightly red.

"And this one?"

""Dragon tooth."

She repeated the sound, and the finger wandered even farther. It stopped upon an angular mark, barely visible, about half a palm in width.

"And this one?"

"I slipped and fell when I was seven."

The Queen laughed, disturbing the still surface of the water and getting both their faces wet.

She flowed gracefully in the water, circling around him until she was looking at the part of his back that was exposed. She touched her finger on a long-healed burn.

"What about this?"

"Accident in the forge. I don't recommend it."

"And is that common? Are many of your scars due to accidents?" She returned to her original position, in front of him. Her platinum blonde hair was floating in the water around her, framing her face and giving it an otherworldly glow.

"I have made no secret of my clumsiness."

She nodded. "True. I did not believe you when you said so."

"Well, now you have proof."

He did not reply. They were nearly touching; he was close enough to catch even the slightest flicker of movement her eyes made and he definitely caught the blushing of her cheeks or the way she bit the side of her lower lip for a couple of seconds. The silence that followed was tense, and Hiccup knew enough to realize that the tension between them was building up and that cases like these usually lead to-

He moved away slowly, deliberately breaking the moment. She took a deep breath, obvious by the rise and fall of her chest, as if recovering from the experience. He couldn't say that he was much better. They separated, giving each other some space. Hiccup took the time to thoroughly enjoy the good soak. Nearby, the Queen herself relaxed in the water, closing her eyes. He decided to follow her example, and allowed himself to relax in the water's embrace.

Somehow, they ended up next to each other again, due-he was almost certain- to no effort on Hiccup's part. He did not feel the need to fill the silence with pointless chatter; there were other times for that. This was special.

One of her fingers traced the outline of his collarbone, Hiccup assumed it she wasn't even aware she was doing it. He gently took her hand into his own, just to stop her trailing fire over his chest. He had seen the lethality of Elsa the Snow Queen, this Elsa was a whole different kind of dangerous.

"Do you want to know how I lost my foot?" He asked in the silence.

She opened her eyes, straightened and looked at him, a small, pleasant smile on her face.

"If you want to tell me." She looked at their hands, still linked underwater, but did not comment nor did she pull away.

"It was five years ago." he began. "And Berk was much like Arendelle is now, fearful of dragons, thinking them mindless beasts of destruction. We had a nest nearby, and our village would be raided often. One could say that our culture revolved around fighting dragons. Everybody did it."

He paused to gather his thoughts, and did not notice the Queen move her free hand until it was against his cheek, gently moving his gaze to her.

"But not you." She said with certainty. He nodded, hoping to all the gods listening that she would not be able to feel the heat of his cheek as blood rushed to the point of contact.

"Not me. I was always different. Smaller. Weaker. I studied, I wrote, I read, I built. My early contraptions were more disasters waiting to happen than inventions, but one of them managed to finally down a dragon. That dragon was Toothless. I should have killed him in the woods that day. I tried, even. But I couldn't."

"Of course you couldn't."

"He was injured, so I took care of him instead, hiding him from the village. We grew to trust and love each other. In time, the real reason the dragons were raiding our village became known to me. A sea dragon, then one we now call the Red Death, was forcing the other dragons in ever expanding hunting paths in order to feed it. If the dragons did not bring enough they were eaten, themselves."

"How big was that dragon to be able to eat other dragons?"

"As big as your castle, I would say." At her gaping expression, he nodded. "Perhaps even bigger. It was living inside a volcano before we drew it out. Toothless and I, along with our friends, fought against the beast. We managed to kill it, but not without losses. My foot was one such loss. From that day onwards, the dragons have been our friends and allies."

She was silent for a long time, probably digesting all that he had told her. He did not fault her. It was a lot for anyone to take in.

A minute later, she gave his hand a subtle squeeze, drawing his attention. She held a gentle smile.

"I know we've had … our problems," she began, apprehensively, "but thank you. For trusting me with this."

He smiled back, not having anything else to say. Her proximity was making him light-headed, and he could swear that his heartbeat was loud enough that she could hear it.

The Queen must have noticed that they were getting ever closer, because she gently withdrew her hands from him and took a few slow steps back.

"Thank you for the company, Chief Hiccup." She said. "Unfortunately, my schedule does not allow me any more downtime."

He nodded at her. "Thank you for allowing me to bother you at your private time."

She turned her back to him and slowly ascended the steps. Hiccup stilled, certain that his heart, as well as his brain, must have stopped too.

As she rose, the fabric of her underwear clung to her body like a second skin, and the soaked under-dress covered nothing of the rest of her underwear, leaving little to the imagination. The view of her slowly rising form was breathtaking. First the platinum blonde hair left the water, followed by gentle hands, perfect curves, ending with legs that looked impossibly long on a woman almost a head shorter than he was.

