Turmoil

Valka smiled endearingly at her husband who had resumed his pacing. Of course she had borne witness to him losing his composure before, earlier in the house being a prime example. However, Stoick coming unglued here, at the edge of the village in full view of everyone, was quite unlike him. Of course if Stoick had been as stoic in private as he normally appeared in public Valka probably wouldn't have married him in the first place, even if that was what their parents wanted.

"Just relax, love," Valka gently told him, "So Hiccup is a little late in getting back, that doesn't mean anything's wrong."

"You don't understand, Valka. It's not like Hiccup to be late like this," Stoick told her, then he amended him self and said, "Actually it's totally like him, but not when he has Astrid with him. She's one of the most responsible people in the village, and Hiccup has never been late for a village meeting since he's become Chieftain." Stoic then turned towards the young riders and asked, "Are you sure that Astrid said that she was going to meet him?"

"Absolutely, Chief!" Snotlout said with certainty, then as he realized his mistake he uncertainly amended, "…I mean sir….uh, actually…"

Ruffnut elbows him out of the way and says, "What Snotlout is trying to say is that he and I had arrived to the pens to check on our dragons this morning when we found Astrid there ahead of us, Stormfly already saddled up. She said she was going to meet Hiccup, though she wouldn't say where, then she took off."

"Then where is he?" Stoic asked in agitated concern, "They should have been back by now!"

"Maybe they just wanted to take their time in getting back," Valka suggested, "They likely wanted to enjoy the bliss of the moment and forestall everyone bombarding them with questions on how it went. I'm sure that the whole village saw them becoming a couple for a long time now."

"You're right there, Ma'am," Fishlegs agreed, "I saw it clear back when we were still training to kill dragons, though I never said it aloud for fear that Astrid would kill me if I did."

"Look!" one villager cried out as she pointed, "There they are now!"

Valka strained her eyes in the direction the villager indicated as the others did the same, Fishlegs pulling out his spyglass for a better view. Valka was able to definitely make out the unique profile of her son and his dragon, as well as the one she identified as belonging to Astrid. Curiously, Valka saw that they were flying close to the water and neither was approaching very quickly, and Valka was well familiar with how quickly both could move (especially Toothless). Even more curiously was the patch of fog practically right below them, in which Valka though she saw something moving.

"They don't seem to be moving very fast," Valka commented, feeling a bit apprehensive herself now.

"Perhaps you were right after all, my love, and they were just taking their time to draw out their private moment before it became very public," Stoick assured her in return.

"I don't think so," Fishlegs countered, his voice heavy with concern, "Hiccup looks as though he's been hurt pretty badly."

"What!?" Stoick snapped as he snatched Fishlegs' looking glass away from him and placed it to his own eye, and it was all Valka could do to restrain herself from taking it from him for herself.

"What about Astrid?" Astrid's father asked Fishlegs in concern, "Was she hurt?"

"Not that I could see, sir," Fishlegs answered him, "But there's more: they aren't alone."

"By Odin's beard!" Stoick whispered in dumbfounded confusion, "What is that?"

Now Valka's agitation got the better of her, and she took the looking glass from Stoic so she could see. From the way he held himself on Toothless, it was immediately apparent that he was hurt, and since he wasn't wearing his helmet Valka could see the bruises that were appearing on his face, which looked too large to have been caused by Astrid. As much as she was concerned about her son, however, Valka was curious about the other things Fishlegs mentioned. After a quick glance at Astrid (who, thankfully, did appear unharmed), Valka focused the glass on the fog below, then she took a deep breath at what she saw. The fog was actually being caused by pillars of ice forming in midair and plunging into the warm sea below. Even stranger was that the ice pillars were supporting a bridge made of ice, across which raced a sleigh of ice pulled by a single reindeer. While there seemed to be a man wearing a simple attire holding the reindeer's reins and a young woman riding in the back, it was the slightly older woman in the seat by the male driver who had Valka's attention, for it seemed that it was from her that the ice bridge seemed to be coming from. As they got closer, Valka could see that snow was pouring from her hand and forming into the bridge shape in front of her, hardening into ice before the reindeer's hooves touched down on it. What it meant Valka was unsure and was even more hesitant to say aloud, for even though the Jotun were the only ones she knew that had such power this woman did not appear to be one of them, and she doubted that Hiccup would lead one of their ancient enemies to them even under threat of force.

"What is it, Valka?" her old childhood friend Hilda asked, "What do you see?"

Valka could not find any way to avoid answering, so she told them. She avoided voicing the conclusions she'd drawn, but it apparently didn't matter as fearful whispers of "Jotun" and "frost giants" broke out around her.

"Are we being invaded?"

"They've been gone for hundreds of years, why have they returned now?"

"Have we displeased Odin in some way? Is that why they've been allowed to return?"

"Where is Thor when you need him?"

"Were they the ones who hurt Chief Hiccup?"

"Please, everyone!" Stoick called out, "I want the answers to these questions as much as you do. Now it looks as though they'll be arriving at the pier, so if you'll follow me we'll get our answers together. Nobody hurts my son and gets away with it!"

Stoick then turns and walks to the path leading to the pier, with the rest of the village following him murmuring in angry voices before Valka could come up with something to say to stop them.

