Chapter 7:
Elsa took some paper and ink from her basket and quickly wrote a note for Yelena. It simply read that she would be at the camp later tonight. She asked Gale to deliver it, to which they responded by sucking the paper from her hand and making it sail over the trees.
With that done, she put her hands together and created a saddle. It was the same color her first ice dress had been, with patterns of five-and-six pointed snowflakes covering it. It was cut much like Sven's saddle, only big enough to fit her new friend. The dragon sniffed the saddle, and seemed to like it. At the very least, he let her put it on him.
Finally, she climbed onto the dragon's back. Bruni watched them from a rock, making no move to join them. She looked at him, silently inviting him. He shook his head and scurried away. Apparently he wasn't interested in dragon flights.
"Okay, we need to get to the North Mountain. There's someone there that I need to talk to." She took a breath. "Let's go."
The dragon took off, flying straight up. On instinct, she squeezed her eyes shut and froze her hands to the saddle. She might have stayed that way for the whole flight, if not for several warbles coming from her friend. She didn't understand him, but they almost sounded like words of encouragement.
She took a breath, opened her eyes…and gasped in wonder. The sun was setting, turning the winter sky a purple-pink. They were high above the Enchanted Forest, leaving it behind. She saw the sea below them, shining in the fading sunlight like diamonds. The wind was whipping through her hair and cape, stinging her eyes as she looked around. The dragon surprised her by rising higher, then descending in a loop-de-loop.
She laughed, smiling wide. This was incredible. She put a hand on the dragon's neck. "Thank you for showing me this."
The dragon warbled, then started, as if seeing something. Elsa looked up, and almost froze her hand to her saddle again.
The two had been so distracted by their first flight together, that neither had noticed the storm clouds ahead. They were dumping snow on Arendelle, and blocking their way to the North Mountain. She sighed, frustrated. Normally she could hold off a snowstorm, but she couldn't now. To do it from the air would mean flying right into it, and she couldn't risk the dragon's safety.
"Let's head back. I don't want you flying into the storm." She leaned back, trying to steer them to the Forest. But the dragon continued forward.
"Come on, let's go back." She tried again. The dragon snorted, as if saying 'no'.
"You can't fly through the storm. I don't want you to get hurt again." The dragon turned a bit to look at her.
She couldn't understand his warblings. But in his eyes, she understood what he was trying to say. Trust me.
She hesitated, then nodded. "I can weaken the storm once we're in it. But promise me that we'll leave if it gets to be too much, okay?" The dragon warbled again, then flew them into the storm.
She started working her magic as soon as they entered. But quickly realized that she'd been mistaken. The winds were stronger than she'd expected. Try as she might, it was enough of an effort to hang on to the saddle. She eventually stopped trying altogether and just hung on.
"I'm sorry!" She shouted. "I can't stop it! We have to go back!" He turned and roared. Then charged forward. Towards the North Mountain.
The next few moments were surreal. All Elsa could see were clouds and snowflakes, but the dragon powered through the storm. No matter what direction the wind tried to push them, he fought against it and pulled through. He quickly proved to be stronger than the storm.
Finally, with a grunt of effort, they broke through the clouds and into the clear night sky. Elsa, in awe, unfroze her hands from the saddle. She stared in pure wonder at the dragon. He'd just fought a storm even she couldn't handle, and he didn't even look tired.
She'd been thinking of what to call the dragon for a few days by that point. She'd considered Frostbite, Snowstorm, Beast, but none of them had seemed right. But right then, the perfect name came to her. She petted the dragon's neck.
"Thank you, Maelstrom." The dragon seemed surprised for a moment. She tensed; did he not like that name?
Then he gave a roar of glee, and launched a small fireball into the air. She laughed; he liked it! Together, Elsa and Maelstrom made their way to the North Mountain. And the Valley of the Living Rock.