As the Queen walked to her bathrobe, he couldn't help but notice the accentuated movements of her hips. There was little thought going through his head as he stared, entranced.

She reached for her robe, before turning her head sideways to look at him, and he could see a smile on her face that he could only classify as smug.

"As I said, Chief Hiccup, no intrusion at all."

Then she committed the horrible crime of covering up. That forced Hiccup out of his stupor, and he did not miss the satisfied look on her face as she departed, leaving him alone in the warm water.

That … that … that evil woman! She did that on purpose, he just knew it. He was so getting back at her for this embarrassment. Just as soon as he got out of the water, he would think about how best to go about his revenge.

Looking down at himself, he sighed. He wouldn't be getting out of the water for a while.

Perhaps he should have asked her to turn the water ice-cold before leaving.

~H~

The next day found Hiccup in a contemplative mood. He was feeling better than two previous days, but his sudden bout of moodiness had left him apprehensive. He spent the morning thinking while absentmindedly working on the map.

What had caused his terrible mood? He didn't remember any particular incident that might have made him angry or unhappy. Sure, seeing Enie reunite with his parents stung, but he was used to that and even if he wasn't, it shouldn't be enough to bring him so close to a temper tantrum.

Perhaps the problem had many facets. He missed Berk, he missed his people and his loved ones, that was true. But that also happened the other times he was travelling, and it never resulted in him getting angry or frustrated. Perhaps the problem lie even deeper, to the fact that he had come to the point of creating relationship here in Arendelle? Maybe the creation of friendships brought the pain of separation to the forefront of his mind rather than the backseat it always occupied when he was travelling? But then, that still wasn't enough to explain everything.

Hiccup knew that he became volatile when he was angry. A problem, rather than a solution. He hated losing his temper, but he hated not knowing why even more. He resolved to get to the bottom of this, and to avoid it happening ever again.

Still, he dared not join the Queen for breakfast. Remembering the previous day's incident brought some heat to his face again, but most of all it brought confusion. What did it all mean? Was the Queen still angry with him? She couldn't be, after last evening's … well, display, right? But the subject of their trust issues had not been brought up. She might still hold it against him. Then again, she did thank him for trusting her with the background of his lost limb, so that had to count for something.

Moreover, was it possible that she was attracted to him? Apparently the pool was open to the public, but he can't imagine that she would act like … well, that, for any random citizen. Looking at it objectively, hard as it was to put in perspective, Hiccup came to the conclusion that she knew exactly what she was doing and had a good reason to. He had no idea what her angle was, though.

Hiccup wondered if all women were needlessly complicated like that, or if he just had a gift for picking them out.

He shared lunch with Ernie and Toothless. After that, he and Toothless decided to fly for a bit. They had a small audience, like always, but this time Hiccup could see a lot of young people watching eagerly, waiting for the two of them to fly. When they did, he even heard some cheering.

Vain as he was, Toothless insisted that they do some tricks for their spectators, to which Hiccup was not against. By the time they ended the relatively simple manoeuvre sequence, they had the attention of roughly half the castle's inhabitants and many of the citizens.

They landed to applause, and Hiccup waved to the crowd, inwardly cheering that they were receiving such a positive response. He knew that as the presence of dragons could become accepted with time. As long as something becomes a fixture in someone's life, a constant presence, acceptance is not far behind.

He had to rush to get dressed in a fine green tunic and groomed in time for Court, but he managed it, and he and Toothless took their seats. His draconian friend once again took to napping it out, but he was watching more attentively than usual. In particular, he watched the Queen like a hawk, and did not miss the furtive glances she would occasionally send his way. Interesting.

After Court was done, Toothless put his foot-or paw, rather- down and all but dragged him outside, demanding to get out of the castle. Hiccup agreed, not being against visiting the rest of the town again.

The sun went down as they walked leisurely, Hiccup greeting people and sending smiles around while Toothless did his best peacock impression, under the awestruck gazes of the people of Arendelle.

Hiccup rolled his eyes as his friend once against casually flexed his wings, earning many impressed sounds from the passerby.

"Honestly," he said, "I could confuse you with a Nadder if I didn't know any better."

He received a soft, argumentative tail-slap in response, as well as a gruff sound from Toothless' throat.

"And don't think I missed the way you meticulously cleaned every single scale of yours earlier. You had this all planned, didn't you?"

Toothless warbled again, denial evident in his tone, but Hiccup knew him enough to catch the obvious lie.

"You're a terrible liar, bud."

He would have said more, but he stopped when he saw a pair of Arendelle footmen approach him. They were wearing the characteristic uniforms of the city guard, not the castle security force, and were armed with swords and shields.

They stopped in front of him and Toothless in perfect sync and formation.

"Chief Haddock, greetings."

"And to you, good sirs. What can I do for you?"