Anna felt the vibrations in the sleigh change slightly as it transitioned from the ice bridge onto the wooden pier. Then she heard the cracks and splashed as the bridge was finally allowed to break up and dissolve into the ocean, and the ice sleigh melted as it followed the bridge into oblivion. Anna, however, wished that she still had a seat to hide behind as she saw a bunch of Viking villagers heading their way, all of them looking rather angry.

"Um, Chief Hiccup?" Anna said uneasily as she gripped her frying pan in her clammy hands, "I don't think that your friends are too happy to see us."

"Don't worry, Princess," Hiccup assured her as he dismounted his dragon, who had landed on a moored ship beside them, "I'll handle this."

Hiccup then hopped over onto the pier along with Astrid, placing themselves in the path of the advancing crowd as he said, "Everyone calm down. It's all right, these people…"

A man, who had to be the largest one of the group, kneeled down and gently placed both hands on Hiccup's shoulders as he asked in a concerned voice, "Are you okay, son? Did these people hurt you too badly?"

"No, Dad, I'll be okay," Hiccup assured him, "but these people…"

"That's good, son," Hiccup's dad interrupted as he stood again, removing a double-headed battle axe from his back as he nudged Hiccup out of the way and began advancing forward again, saying, "Now why don't you go rest up at the great hall for a bit. We'll take it from here."

"No. Wait, Dad, you don't understand!" Hiccup said as he unsuccessfully tried to restrain him, "These guys…!"

"Look! That one has been twice-struck by Thor!" one other villager cried out, and Anna saw that he was pointing directly at her, "They're enemies of the gods! We have to stop them!"

Anna looked down and realized that she was still wearing the dress she had on when Azula blasted her with lightning. Great! Anna thought to herself, mentally rolling her eyes, I'm the reason these people are so worked up! Now I know just how Elsa felt after I pushed her to accidentally reveal her powers at the coronation party.

Before Anna could come up with anything to say or she could decide to make a break for it, although the only way clear was the ocean behind her, Elsa faced the crowd as she stepped directly between them and her. Anna felt the air around her drop several degrees and saw frost start to form on the pier beneath her as Elsa growled, "Listen, you bunch of ignorant barbarians! We've never met your gods and it certainly wasn't your precious Thor who hurt Anna! It was a power hungry princess who happened to be one stone block short of a castle! Anna's been through enough, and if any of you want to lay one finger on her you'll have to go through me."

Kristoff strode forward to stand beside Elsa, hefting his climbing pick in silent agreement. As the crowd started forward again, Anna was afraid they were going to take Elsa up on her challenge. However, Hiccup dashed out in front of them again, looking back and forth between the villagers and Elsa as he pleaded, "Stop! Everyone calm down, please! These people aren't our enemies, and they weren't the ones who hurt me. It was Drago."

"Drago?" Hiccup's father asked him, stopping at the mention of the name and looking Hiccup in the eyes as the angry mob stopped with him, "Drago Bludvist?"

"Yes, Dad. He's back, and from what I've seen he's been rebuilding his dragon army," Hiccup confirmed, "He's already got himself a Flightmare, which he used to paralyze Astrid. He threated to hurt her if I did not duel him one-on-one, without Toothless. I had no choice but to agree. I'm sorry, Dad, but he was too big and strong for me. I know her powers may seem strange, but if it wasn't for Queen Elsa's intervention Astrid and I would have perished in the frigid breath of Drago's Bewilderbeast. Now he's preparing to attack Berk itself."

At that declaration, a slender, dark haired woman who looked about the same age as Elsa's mom finally fought her way to the front of the crowd, then she looked Elsa in the eye as she said, "Is that true, child! Did you really save my son?"

Elsa drew herself up regally, and Anna noticed that her voice had lost the angry edge it had as she replied, "Yes, milady. Everything your son said was true."

Hiccup's mom strode forward with the same grace as she said, "I know not what land or realm you strangers hail from, but you have my gratitude all the same." Then, so quickly that it took everyone by surprise, Hiccup's mom drew Elsa into an embrace as she whispered, "Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome," Elsa stammered, apparently caught off guard by this public display, then she pulled away as she added, "but as your son said, this is far from over."

Hiccup's mom still smiled gratefully even as she nodded her understanding. His dad echoed his wife's response as he said, "Of course, and I'm sorry about the misunderstanding and I thank you as well." After Elsa nodded her acknowledgement and acceptance, Hiccup's dad turned towards his son and asked, "Well, what should we do?"

"Me?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

"You are still the Chieftain of Berk, what's happened hasn't changed that," Hiccup's dad told him, "While I can advise you on a course of action, the decision to take that course or go another is entirely up to you."

Hiccup closed his eyes as he took a steadying breath, then he looked at his father and said, "We should begin by fortifying the island. It won't make much of a difference when Drago brings his Bewilderbeast into the fight, but it should buy us time against his men and other dragons."

Hiccup's dad nodded his understanding, then he turned his head towards the crowd behind him and hollered, "What are you waiting around for? You heard your chief, get to it!"

"We'll also need to get ready the saddles of those riders who'll be riding into battle, make sure they'll be good for the rough use to come," Hiccup added, "And since we know that Drago has a Flightmare at his beck and call, it would help if everyone who's fighting has a set of full body armor, reduce the chances they'll be affected by the Flightmare's paralyzing breath."

"Of course," Hiccup's dad acknowledged, then he turned towards a man with a peg leg who did not leave with the others and said, "Gobber?"

