Chapter 3
Descendant
Inside the now empty ballroom of the castle there was a black raven, perching itself above the giant chandelier. It stood on the top so that no person would be able to see it. The raven had it''s eyes set upon three people. These three people were talking with each other and laughter could be heard. The Raven made no sound, it just continued watching them.
Whatever this Raven is doing, their is no doubt that there will be foul intentions behind it.
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The private tour had begun and Hiccup walked behind Elsa and Anna with curiosity in his eye's. He truly had no idea what to expect in this tour for he has never seen a castle until today. Hiccup only hopes that it will be something to tell his father and his friends when he gets back home. AS Hiccup kept on walking he noticed that the two sisters in front of him were holding a little private discussion. Hiccup could not tell what they were saying, but if he were to judge by gesture alone it seems that Elsa wants to tell her sister something.
What did she want to ask? Hiccup does not no nor does he intend to ask, none of his business and he rather leave it like that.
"So when was this castle built?" Hiccup asked, breaking the quiet conservation between the two sisters.
"It's been hear for quite sometime Chief Hiccup, unfortunately i do not know for how long. I do know this, this wasn't always named Arendelle it was called something before that." Queen Elsa's statement got Hiccup's interest.
"Really? What was this kingdom called before, if you don't mind me asking?"
Elsa looked to Anna as if she was expecting her younger sister to answer the question. Anna gave of shrug uncertainty and pointed to the sister as if accusing her of something. Apparently the older sister was hoping that the younger one would know the answer but she does not which made Anna lightly scorn his sister for not knowing since she is the one who is Queen.
"Sorry Hiccup but we don't know, I'm pretty sure our mother has told us but we've forgotten about it."
"It's not like it matters, even when this place was renamed Arendelle our family were still the one's who ruled."
Hiccup had to agree with Queen Elsa's statement, still he could not help but feel a bit curious.
He dismissed that thought and began to pay attention as the two sisters began talking and explaining their history with this castle. They walked through the almost empty hallways of the castle. Hiccup would occasionally see the pair of soldiers walking past them or the maid and butler cleaning up after the party. Still there were moments when the three were left alone and in those situations he would notice that Anna would stay close by him. He also noticed that whenever Anna came close to him he would see Elsa looking at him through the corner of her eye which made Hiccup a tad bit nervous.
The tour had lead them to the royal garden which has in the center of the castle. Hiccup was excited to see this because at Berk due to the cold weather there was not much vegetation. So upon seeing such of varity of plants and flowers and the smell that came with caused Hiccup to smile.
"This is beautiful and it smells even better, you guys are making me jealous." Anna smiled at his comment but Elsa was left in the Dark.
"What do you mean by that Chief Hiccup?"
"Back at Berk the weather is very cold, if isn't snowing it's hailing and if it isn't hailing it's snowing. So naturally we don't have gardens, we have tree's but no gardens like this."
"Cold weather..." Elsa muttered to herself very quietly. Perhaps she should visit Berk one day.
"All right that just leaves one more place to visit, c'mon Hiccup were not getting any younger!" Anna exclaimed and wrapped her arm around Hiccups dragging the poor man across the garden even though it was clear he wanted to stay here longer. Elsa gave the viking the look of amusement the poor man has no idea what he gotten himself into know that Anna has affection for him.
"..."Elsa began to ponder, she was unsure of how to deal with Anna's feelings for the viking. She was hoping that if Anna does confess her love the viking would turn her down...but if he accepts her feelings. Elsa dismissed those thoughts even if that happens Elsa knew that Anna's next step would be marriage which would hopefully scare the viking away. If for some reason it does not Anna would still need her blessing, which she has no intention of giving. Elsa nodded to herself, there was no chance of Anna getting married to this man. She doesn't want to see her sister in pain but it's for her own good.