"Sir, your presence is required. Queen's orders. You must come with me."

Hiccup's smile slowly melted away. His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed.

"Where are we going?"

"Not far from here, sir."

"And you say the Queen ordered it?"

"Yes sir, and we are pressed for time, so if you could please follow me."

Something didn't sit very well with Hiccup. If the Queen required his presence, why did she send infantrymen to fetch him? Why not Ernie or some other servant?

He exchanged a wary look with Toothless. Picking up on his rider's apprehension, Toothless too became alerted, ear-flaps rising and nostrils flaring.

He turned back to the soldiers. "Okay, let's go."

"Alone, if you don't mind. Your dragon will have to wait for you here."

Warning drums set off in Hiccup's mind. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Queen disliked Toothless, but to actually demand that he not show up? There was something wrong with this whole picture.

"That will not happen. I will come with Toothless, or not at all."

The soldier's expression hardened. "Sir, Queen's orders."

"She is not my Queen. If you want me to come, Toothless will come as well."

The soldiers turned their gaze to Toothless, looking at him critically for a few seconds, assessingly. Hiccup had seen similar looks in his own people, but that had been over five years ago.

"Very well. Follow us."

At his nod, the two soldiers turned and assumed a crisp walk. Hiccup followed behind them, staying close to Toothless.

The soldiers led the two of them to the west side of town, to a part where the buildings were not as high, and the roads mostly empty and not very well lit.

They suddenly turned into a road that led between two long buildings, with barely any light inside. Hiccup followed them.

When they had reach about the middle of the alley, Hiccup saw more people approach from the other end. A quick glance behind him showed that three more people were approaching from that direction. One of them wore a soldier's attire.

The two soldiers in front of them stopped, and were joined by the two others that were coming from the other end.

The people aside from the three soldiers were wearing civilian clothes, but they armed with swords and pikes. One of the four in front of them even held a crossbow.

This was definitely a trap. He heard Toothless shift next to him, pulling his limbs back in preparation of a pounce. He heard the low rumble from deep in the dragon's belly, the sign that he was preparing a large amount of gas.

His own fingers clenched around the hilt of his dagger, inside his tunic.

The soldier that had spoken before addressed him again.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Chief."

Hiccup replied, even as he carefully looked around. "How may I make this less difficult, then?"

He spotted another figure, on the roof to their left. He, too, held a crossbow.

"Tell your dragon to stand down and surrender yourself. Then it, at least, will make it out of here."

Assessing the sniper on the roof as the most threatening, he subtly glanced at Toothless. His friend had made the same thought, his big green eyes locked on the crossbowman.

He turned back to the soldier ahead of him.

"What about me, then?"

"There is no scenario in which you make it out of here alive."

"I beg to differ. Now!"

At his command, both he and Toothless sprang to motion. Toothless roared and unleashed a ball of blue flame, which impacted against the sniper's chest almost instantly. The ball exploded, killing the man instantly and removing him from view.

Hiccup pulled his hand from behind his back, drawing his dagger and launching it in the same motion. The knife streaked through the air before lodging itself hilt-deep on the other crossbowman's neck. The man let go of his weapon, bringing his hands up to his throat and gurgling blood, before falling backwards.

The rest of their enemies began to move, rushing at them from both directions. Toothless spun and launched himself, claws-first, against the three people at their rear.

Hiccup tuned out his friend's wrathful roars, as he focused on his own opponents. The leader, the man who had talked, was still armed with a sword and shield but the second soldier had exchanged his for the pike the third man, dressed in civilian clothes, had brought.

The first to reach him was the civilian. He swung his blade at Hiccup and he drew back to evade it. He continued his rush, aiming to clobber him with the shield, but Hiccup twisted around it. He brought a hand to the edge of the shield and grabbed hold, pulling even as he moved, positioning himself behind his enemy. He wrapped his right hand around his neck and with the other took control of the shield. He span the two of them around just in time for the civilian's shield to block the soldier's pike.

Pressing harder against the man's throat, he planted his left knee on his side. He pulled at the shield and repositioned his hostage. The next pike thrust found the civilian on the chest. He screamed in horror and pain as he clutched at it, trying vainly to pull it out as he dropped to the ground. Hiccup took the shield from the dead man's clutch. With his free hand, he pressed a certain metallic piece of his prosthetic, hearing the soft clink of success.

The soldier, having lost his pike, drew a shortsword and attacked him. Hiccup slammed the sword to the left with the shield. Being wide open, Hiccup brought his left foot to the front and kicked the man sideways on the chest. The metallic prosthetic by itself was rather painful, but the six inch blade that had sprung from its bottom was deadly. The man tried to stay on his feet, but Hiccup slammed the shield on his head and the soldier dropped to the ground, unconscious and bleeding to death.