"On it, Stoick," the one-legged man acknowledged, then he hobbled a bit forwards towards Kristoff, eyeing the pick he still held loosely in his hands as he asked, "You weren't really going to challenge us with that wee thing, were you lad?"

Kristoff glanced down at his pick briefly as he replied in confusion, "It's always served me well before."

Gobber guffawed once as he said, "Clearly you've never fought against Vikings before, we'd use something like that to pick our teeth. Why don't you stop by my shop in a bit, I'll let you pick out a better weapon to use." Then, without waiting for an answer, Gobber hobbled off.

Hiccup faced his father as he continued, "I'll need to go somewhere quiet while I think of what other preparations need to be made."

Stoick nodded his understanding and gestured towards the largest building (short of what appeared to be the dragons' aerie) in the center of town. Astrid, however, caught up to him, placing a gentle restraining hand on his shoulder as she said, "Hiccup, wait."

Hiccup turned to look at Astrid, and Anna thought she recognized the look in Hiccup's eyes. It appeared to be the same look she'd seen many times in the eyes of her sister. For the first few weeks after the events following the coronation it was all that she saw whenever Elsa looked at her, and she'd seen that same look in her eyes once again as Elsa had examined her wounds before Drago had shown up with his dragon.

Before she could figure out what it meant, Hiccup's expression cleared as he smiled a painful looking smile and said, "It's okay, Astrid. I need time to think, so why don't help our friends get prepared?" Then Hiccup turned back to continue on his way. As Hiccup climbed up the steps to the village proper, Anna heard Astrid talk in a voice so low she wasn't sure Hiccup had heard, but Anna clearly heard the anger and hurt in Astrid's voice as she said, "As you say, Chief." Then Astrid stormed off towards the stairs as well, altering her course at the top to head for the dragon aerie instead.

"Oh dear," Hiccup's mom murmured fretfully as she looked at Stoick.

Anna then saw Elsa and Kristoff share a significant glance with one another as Elsa said, "You go to talk to that girl Astrid…"

"…while you discuss matters with young Chief Hiccup," Kristoff finished for her as he nodded his agreement.

As they both turned towards the stairs, Anna called out to them asking, "What should I do?"

As Elsa turned towards Anna she saw that same look in her eyes again, and she was starting to really hate, HATE that look, then Elsa said, "Why don't you take Sven somewhere he can get something to eat, Anna, then maybe you can help out Stoick and the others?"

When Elsa and Kristoff turned back and continued on their way, Anna felt her blood rising. Stoick gave her a sympathetic look as he said, "Come, my dear, we could use your help giving Gobber a hand with the saddles."

"Anna, is it?" Hiccup's mom asked with a smile, holding out her hand, "My name is Valka. A pleasure to meet you. While we help out my husband you can tell us all about yourself." Then Valka took Anna's hand in her own and followed Stoick into the village.

As Elsa entered the Great Hall, she saw Hiccup picking up a helmet from a table next to a large throne-like chair. From the large curved horns that stuck out from either side, Elsa guessed that it must be the Viking equivalent of a crown, and judging by the portraits arranged around the hall (including the one showing Hiccup standing beside his dad, who was wearing that very helmet) that appeared to be the case. However, it looked as though this helmet was to big and heavy for Hiccup to wear himself, and that seemed to be the case as he sighed and set it back down where it was.

"Pretty heavy, isn't it?" Elsa commented, and she felt slightly guilty as Hiccup jumped in startlement. After his breathing settled, Hiccup chuckled slightly as he said, "Yeah, well it was made for my dad back when he was chieftain, and while I'm sure he'd intended for me to wear it when I came of age, I simply had never managed to develop the muscle mass to do so. While I suppose I could have requested one to be made that was more my size, I simply never felt the need to do so. I guess if I were to wear any headgear I'd prefer it to be more functional, like the one I use when riding Toothless."

"I think I can relate to that," Elsa told him, "I haven't worn my tiara since the day of my coronation, I'm not even sure where it is right now. However, I wasn't referring to just the helmet itself, but to the burden of responsibilities that comes with it. The need to keep the peace amongst your people, the necessity to shield them from outside threats, to feed and protect your friends and loved ones. Even without wearing a bulky crown or a heavy cape, it can still feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders."

"Yes, it can," Hiccup sighed as he ran his finger around the outline of the helmet, then he turned towards Elsa as he asked, "You didn't just come here to compare the burdens of being a Queen with those of a Chieftain, did you?"

"No, I didn't," Elsa confirmed, "I actually came here to talk about Astrid."

When Kristoff located Astrid in a building located just off the aerie, which was apparently designed for combat training, he found her furiously hacking at a straw dummy (which Kristoff noticed had a paper with a crudely drawn face of that Drago character affixed to the head) with a battle axe while four equally young Vikings watched. Two of them, one a stout yet buff young man and the other larger and rotund, were looking at Astrid as if they were afraid of her. The other two were a male and female, who were both equally tall and gangly (and due to their similar appearance were likely fraternal twins), were watching Astrid with fascination: the way one might watch a lion rip apart a deer, knowing full well it might turn at any moment to rip into you.

"You know, I think that Astrid is scarier now than she ever was during Dragon Training," the rotund young man commented fretfully, to which the stout man nodded mutely in agreement.