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"So where are we?" Hiccup asked as he looked around at his surroundings. There were in a grand room, not as big as the ball room but still big enough to hold a decent amount of people. Just like the rest of the castle there was fine wooden floor only at the center there was an expensive blue carpet with the royal crest. It also came with a grand chandelier at the top that gave the room plenty of light. At the opposite end of the room, there was a grand painting of a couple that Hiccup has already seen. It was Elsa and Anna's parents only difference in this painting they were younger and their children were not in the painting with them. On the left and right side of the painting there was large piece of cloth hanging on the wall. The Cloth was split into two colors, one half purple and the other green. In the middle there was golden shape object, Hiccup had seen this before during the coronation he assumed for it to be the crest of this family.
"This is were we pay our respects. All these paintings you see Chief Hiccup were former rulers on Arendelle who have passed away. We honor them by painting them at the time when the people consider their rulers were at their peak performance."
Once Elsa had finish speaking Hiccup took the time to look around and see all the paintings that surround the room. Each painting held their own little story, the clothes and their face was enough to give Hiccup an estimated guess at what time period they ruled.
"If you don't mind me asking Queen Elsa, why are you parents in the center when everyone Elsa is hanging by the sides of the room?" Hiccup regretted asking that question because the moment he did he saw both Elsa and Anna get a depressed look on their face. Hiccup mentally screamed at the top of his mind, yelling at himself for not learning from his past mistakes.
"Because Chief Hiccup." Hiccup gulped at the sound of the Queen's words, Hiccup was sure he crossed the line with that question. "Our parents did not get the honor of living their full life, for they died at sea. Those who's life are cut short are given special treatment. As you can see only our parents received such treatment"
Hiccup met the Queen's gaze and he did not flinch, he knew he messed up when asking that question but he is a chief and he needs to act like one. It was not easy, Elsa's stare could burn a hole into your face but Hiccup stood his ground with a straight face not wavering, not even for a moment. Anna herself began looking at her sister and then at Hiccup, she was very nervous. She was not sure how the situation would turn out.
"I'm sorry Queen Elsa, I did not mean to open old wounds." Hiccup said his words with truth, he did not enjoy bringing such pain to his friend or her sister. Elsa stared at him for a few seconds before abandoning that Hard gaze and replacing it with a much softer one.
"No, I'm sorry Chief Hiccup. I lost my cool for a second and took it out on you, I did not mean that."
"I will only accept your apology if you accept mine." Hiccup said with a sly tone on his voice.
"Very well I accept you apologies and thank you for accepting my apologies" A small smile broke out between the Chief and Queen which made Anna gave a sigh or relief as the possibility of a fight or an argument breaking out between the two soon vanished. With that the tour came to an end and the Queen along with her sister began to escort Chief Hiccup to the doors of the castle. They left the grand room leaving it empty of any presence...or so they thought.
On the chandelier the black raven that had been stalking to the unbeknownst group did not follow them. Instead it stayed inside the room full of paintings of previous rulers. The raven began looking around, it was searching for something or perhaps someone. The raven flew down from the chandelier and began moving towards a specific painting that hanged on the far edge of the wall.
It was a painting a young and very beautiful woman. She had a tall slender figure, and her lips were so red that roses themselves would look down in shame. Her complexion was fair and flawless and her violet eyes have put men of all types in a trance but what stood out the most for this fair beauty was her hair. Her hair was a curvy and wavy waist length golden hair, truly a beautiful women but not to the raven.
The Raven, with it's sharp talons scratched the face of the woman on the painting ruining her beauty.
Satisfied, the Raven flew out of the hallway and resumed it's stalking of the Hiccup, Anna and Elsa.
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Hiccup yawned as he approached the doors of the castle, the man was most defiantly exhausted after the long day. What he can't wait for is for him to return to his ship and take a nice long sleep.
"Thank you for the tour of this castle, it was awesome and I don't really know how i'm going to pay you back." Hiccup said as he turned to face the Queen and Princess. Queen Elsa gave a nod of approval to Hiccup's comment but Anna began fidgeting, something that got her older sister's attention but not Hiccup's. As Hiccup was about to place his hand on the door and make his exit he felt a soft grip on his wrist. It was Anna who seemed like she wanted to tell Hiccup something. Something important.
