Note: I do NOT own ROTG OR HTTYD

Chapter 9

"Don't worry Tridacna. Astrid's not gonna chop my head off because 1. I won't let her and chances are you won't let her." Sapphire chided her Scauldron as they went around Thor's Beach, looking for the blonde, tough Viking girl.

Tridacna kept close to the water spirit, on the alert for any flying weapons threatening to appear and harm the young girl. Finally after walking around for almost ten minutes, the two of them spotted her. Astrid was flinging pebbles into the water as hard as she could, clear frustration marked on her face.

"Hello Astrid." Sapphire greeted her courteously while Tridacna gave a hiss as a greeting.

Astrid turned around to see the Guardian of Equality standing behind her a couple of inches away from her. "Oh hey…What do you want, Sapphire?" she said emotionlessly.

"To talk. I know things aren't going well with your sister so I wanna maybe ease your troubles a bit by giving some sisterly advice." The Guardian of Equality replied. "Oh really? Like what kind of advice?" Astrid asked her suspiciously.

"Well for starters, I think your sister's really missed you. What about you?" Sapphire countered. Astrid seemed a bit uncomfortable but flatly said, "Not one bit." before turning away and Tridacna growled.

"I don't think Tridacna believes you. So tell me the truth, Astrid." Sapphire said, folding her arms across her chest. Finally Astrid groaned, "Okay maybe a little! Happy?!"

Then something unusual happened.

A sniffle was heard, then a whimper and finally with a sob, Astrid sank to the ground. Quickly, Sapphire joined her in sitting on the soft sand.

"I…I- I don't know what to do anymore! When Angrid left, I told her that I hated her! She w-wrote me letters but I was too mad at her to write back. Now she's…she's changed so much. Now she…h-hates me!" the young Viking girl started hiccupping tears.

Sapphire gently rubbed her back. "I don't think she hates you, Astrid. Angrid's probably just…masking." She told her softly.

Astrid wiped her eyes and looked at her confused.

Even Tridacna looked puzzled.

"Masking?" Astrid asked her. "My sister Layla and brother Donnie used to do that all the time when they were younger. Whenever they wanted to say sorry but couldn't get the words out right, they kind of like, put up a farce. They act surly and cranky to mask their emotions but in the end they let it all out. I used to do that too but I guess I outgrew the habit." Sapphire explained.

Astrid looked at her in surprise. "Your siblings did that? You did that?" she asked.

Sapphire nodded emphatically. "Everyone puts on a mask, Astrid. We do it out of fear. Fear of showing our real selves, how we feel…But all it takes is a little courage to take off your mask. And that's what you and Angrid have to do. Find a way to unmask yourselves and everything will be fine." She advised.

Astrid remained silent for a few minutes before she piped up with a question. "You think you can be there when I do the unmasking?" the Guardian of Equality smiled. "Thought you'd never ask." She answered as they stood up.

Finally Astrid smiled.

And the two girls and Tridacna left the beach. They decided to go to the plaza to begin searching, not knowing that Jack and Angrid were headed that way as well. Wondering where to start, they wandered about in circles when suddenly shrieks were heard.

"Wild boars! Ready the traps!" Hoark the Woodsman yelled.

Villagers scrambled as a large herd of boars suddenly ran across the area. Wanting to be in on the action, Astrid grabbed a nearby hammer and charged, without listening to Sapphire's shout. "Hold it Astrid! Be careful!"

Seeing that the blonde girl didn't hear her, the Guardian of Equality raced after her along with Tridacna shooting water at any boar that had come too close for comfort. Astrid readily swung her hammer around, taking out boars left and right.

But suddenly the alpha boar came up behind her and tackled her to the ground! Her weapon was kicked out of the way as she struggled to get it off her.

Suddenly…

"Get off my sister, you fat pig!" Angrid appeared by her side and amazingly grabbed the large animal with her bare hands and flung it aside like a rag doll!

Jack and Blitz watched in awe as Angrid batted away more boars with her fists. She had left her axe behind in the woods and Jack backtracked to get it for her…until he saw the eldest Hofferson grappling with a herd of wild animals with the fury of a wild animal!

A boar suddenly tackled Angrid and one of its tusks hit her right shoulder!

"ANGRID!" Astrid screamed when she noticed the blood on her sister's sleeve. "Astrid, catch!" Jack quickly tossed her the axe.

Grabbing it and gripping it tightly, Astrid bore the sharp metal end into the boar's skull and used it to fling it off her sister. The other Vikings managed to trap the other members of the herd and in a few minutes, the situation was under control.