"Yeah, isn't it great!" the male twin agreed, "You know, I'm kinda glad now that you guys had fixated on Ruffnut instead of Astrid. Now if Astrid and Hiccup have called it quits…"

"Don't you guys have some preparations to get started on!?" Astrid barked as she fixed her glare on the four of them, causing them to mutter apologies as they headed off through a door on the opposite side of the room. Astrid then hefted her axe and took off the dummy's head with a single blow.

"Wow, I wouldn't want to be that guy," Kristoff commented softly. At the sound of his voice, Astrid bellows as she whirls and hurls her weapon his way, the axe imbedding itself in the wall mere inches away from his head. "Nice aim," Kristoff gulped as he stared at his reflection on the axe head with wide eyes.

"Oh, it's you!" Astrid said in surprise, then she strode over to retrieve her axe, her voice losing some but not all of the angry edge as she said apologetically, "Sorry about that, but as you can see this isn't a good time."

"No, it's all right. I can tell that you have a lot of frustration to work off, and that what happened on the island is at the root of it," Kristoff told her as he walked over to retrieve the dummy's head, "Actually, I was hoping that I could join you."

"I'm sorry, but I had just met you," Astrid said to him in irritated disbelief, "How can you possibly claim to know what I'm feeling?"

As Kristoff set the head back into place, he saw in his mind's eye the dummy morph into the three young women who attacked Anna, Elsa and himself, then he started pummel it with savage body blows as he told Astrid, "That's because just moments before I met you I was you. I know how it feels to be rendered helpless to protect the one you care deeply for."

"What about Astrid?" Hiccup asked Elsa.

"Well, for starters, I know that you were about to propose to her before that creep Drago interrupted," Elsa told him.

"How did you know that?" Hiccup asked her in confusion, "I didn't even tell anyone here the reason for my outing."

"We arrived at that Island while you were waiting for Astrid," Elsa explained, "We weren't close enough to overhear most of what you were saying, but some gestures are apparently as old as time. Anyway, when that man Drago started attacking you I wanted to intervene then, but my sister's boyfriend Kristoff convinced me that he might have turned his weapon on Astrid if I did."

"Don't worry, it was good you didn't take that chance, and I'm glad you stepped in when you had," Hiccup assured her.

"Thanks for that," Elsa said, "But back to my original point, I saw that Astrid wanted to help you earlier at the pier, but instead you sent her off on an errand that I think anyone else here could have likely done as easily. I'm guessing that what Drago said to you on that island got to you, about you being unable to protect Astrid."

"What if he's right, though?" Hiccup asked her, "I wasn't strong enough to beat him, and I was unable to protect Astrid when it mattered most. Maybe I shouldn't have accepted Berk's chieftainship from my father, and maybe it'd be best if I let Astrid go, so she can be with someone who can protect her."

"I'm sorry, Hiccup, but that's wrong," Elsa told him. "The only mistake you made was letting Drago bait you into matching him in a contest of strength, as there was no chance you could win that way and he knew it. I'm certain your father named you his successor because of this," Elsa said as she tapped his head, then she gestured to the rest of him as she continued, "not because of this. Furthermore, I'm certain that Astrid is with you because she cares about you, not because she wants you to try and physically stop every bully that crosses their paths with the two of you."

"That's easy for you to say, you have those awesome ice powers. You went toe-to-toe with Drago's Bewilderbeast without breaking a sweat," Hiccup told her, "I'm just a boy who was lucky enough to find and befriend a Night Fury."

"Oh, believe me, I was sweating the whole time," Elsa countered, "and these powers aren't all they're cracked up to be. In fact, there was once a time I would have done anything just to be rid of them. Besides, possessing these abilities didn't empower me to prevent my sister Anna from dying before my eyes, not once but twice."

"I have faced off against an invading army of soldiers, bloodthirsty pirates, and hate-filled creeps wielding weapons the likes of which you cannot imagine, and still I managed to hold my own," Kristoff told Astrid in a tone filled with regret, "but then I get taken out of the fight in less than a minute by a woman less than half my size, when she used her knives to pin me to the wall. Even Anna, who is even smaller than that and has no formal combat training, even she lasted longer than that. The worst part of that moment was the scream. The sound Anna made when that witch Azula shot her with lightning, I don't think I can forget it as long as I live, and I wasn't even able to free a single arm to pull her out of the way or to catch her as she fell dead practically at my feet."

"This sister who died, it's not the same one who's with you now, is it?" Hiccup asked Elsa. When she nodded yes, Hiccup looked at her in confusion and asked, "But how's that possible? How could she have died even once, much less twice, and still be with you now?"

"Mostly luck, I suppose, or maybe there was some higher power at work. I really don't know," Elsa admitted, "The first time it was my own powers that killed her, when I'd accidentally frozen her heart. She could have saved herself by kissing Kristoff to thaw her heart before it was too late. Instead she chose to save me from being killed by her ex-fiancée Hans, throwing herself between me and his sword just before she froze completely solid. Fortunately that also counted as an 'act of true love', and her heart thawed as she came back to me again. As for the second time, you remember those scorch marks on my sister?"

"You mean the ones you said were caused by a crazy princess," Hiccup clarified.