"Um wait Chief no I mean um horrendous no wait, Hiccup, I want to ask you something." Hiccup released his hand on the door nob and gave his full attention to his friend who had now cased her fidgeting and was now facing Hiccup with a warm smile on her face . Elsa's breath began to hitch as she knew what Anna was about to do. The red blush on her cheeks and the smile that came along with it confirmed Elsa's fears.
"Um Elsa could you please give us a moment alone?" Now Hiccup's breath began to hitch, he began wondering if something had happened between the two sister's. If memory served him right the last time Hiccup had a one on one talk with Anna was because she had an argument with her sister. This was bad, Hiccup did not want to resolve another issue with the Queen and Princess. Truth be told Hiccup thinks he got lucky with Anna when it came to cheering her up but trying clam her down and the Queen when the issue is that of a family matter. By now Hiccup knew he was pushing his luck.
"I'm sorry Anna but I will not." Her voice, that was not the voice she had earlier. Gone was Elsa, Anna's older sister. Now Hiccup is in the presence of the Queen of Arendelle.
"Elsa I just need to talk to him about something." Anna said back while wondering why her sister is acting like this when things were going so well.
"I know what your going to ask Anna. The answer is no." From that statement alone, Anna knows that Elsa knows and now Elsa knows that Anna knows about what she knows. Meanwhile Hiccup knows absolutely nothing.
"Your not even gonna give him a chance to answer!"
"I don't care what his answer is, the answer is no."
"Why!?"
"Because you have only known him for one day, Anna."
It took Hiccup a while but he finally realized that the subject their arguing on is him. Something that made Hiccup feel a bit guilty.
"He's a nice man, he's a handsome man!" Hiccup blushed slightly after being called handsome. "So why are you saying no!"
"Because it take's more than look's Anna. So listen to your older sister!" Elsa began to lose her cool, her temper began failing wildly. With that Hiccup began to notice that the area became a bit more colder. Though he was the only one to notice it for the two sister's were too occupied with their argument.
"Listen to what?! Listen on how to push everyone away, to be like you? Is that what you want?"
"What I want is for you to listen to me?!"
"Why are you being like this?!"
"Because I am trying to protect you!"
"No your not, all you want to do is push me away. I try to get close and you won't let me! So why now, WHY DO YOU CARE NOW!?"
Anna's voice began to escalate, the argument was getting heated and the topic had taken a severe change. Hiccup began wondering if he should excuse himself, this was defiantly none of his business.
"BECAUSE YOUR MY SISTER AND I LOVE YOU!"
"THAT"S NOT TRUE!"
"YES IT IS!"
"THEN WERE WHERE YOU WHEN OUR PARENTS WERE BEING BURIED!? WHY DID HAVE TO BURY THEM ALONE!?"
Silence.
That's all that came after those words left Anna's mouth. Year's of isolation and pent up sadness and aggression has just been released in front of Hiccup. By now tear's were streaming down Anna's face and her cheeks were red from anger. Elsa herself were in no better shape. Hiccup stayed silent, the man has had his fair share of arguments with his father in the past but that doesn't mean he knows what to do in a situation like this. Hiccup looked at Anna and judging by her face Hiccup could only assume that she regretted those words. Her hands covered her own mouth, as if the young woman could not believe she just said those words to her older sister.
"Elsa wait...I'm..." Anna never finished her words, she stopped talking when she saw Elsa leave the room with tears streaming down her face. Anna watched her sister leave the room but she did not follow. She soon left afterwards but in a different direction, most likely to avoid her sister. Anna did not say anything to Hiccup, either she was so upset that she had completely forgotten about him or she was to ashamed to face him. Now Hiccup stood in the ball room, were he could hear nothing but the wind coming from outside the castle. He turned to face the doors and placed his hand on the door knob.