Throughout the fighting, Toothless roars and the screams of dying men had not let up.

Hiccup dropped the shield. The leader, who had been staying back due to the lack of space, was finally upon him. He ducked under the heavy sword swing and rolled forward, before springing to his feet. He ran a few steps and pulled his dagger free of the dead crossbowman's neck.

He turned to fight the leader. The soldier rushed at him, and Hiccup parried his thrust. Unfortunately, that left him open to the shield, which the enemy took advantage of as Hiccup suddenly saw stars from being slammed on the head. He stumbled back, thankful that his nose wasn't broken, and had enough presence of mind to duck another swing.

The man was much bigger than he was, and a tiny bit taller. There was no way he could overpower him. He parried the next thrust to his right and the enemy's left, keeping the shield at bay and aiming his dagger at the man's neck. He twisted, making Hiccup's dagger impact the leather armor of his shoulder. The angle wasn't right, so Hiccup didn't manage to pierce through it. With a grunt, the soldier abandoned the shield and pushed Hiccup off of him. Hiccup's back slammed against a brick wall, which made his vision swim. The soldier wasted no chance, grabbing a fistful of Hiccup's tunic and pulling, throwing him further down the alley.

Hiccup tripped on something, falling heavily to the ground. He scraped both his knees and an elbow, but he had managed to keep hold of his knife.

He rose to his feet shakily, and turned just in time to sloppily redirect the downward sword slash. He was not prepared for the next strike, and only just managed to bring up the dagger to block the sword.

They stayed locked like this for a few seconds, as Hiccup tried to keep back the much stronger man.

"You will die here." The soldier grunted, pushing the sword just a little closer to Hiccup's face.

"You cannot beat me." He taunted again. The blade was almost touching Hiccup, who was straining just to hold it back with his dagger. He picked up a sound from behind him.

"I don't have to beat you." He said, before taking a quick step backwards. The soldier was not prepared for it and he stumbled forward. Hiccup grabbed hold of both of his hands and swung them around, effectively changing positions, before letting go.

The man stumbled forward again and was disoriented. Having lost track of Hiccup for a second, he raised his head to try and find him.

The last thing the soldier saw was an open maw full of bloody, razor-sharp teeth, before Toothless clamped his jaws around his head.

Hiccup sagged as Toothless finished off the last of their enemies, having easily dispatched the three enemies that had flanked them. He hurt everywhere, he was pretty sure the shield had concussed him, and his knees were bleeding.

Toothless came to a stop next to Hiccup. He truly looked terrifying, head and limbs covered in blood that was not his, slowly dripping from his maw and claws.

"Thanks, bud." Hiccup wheezed, still trying to regain his breath.

Toothless ears perked up and he turned his head towards the entrance. Hiccup evened his breathing to try to listen. He could make out voices and the organized running of troops. Hopefully they'd be legitimate troops this time.

He took to cleaning his blade of blood on his tunic, which was already ruined. He felt exhausted, and the implications of the attack boggled his mind to the point that he did not even want to think about it right now. He briefly considered the possibility that the Queen had actually organized the attack, but he wrote it off immediately. She'd had plenty of better chances, and there was no motivation for such a badly prepared ambush at this time.

A contingent of castle guards rushed into the alley, Queen Elsa herself leading them. Hiccup was glad to see her, for this meant that these were actual guards, and not fakes. Despite that, he could not muster the good mood to smile, surrounded as he was by their fallen enemies.

The Queen froze on the entrance of the alley, her eyes taking in the carnage. Her gaze swept through the mangled bodies, some of them in civilian clothes and others dressed as her own soldiers, and finally landed on Toothless's and his own bloodied forms.

Dread filled him as he noticed her expression twist from confusion to shock and then finally settle for a murderous glare that the Queen directed at him and Toothless. He stilled, his dagger all of a sudden almost burning his hand.

"Wait, don't-"

"Seize him!" He heard the Queen yell, and the soldiers rushed into the alley, heading right for him.

Toothless took two steps towards the advancing soldiers, opened his wings fully and roared. The Queen wasted no time, throwing her hands forward and creating an incredibly fast current of frost. The magic attack hit Toothless in the chest, and the dragon screeched as he was frozen, before abruptly falling silent when the ice covered his head as well.

"No!" Hiccup shouted as he saw Toothless get flash-frozen. "Stop it! We-"

He wasn't allowed to complete the sentence, as he was grabbed on the shoulder by a guard. Reflexively he removed the offending appendage with a quick twist of his hand and violently pushed the man away, to crash on another guard. He advanced towards Toothless, ducking under a man's grip as he tried to come closer and do something. Before he could take another step, he was suddenly tackled to the ground by two guards. He managed to raise his head enough to see Toothless, now completely lost to the ice.

He felt a sharp pain to the back of his head, before falling into darkness.

~H~