Elsa nodded as she continued, "Princess Azula. She and I were dueling practically one-on-one, and despite the fact that she wielded both fire and lightning, and she probably had more time to learn control over her powers than I did mine, I still managed to fight her to a standstill. However, when she saw she was getting nowhere with me she turned her lightning on Anna. I tried to block her shot but wasn't fast enough, only managing to split the bolt and reduce the amount of lightning that stopped her heart. When I heard Azula laughing as I held my sister's lifeless body in my arms I just lost it, summoning up a blizzard and sending it into Azula's face. Fortunately the blizzard blinded that crazy princess as she tried to counterattack with her lightning, and one of her stray bolts hit Anna and restarted her heart."

"That's intense," Hiccup said, barely breathing, "but why are you telling me this?"

"I'm telling you to illustrate that I understand how you feel, the guilt at not being able to protect someone important to you, the fear that the same people would get hurt by just being around you," Elsa explained, "More than that, however, is that I'm trying to tell you that running away, distancing yourself from those you care about, that kind of 'solution' will only make things worse. When I first hurt Anna when we were kids, I isolated myself in my room. When an argument between us years later caused me to reveal my powers to the whole kingdom, I ran away. None of that worked, as Anna tracked me down anyway, determined to make things right between us. That led to my fear causing my powers to freeze Anna's heart. You see, it was my fear and lack of confidence in myself that essentially killed my sister that first time. However, it was my sister's love and determination, her confidence that there wasn't anything we couldn't face as long as we were together, that was what saved her life back then."

Hiccup nodded in understanding as he said, "You think I should still propose to Astrid."

Elsa nodded as she confirmed, "Not right away, as with the coming conflict it would be classically bad timing, but if you truly love her you should still go let her know that you haven't changed your mind, that your feelings are still the same. Once this crisis is over, that would be the ideal time to ask her. And you shouldn't doubt yourself against Drago. Just because you're not physically powerful enough to beat him in a knock down, drag out fight that doesn't mean you cannot win. Sometimes it's the smarter fighter that wins, not the strongest."

Hiccup took a deep breath, then he straightened and said, "You're right. I've been beating myself up for being trapped into a bad situation beyond my control. I had completely forgotten how I managed to beat Drago before, but your talk reminded me that I had. I now know what to do."

Elsa nodded as she said, "Then let's get to work."

"So you think that he still wants to….you know?" Astrid asked Kristoff hopefully.

"You kidding? It would take more than his getting battered by that scar-faced jerk with a hook to change the way he feels about you," Kristoff assured her, "Trust me when I say that he's just feeling incredibly guilty about not being able to protect you, not quite the man he feels he's supposed to be. Just give him time and let him know that your feelings haven't changed towards him either. Once he feels better after giving that Drago exactly what he deserves, I'm sure that he'll be popping the question again before you know it."

"In that case, what are we waiting for?" Astrid said as she smiled broadly, slinging her axe onto her back once more, "There's still quite a bit to do, let's get back to it."

"I can't believe that she'd do this to me!" Anna fumed as Stoick, Valka and Gobber looked on sympathetically, "I mean I risked everything, made the ultimate sacrifice even, in order to save Elsa from that sleaze Hans! And when Elsa had been kidnapped by pirates I was the one who decided to follow the fairies to their island in order to help her! Not to mention I fought against armed soldiers, hood-wearing creeps, and even a lady who's extremely dangerous with her knives. I'd like to think that I'd proven myself capable of handling myself. Instead, she has Kristoff doing who-knows what while she has big, important talks with Chief Hiccup."

"As for me, she has me here babysitting Sven….uh, no offense…" Anna continues with a glance at Sven, who looks up from munching the hay Gobber provided him to give Anna a good-natured snort before returning to his meal, "…while also helping you guys do….what exactly are we doing here?"

"We're inspecting the saddles that all the riders will be using in the coming battle, checking for excess wear, worn down straps, warped buckles, things like that," Stoick explained to Anna kindly.

"Exactly. You don't want to go into a messy situation like that with a saddle that might fail on you unexpectedly," Gobber added while changing one tool on his missing hand for another, "It's especially a problem for the faster dragons, like the Deadly Nadder and the Night Fury, as by the time they realize you and your saddle have fallen off they'd be too far away to be able to swing back and catch you before you hit the ground. Of course that's a double problem for Toothless, as his handicap makes it impossible for him to fly without a rider onboard. Unless Hiccup locks Toothless' replacement tailfin into place, that is, but since that mechanism is built into his saddle that wouldn't matter: something goes wrong with his saddle, they both go down fast and hard."

"Okay, I get it. This is important too," Anna conceded, "Still, I know what Elsa was doing by this. She was giving me busy work so that I stay safe and out of danger, and I would probably be okay with that if it weren't for the fact I know Elsa will be in the thick of all this. I can't be just standing on the sidelines while my sister is out there risking her life. I mean, you guys understand, right? You're not simply going to be hiding in a basement or anything while Hiccup's facing off against Drago, are you?"

"Certainly not! Skullcrusher and I will be out giving Drago plenty of reasons to regret deciding to show his face around here!" Stoick said boisterously as he patted the front snout horn of a large green and red dragon. Valka then punched Stoick in the arm, and Stoick briefly met his wife's glare with an apologetic look as he focused on Anna and continued, "But if I could keep my son on the ground, leading our people from a place of safety, I probably would. The problem is that Hiccup is one of the best dragon riders we've got. There's nobody here who knows more about dragons or has a tighter bond with their own except perhaps my wife here, and though I was hard pressed to get him to admit it or to admit it myself, Hiccup truly is a natural born leader. To keep my son off the field of battle when he's earned his place on it would be a disservice to him, but that doesn't mean I won't stop trying to ensure he lives long enough to have children of his own."