That last comment made by Anna. There was defiantly some history to these two sister's, to not attend your own parents funeral. That made Hiccup very uncomfortable. Hiccup sighed and rubbed his forehead, This was not his problem so should he stay out of it. He was exhausted and Hiccup want's nothing more than to rest in his ship and leave in the morning. He opened the door and took a look outside, the town was quite. All the towns folk were most likely asleep, resting in their home's. That left the street's empty with only lanterns hanging by a post to light the way for any person who may be walking the street's. at this late hour. Hiccup could easily leave, there was nothing stopping him but as he placed his foot out the door he could feel his heart turning. It was telling him to go back, to not leave these two poor girls alone when they could use a friend.
Hiccup placed his foot back inside and closed the door. His rest and relaxation will have to wait, there are two girls who may need his help.
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Cold air filled the Hallway's as Hiccup walked through them while looking for Elsa. He payed very little attention to the change in temperature, being raised in Berk defiantly made him almost immune to any cold weather.
"Queen Elsa? Your majesty? Hello?" Hiccup began calling out for Elsa, he followed the path that he saw her walk when she left the ballroom but he had no idea as to what room she could be in. This castle was truly large and even after getting a tour Hiccup needed to make sure he did not get lost. What gave Hiccup relief was that there were no guards inside the castle for the moment, most likely they were outside guarding the castle walls. He was thankful for that, because if they saw a viking in the Queen's castle at this late at night it would definitely raise suspicion.
"Queen Elsa...It's me Chief Hiccup. Can your here me?" Hiccup gave one last call and waited, hoping for an answer. His patience was rewarded for her heard his name being called out.
"Chief Hiccup...what are you doing here?" Hiccup saw Elsa peek her head out the door, Hiccup recognized the room she was in. It was the royal library a very spacious room with enough books to build a forest. Hiccup could see that Elsa's was trying to act like a Queen in his presence, her face was straight and she did her best to speak in a straight tone. However her red eye's and the sound of cracks in her voice told Hiccup that the woman was still in tears from earlier.
"I just...well I was wondering if you need some help." Elsa was a bit surprised from Hiccup's statement, she was sure that the man would not have cared to bother with this type of situation.
"While I appreciate your concern Chief Hiccup, this is none of your business. So I must say good night to you." Elsa spoke more harshly that she wanted to but she was too upset to even care. She slammed the door on Hiccup, an action that did not surprise him. Instead he cleared his throat and began to speak with a stronger tone in his voice.
"You are right Queen Elsa...this is none of my business." He paused for a second, and began to think on what words he must say if he want's to get Elsa to open that door. He thought of something, but what he wanted to say came from a personal experience in his past. He began to have doubt's, wondering if he should really be sharing such information with a stranger. He dismissed those thoughts, now was not the time to be acting selfishly.
"Can I tell you a something Queen Elsa?" No response, Hiccup took that as a sign to continue.
"Before I became a chief, I use to argue at lot with my father. We rarely saw eye to eye, and to be honest there were moment's when I thought he hated me. That he was ashamed of me. One time I made a mistake, a big one and in response my father said to me you are not my son. I'm not lying, he actually said that." Hiccup paused, and swallowed. He needed to keep his emotions in check and not let them get the best of him.
"Those word's hurt, they hurt more than any physical blow I have ever taken, Elsa. I really did think my father hated me...but I was wrong because I failed to realize something. I failed to realize that I am his son and no matter what happen's my Father loves me because I'm all the family he has left." Hiccup wondered if Elsa realized what he meant by those words. The two sister's had no idea that Hiccup had lost his mother when he was still a small child.
"Just like your all the family that Anna has left...She loves you Elsa just as much as you love her." Hiccup waited for a few seconds wondering if he had gotten through to the Queen. Hiccup felt fatigued, he's never poured so much of his personal life to another person. He only hopes that he made the right decision in sharing with the Queen.
"That's all I wanted to say Elsa, thank you for inviting me to your castle and goodnight."
Hiccup began to walk away but stopped when heard the sound of a door being opened. It was Elsa, who no longer had the hard gaze that she gave Hiccup earlier.
"You've...lost family as well?" Elsa asked, with a tad bit of nervousness around her voice.