"And you can't blame your sister for trying to keep you safe," Valka added, "It's only natural for an older sibling to want to try and protect the younger, and it's clear you two share a strong bond."

"Yes, we do," Anna agreed, "but that's all the more reason I need to be by her side. If it wasn't for the number of times I'd helped her, Elsa wouldn't even be here to be such a worrywart."

"I understand, child, and the things you told us you've done certainly makes you appear to be a capable warrior," Stoic told her, "but surely you can see your sister's side of things too. I mean, I saw the look of fear on your face when we came to the docks to confront you. Sorry again about scaring you, by the way."

"It's okay. I know that if the roles were reversed, if Elsa though you guys had hurt me she'd react the same way, and the same goes for me about her," Anna told them, feeling deflated, "I guess the main reason I'm so upset is that I regret that it seems necessary to her. I mean she's so smart and beautiful, and the things she can do with ice and snow are just amazing. As for Kristoff, put a horned helmet on him and place a battle-axe in his hands and he'd fit right in with you guys. But I'm….just me: no ice powers, no strength or combat training, and since the fairy dust wore off I can't even fly anymore." Anna unslung her frying pan, of which she was once so proud, and looked at it gloomily as she said, "All I've got is this."

"I wouldn't go underestimating a skillet, lass," Stoick tried to assure her, "I've been hit with one enough times to know better."

"Well I needed some way to get through that thick skull of yours, love," Valka chuckled.

"The worst part of all this is that you're right, I was scared," Anna admitted, "I've never really had that problem before, not when I was facing the prospect of climbing a mountain alone to go after my sister, not when a pack of wolves was chasing me and Kristoff, and even when Elsa sent Marshmallow to chase us off the mountain she'd ran off to, even then I'd leapt off a cliff without any real fear. Heck, even when the Quarrymen had me chained up over an anvil and threatened to bash my brains in the only fear I felt came after, when I was afraid of losing my sister to her need to exact vengeance against them. However, after Azula shot me with lightning, and please don't tell my sister this, but ever since then I've been terrified of dying again."

"You don't need to feel that way, lass," Valka assured her with a smile, "I'm sure that with everything you've accomplished here on Earth, the bravery you've shown where others would have faltered, that Odin would be waiting for you in Valhalla to welcome you at the Table of Kings."

"But that's just it, I never saw anything!" Anna insisted, "I know what you guys believe about the afterlife, and I know what my parents brought me up to believe, and I never saw any of it: no pearly gates or great fields of battle, no Valkyries or angels to greet me, nothing! I passed out, I woke up, nothing in-between. What if, when we die, we're just gone?"

"I do not believe that," Stoick told her, "My ancestors had personally fought alongside Odin and the other gods of Asgard when the Jotun used their ice powers to try and conquer our people. It was he who told us of the life that awaits us once our life on Midgard is done, and I have to believe what he said was the truth. Perhaps you were simply not gone long enough for the Valkyries to find you, but it's not possible for someone as special as you to simply vanish off the face of the earth."

"Are you certain?" Anna asked him fretfully.

"As certain as I am that your friend Sven is actually a bottomless pit in disguise!" Stoick told her, which prompted her to turn and look to see that the hay Sven was eating was completely gone, not a bit to be seen, and he was looking around to try and find more. This elicits laughter out of the four of them, and Valka and Stoick pull Anna into a group hug as Stoick softly said to her, "It'll be all right, my dear. You are special, don't ever let anyone convince you different. And you don't have to worry, I won't tell your sister a thing."

"Thanks," Anna told him as she squeezed him back.

"Won't tell me anything about what?" Anna heard Elsa say from behind her, and she broke out of the group hug to see Elsa standing in the doorway of the blacksmith's shop, Hiccup standing just behind her.

Anna straightened herself up, crossed her arms, and gave Elsa her most irritated look (even though she was no longer feeling it) as she said, "Just that I was feeling put out for you putting me on reindeer-sitting duty."

Elsa's raised eyebrow told Anna that she wasn't buying it, and Anna had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from bursting into giggles that would give her away for sure. Finally, Elsa was the one who chuckled and broke into a grin as she said, "Fine, you don't have to tell me now. I'm sure I'll get it out of you later." As Anna returned her smile, Elsa turned towards Stoick and said, "After talking with your son for a bit about the dragons living here, especially the ones who don't have riders, I believe we've come up with some defensive strategies to make the best use of our resources. At the very least we should be able to slow them down and prevent them from overwhelming us long enough for Hiccup and toothless to personally deal with Drago and his big dragon."

"Sounds great," Stoick told her.

"I also think that we should send messages to everyone who might still feel allegiance to us," Hiccup added, "As it stands we might be greatly outnumbered, more so than even these defenses would be able to effectively restrain for long, so any extra help in this would be most welcome."

"I agree," Valka told him.

"Then I'm glad we brought these," Anna heard one of four young Vikings who just entered say. The one who'd spoken, a rotund young man around Hiccup's age, set a pair of small cages on the table, each of which held a small dragon inside, and said as his friends followed suit, "These guys will each fly to one of the clans with which we've dealt with in the past once released. Just make sure you attach you message before you do."

"Thanks, Fishlegs," Hiccup told him gratefully.

"Sounds like we're about set, then," Anna heard Astrid say, and by craning her head around she was able to spot her by the open door in front beside Kristoff, who gave Anna a small wave and smile. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, in which Astrid and Hiccup would look at each other then quickly away, Stoick cleared his throat and said, "We'll just leave you two alone for a moment." He then herded Anna and the others towards an entrance in the back, though Gobber had to wave his mace hand at a couple of Vikings who looked like brother and sister in order to get them to move.

They didn't go far, though, as once the back door was closed they all put their ear against it, trying to listen in. After a moment of silence Anna heard a couple of false starts as Hiccup and Astrid tried talking at the same time. Then, one moment later:

Hiccup: "Astrid, I'm sorry about what happene…"

Astrid: "Don't be. I'm the one who acted like an idiot earlier."

Hiccup: "That's ridiculous! You have nothing to apologize for."

Astrid: "Of course I do! I let myself get so wrapped up in my own pain and humiliation over what went down on that Island that I didn't think about how you might have been feeling…"

Hiccup: "That's okay, Astrid. Really…"

Astrid: "Hiccup! Will you let me speak!?"

Hiccup: (exclaims in pain) "Ow! Okay, okay! Go ahead."

Anna saw Stoick lock eyes with Valka and smile as he whispered, "Your son," to which Valka responded with a tight smile before they returned their ears to the door.

Astrid: "What happened on the island wasn't your fault, Hiccup. If anyone should have anticipated the Flightmare's attack then that would be me. I'm the one whose family name was disgraced by that dragon, I was the first one who learned what that dragon can really do. I should have seen it coming and avoided it, but I didn't, and because of that you had to face Drago alone."

Hiccup: "I understand where you're coming from, I really do, but that dragon caught us all off guard. I'm supposed to be the chief, though, not to mention the 'dragon master'. I'm supposed to guide and protect everyone. How can I do that if I'm unable to protect the one person I care most about?"

Astrid: "Hiccup, do you think that your father took on every single threat this village ever faced single handed? Or that he solved all the problems we ever had he solved by himself? Of course not! When anything ever threatens us, we all band together to face it as one people, and a Chief gets his wisdom from everyone around him. Your father had all kinds of people around him to help him with ideas to run the village: Gobber, you, I'm sure that before Cloudjumper carried her off your father got plenty of good ideas from your mother."

"Smart girl, that one," Valka whispered smiling to Stoick before they went back to listening.

Astrid: "I'm sure that even Mildew, in one of his less cantankerous, dragon-hating moments, managed to provide Stoick a small nugget of an idea that he correctly thought wasn't an entirely bad one. The point is that you shouldn't think that you have to handle everything alone to be a good chief. You are a good leader, you just have to let yourself believe it, and we're all here to help."

Hiccup: (sighs) "Yeah, Elsa said something along those lines too."

Astrid: They're good people, aren't they?

Hiccup: Yeah. We're lucky to have crossed paths with them when we had.

Astrid: So….still good?

Hiccup: Still good.

Another moment passed, during which the only sound Anna heard was that of Astrid's humming sigh, then…

Hiccup: So, I was thinking….once this is all over, we should go and finish that conversation Drago had interrupted.

Astrid: (happily) I'll be looking forward to it.

Another moment of silence passed, and Anna pressed her ear harder to the door. As she did so, the door suddenly opened inward, and everyone suddenly found themselves overbalanced as they toppled inside in an untidy dogpile. Even though she was near the top of the heap, Anna felt herself uncomfortable squished as she craned her head up and saw Hiccup looking down at them, his hand on the door and a smile on his face as he said in a teasing-but-not-unkindly tone, "Thanks for giving us a moment of privacy."

Anna chuckled in embarrassment as Gobber's muffled voice said from the bottom of the pile, "No problem." Hiccup and Astrid then helped everyone stand back up again, then Hiccup declared, "Well, we still have a bit of work to do if we're going to be ready by the time Drago gets here. We should get it done."

Back at his anchor point amongst the icebergs, Drago grumbled irritably to himself. He could have gotten back here hours ago, and he probably should have. However, he had to let off some steam before he got here. If he had come here directly there was a good chance that he'd end up killing a good number of his men before he cooled down, and he needed every man he had left in order to ensure complete victory over Berk. Drago wasn't sure where the white witch had come from, what connection she had to that pathetic Hiccup, or how she managed to obtain such impressive power, but Drago promised himself he'd tear those answers and more from her screaming lips before she died.

As Drago walked along the floating dock, one of his men came up to him and asked, "So, did you do it? Is it done?"

Drago simply growled at him and kept walking. The man apparently didn't know how to take a clue, as he kept pace and continued, "So you failed. Again. Hiccup, son of Stoick the Vast, is still alive."

Drago gave the man a menacing glare, but continued walking, and so the man pressed on, "That's the second time that whelp's beaten you. You might have been worth following once, but some of us are thinking you no longer have what it tak…"

Drago stopped suddenly and his good arm shot forward, his grip choking off the man's insolent words as he lifted him from the pier by the neck. Then, with a powerful swing, Drago tossed the man behind him, his body clearing the stern of the nearest ship. The man's yells were only heard for a few seconds before they were drowned out by a tremendous splash as his Bewilderbeast leapt out of the water, caught the naysayer cleanly in his mouth, then dived back into the frozen depths.