"Yeah...yeah, I lost my mother when I was child. I never met her so I don't really know what she looks like." A dead silence filled the air after those words left his mouth. Hiccup looked to Elsa and saw that young woman was struggling with something, if Hiccup had to guess he would say that she was trying to make a decision.
"I'm sorry for your loss..."
"Thank you."
"Do you think Anna hates me?" Her comment caused Hiccup to smile, even now all could she think about was her younger sister. Hiccup admired their bond, it reminded him of Ruffnut and Tuffnut who have just as strong of a bond.
"No she does not, Queen Elsa but I'm pretty sure you already know that. C'mon let's go find your younger sister and I"ll prove it to you!" Hiccup yelled out while raising his right arm into the air and grabbed her gloved hand with his left arm. Perhaps his lack of sleep made him a bit more stranger than usual but his small action made the Queen smile, and caused a small giggle to come from her mouth. As Hiccup walked forward through the hallways he failed to notice two things. The first was that the temperature began to rise slowly, making the hallways a bit warmer. The second thing was that Queen Elsa was staring at Hiccup...
With a small blush appearing on her cheeks.
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The royal garden, a peaceful and lush area were many come just to relax. Right now Anna sat down on the stone bench wiping away her tears and cursing herself for all the stupid things she said. The moon shined brightly above her head, illuminating the garden and making it appear more beautiful than it already is. Unfortunately for Anna it did not help her situation, she was so engrossed in self pity that she failed to notice the young man behind her.
"I hope this doesn't become a habit."
The voice of Hiccup surprised her and it cause Anna to jump and make small noise that sounded like "eep".
"Hiccup. Ugh do not scare my like that."
"Sorry." Hiccup said while trying to repress a giggle, seeing Anna get sacred was so far the funniest thing he's seen since coming to Arenedelle.
That giggle soon left when he saw the frown on Anna's face, it was similar to one he saw back at the balcony but only this time with puffy eyes and red cheeks. Hiccup stayed silent for a few moments, he simply sat down next to Anna and kept the young woman company. An act that brought comfort to Anna. She valued Hiccup as her friend for she has never really had one, year's of growing up in the castle with out her parents has left her alone just like her sister.
"You know I thin I finally got your sister figured out." It was upon speaking that Hiccup got up on his feet and began walking with his chin up high and his arms folded. Hiccup had a plan to prove to Elsa that Her sister did love her. Though lack of sleep did make his plans not so full proof, in fact if Hiccup did not play his cards right he could be walking to a punch in the face. Still that never stopped him before, so why stop now?
"Your sister is a very cold hearted woman."
That comment made Hiccup's heart race because he saw Anna's face change from sorrow to what he believe is frustration. "Oh boy I hope this works..." He thought to himself before continuing with his plan.
"Think about it, she keeps her distance from everyone and she hardly dances. Not only that but she is very rude, I mean did you see the way she yelled at you. Talk about rude."
His plan seemed to be working for he saw Anna get up off the stone bench as she gave Hiccup a very cold stare with her arm's crossed. This momentary act caused Hiccup to gulp but he still continued with his little charade.
"I know you agree with me right Anna? Don't you think your sister is just plain mean and horrible. How could you love someone like that?"
Her face became red, it was obvious that she was pissed. Hiccup braced himself for the vocal and possible physical beating that he was about to receive from the strong hearted princess. Oh what Hiccup would give for this whole situation to be over so he could finally get some sleep.
"What are you talking about?"
Hiccup recognized that voice, it was the same voice she used when her first met her back at the docks. He really hoped Elsa was watching and listing because if not then this was all for nothing.
"My sister is kind, beautiful, and incredible Hiccup. There is no one on earth like her, it doesn't matter what you may think because your wrong anyways. You don't know Elsa, and just how amazing she is."
"So you do love your sister?"
"Of Course. She's my sister I will always lover her no matter what." Hiccup gave an inward smile, just a few more comments and Hiccup will have won this thing and show Elsa just how wrong she is about Anna hating her.
"So that comment you made earlier about her not loving you?"