Belatedly, Drago recalled that he took his time returning in order to prevent his killing any of his men, then he mentally shrugged as he figured one less man won't make much of a difference. Drago didn't know whether his Bewilderbeast actually ate the dogs he tossed him or if it just left them floating under an iceberg, but either way it served as a good example to those who remained.

"Does anyone else think I no longer have what it takes!?" Drago bellowed to the others who'd watched the spectacle with wide, fearful eyes. Drago didn't hear anyone respond, he wasn't sure that he even heard anyone dare to take a breath. "Then load everything onto the ships and weigh anchor!" Drago ordered them in the same volume, "We set sail immediately! Berk will not see another sunrise!"

Back at Berk, Hiccup was walking towards the edge of the village, reviewing the preparations that had been completed moments ago. Of course there were still a couple of things to put into place, things that Elsa said she would take care of just before Drago and his men arrived. She told him that would introduce a level of surprise Drago couldn't easily plan around, and Hiccup trusted her judgment on this.

As if his thinking about her brought her into being, Hiccup's eyes found Elsa standing beside the tiered perch she'd just finished making with her ice powers a couple of hours ago, and which now stretched along the entire outer edge of the village. It was so beautiful and delicate looking that Hiccup had doubts that it could serve the purpose Elsa had described to him, that is until Grump had flown up to the highest tier (much to Gobber's irritation) and taken a nap there. When the structure withstood Grump's hard landing and the rhythmic, lazy thumping of his heavy tail, Hiccup decided that it would work just fine.

"Hey, Queen Elsa," Hiccup called out to her as he strode up to her, not wanting to startle her as she stared out at the ocean.

"Chief Hiccup," Elsa acknowledged as she turned to face him, "What's up? Need a hand with some other preparations?"

"Nope, we're pretty much set. The women and children who aren't fighting are holed up in the aerie, which is ready to be closed up as soon as Drago arrives. It might have been nice if we could have gotten enough of that special armor made for all the fighters, but since there's no feasible way we could armor our dragons sufficiently against the Flightmare it wouldn't matter much if we wore it: if our dragons go down, then we're going down with them. We'll just have to rely on our dragons' maneuverability to avoid that outcome."

Elsa nodded her understanding, saying, "Well, based on what you showed me today and on what I witnessed upon my arrival on that island, I may have come up with an idea on how we might be able to deal with the Flightmare, should Drago send it against us."

"Really?" Hiccup asked her, "Like what?"

"I don't want to say just yet, in case I'm wrong about my conclusions and my idea doesn't pan out, as I don't want to raise false hopes. I just hope I'm able to see the look on Drago's face if it does work," Elsa told him with a smile.

"I see," Hiccup acknowledged with a smile of anticipation. Then he walked to stand beside Elsa, looking out across the ocean as well as he said, "You know, I have no idea as to what is going to happen, how this will all turn out, so in case I don't get a chance to say this later I just want to say thank you for what you're doing here now. You could have chosen to take your sister and her boyfriend home after you got here, or even after you had driven off the Bewilderbeast, but you chose to stay and help us."

Hiccup saw Elsa absently finger a pendant around her neck, and even though it appeared as a simple design it was also rather strange in its appearance, the inset gem looking as though it was glowing dimly even in the darkness of this night. "Thanks, but I couldn't leave, not really," Elsa said after a moment, "I don't really know my way home from here, nor do I know anyone here well enough to be able to ask them to guide me. Even if I could find my way one way or another, I couldn't just leave you to face that creep alone. My conscience wouldn't allow that. Besides, I've come to think of you as a friend in the short time I've come to know you, and no matter what I don't abandon my friends."

"I see, well I thank you anyways," Hiccup told her, and Elsa smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. Anna walked up and stood next to Elsa on her other side. When Anna also saw the pendant Elsa was fingering, Anna gave her sister a curious smile, asking, "Now Elsa, you weren't just thinking of contacting Julian to ask him if he could take me home without you, now were you?"

"Huh?" Elsa said, caught off guard, "What do…why…what are you talking about?"

"Come on, you always finger that pendant whenever you think about him," Anna said slyly, "Now stop evading and answer my question: Were you just thinking about think about calling him to take me home?"

Elsa sighed and chuckled in exasperation as she said, "I cannot deny that the thought had crossed my mind….briefly, but no, I wasn't seriously considering contacting him."

"Well good," Anna replied, "Because the only way I would go home now is if you were going with me, and I think we both know you well enough to know that isn't happening, not with what is facing these people. So it's rather simple: you stay - I stay, you go - I go."

Elsa sighed and chuckled softly, asking, "When did you get to be so stubborn?"

"Don't know, probably just backlash from years of you locking yourself in your room with no explanation," Anna told her, still smiling warmly, "Don't worry about it, just know that from now until we get back home you're stuck with me."

Elsa chuckled again, then she squinted in the dim light as Hiccup asked her, "So, this Julian, is he someone….special to you?"

"Julian's….a long story," Elsa answered him as she continued to focus her gaze in the same direction, an icicle forming in her hand. As she put the smaller end to her eye, which Hiccup noticed was flat and not pointed, Anna asked her, "Elsa, what is it?"

Elsa stared through her icicle for a moment longer, which Hiccup figured was working like a spyglass, then she lowered it and said, "Hiccup, go get the others."

Hiccup put the pieces together in his head, then he asked, "Elsa, did you just see…?"

Elsa nodded as she said, "It's Drago. He's here."