"I was being stupid! I know she loves me it just ugh I shouldn't have said that...now she probably hates me." Anna had now completely forgotten about her frustration towards Hiccup and once again retired to the stone bench where buried her face into her hands.
"No, I don't think she hates you." Anna pulled her face out from her hands and gave Hiccup a look, as if asking on how he was so sure. He responded by pointing to something that was behind Anna. Upon turning she saw that her sister had been hiding behind a bush and heard every single word that Anna had said. The princess's jaw hit the floor, she turned to Hiccup who had a smile on his face. It was then that she knew that Hiccup had planed this all along and she fell right for it. She got up onto her feet and began walking toward her sister with nervous foot steps. Elsa herself walked away from the bush and towards her little sister. They stopped with just one foot of space between them. Hiccup watched with anticipation, he hoped that these two would be able to make up. For right now the sister's stood silent not knowing what to say to each other.
"Hi."
"Hi."
Hiccup mentally face palmed himself, if these two sister's don't make up in the nest five minutes by the Gods Hiccup will do it for them.
"I'mI"m sorrysorry." Now they began speaking at the same time.
"I'm sorry Elsa for what I said, I didn't mean that at all."
Hiccup gave a sigh of relief for the progress that was finally being made.
"I'm sorry Anna for the way I acted, so please don't think I hate you Anna."
"I know you don't Elsa, your my sister." With that the siblings embrace in a heartwarming hug. A hug that brought a smile to Hiccup and finally put to rest the nagging conscious in his brain. Looking at the sky Hiccup could tell that he still had a few more hours before the sun would rise. Not wanting to waist anymore time he was about to silently excuse himself in order to catch some much need sleep. His attempt failed because he felt two arm's grab his wrist. It was Elsa and Anna and before he could even ask what they needed the two sister's pulled him in and the hug turned into a group hug.
Hiccup slightly blushed at the warm embrace from two attractive women, oh boy if the villager's could see him knew he would never hear the end of it. A bit uncomfortable, Hiccup wedged himself out of the Hug and the to sister's soon ended their embrace. Still holding the blush in his cheeks Hiccup tried to look away and hide it but was unsuccessful for the two sister's saw it and gave small giggle, much to the chief's embarrassment.
"Thank you, Hiccup for your help." To both Anna and Hiccup's surprise Elsa had dropped the word chief and was now calling him by his name alone.
"So when did you start calling him Hiccup?" Anna's comment caught Elsa off guard, the Queen herself did not even realize that she called him by his name only.
"Well I mean it's just um..." Both Anna and Hiccup laughed at the Queen's reaction, it was most defiantly amusing. Finally satisfied with the ending of their little argument, Hiccup decide it was now time to retire to his ship.
"Well it certainly has been a busy night, so now I must say good night ladies."
"What are you talking about, for your help you need a reward." A reward? Hiccup did not expect that but since it was Anna he should have seen that coming.
"Oh really and just what reward are we talking about." Hiccup asked with a little teasing tone, he truly was curious. Perhaps a book? Maybe a supply of chocolate? Hiccup was hoping for the chocolate he truly did enjoy the sweet's.
"This."
Before Elsa could object.
Before Hiccup could even react.
Anna walked to Hiccup and place her soft lips on his cheek.
When she was done her face held a bright smile and her cheek's were the deepest shade of red.
"So Hiccup did you like your reward?"
To be continued...
And done, phew hope you like this chapter I tried to finish it before the week was over.
So thoughts? Some interesting stuff happened and I dropped another hint towards the antagonist. I got lot of reviews last chapter and some of you hated the bold while others like it. So I bold some words but only those I feel that It needed to stand out. If you guys like it like this tell me so I can do the rest of the chapters like this and if not then I don't mind going back to bold.
Did you guy's like the argument from Elsa and Anna. I figured that year's of isolation has got to have some nasty effect's on people seriously there was no way Anna and Elsa could just love each other without some pent up aggression since they haven't seen each other in ten years.
Anyway hope you enjoyed and I will see you guys in a couple of weeks.