"Wow…You've gotten a lot tougher the last time I saw you…" Angrid mumbled at her sister as she got up, a little dazed. "Are you okay?! Oh man look at that thing! It could get infected or maybe worse!" Astrid examined the wound on her sister's shoulder worriedly.

"Or I could get a scar out of it. That'd be better." Angrid tried to laugh her fears away but Astrid already started to tear up. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. "Hey it wasn't your fault. It was the stupid boar's so no worries…" Angrid said comfortingly.

Astrid shook her head. "I meant for saying to you that I hated you all those years ago…I was just scared you'll never come back…That you'll forget about me…" she sobbed. Angrid looked at Sapphire, tears in her eyes.

The water spirit mouthed to her with a smile, 'Take the mask off.'

"Astrid, you idiot you're my sister! How could I ever forget you?!" the eldest Hofferson shouted as tears ran down her face.

The two sisters' parents along with Stormfly and Magnus arrived on the scene. They saw Astrid look at her crying sister and dried her eyes.

"You know what I kept thinking about when I was at the Shivering Shores? You! I missed all those times we'd play together…the solemn swears we made to each other, all the little things…I would give everything to turn back time so I didn't have to miss the majority of your childhood…Including mine…I never really wanted to leave anyway but I had to…So when I came back…I could protect you better." Angrid told her, voice thick with tears.

Hiccup arrived to see the two girls in the plaza as Sapphire and Jack joined him and Toothless.

"But now I could see that my little sister…isn't so little anymore. And I'm so proud of you, Astrid. I really am." Angrid managed to smile at her sister through the tears.

Astrid suddenly punched her in the arm. "That's for all the years you were away." The blonde said as the reddish blonde Viking rubbed the limb. Then she flung her arms around her. "And this is just because I've missed you so much…" she whispered. Angrid smiled and said, "Good to be home…" as she returned the hug.

A chorus of 'Awwws…' rang through the village plaza.

Sven and Masona sighed in relief upon seeing that finally, their girls have settled their differences.

Magnus and Stormfly looked at each other and growled happily. No more arguing between their Riders, yay!

Hiccup gave the two Guardians a questioning look. "What did you guys do to them?" he asked curiously. Sapphire smiled knowingly. "Just talked to them. That's what you wanted us to do, right?" Jack shrugged, a small grin on his face.

Eventually Hiccup smiled. He had no idea how they got the two Hoffersons to open up but whatever method they used when talking to them…It was very effective.

Meanwhile at the Shivering Shores, it was utter pandemonium.

The men fought valiantly as they could, slicing Nightmares left and right. Anglo was relentless in his attacks as he and his warriors hacked and slashed on the beach, felling the mysterious black sand monsters by the dozens.

"Is that all you've got Alvin?! I've seen scarier things than these weak new soldiers!" the Shivering Shores tribe leader yelled defiantly at the boat the Outcast was on.

From the bow, Alvin calmly smiled, knowing full well that this was just the beginning.

Little did the adults know that black sand was now making its way around the island, ready to spring at the children at nightfall…

"Weapons Training? You're going to teach us how to use weapons, Angrid?" Sapphire asked the tough Viking girl, her right eyebrow habitually rising in question.

"You two just can't rely on your fancy powers over water and ice, you two. Times will come when you won't have a magical staff or scepter to help you in the fight. And don't always count on swords and daggers. A hammer, axe or bow and arrow can make a huge difference on the battlefield." Angrid said as she spread out a variety of deadly things out on the floor of the arena.

"Isn't this all too…violent maybe?" Jack said apprehensively, glancing at the other Viking teens. "Hey I'm cool with this. Watch and learn, babe." Snotlout picked up a club, arrogantly twirling the handle and swooned at Sapphire.

'Okay that tears it!' Jack frowned before pointing his staff at the boy's head.

Fishlegs gulped as the poor guy's head suddenly got encased in ice. Hookfang let out a dragon chuckle as his Rider stumbled about, his face frozen dumbly as his head struggled with the weight of the ice.

Astrid then promptly took the powerful stick away from Jack. "He was getting on my nerves!" the winter spirit said in defense.

"Oh Jack, what am I gonna do with you?" Sapphire sighed, shaking her head before giving Astrid both her orichalcum staff and orichalcum dagger reluctantly.

"Freeze him next!" Tuffnut suggested. "That'd be funnier!" Ruffnut piped up before the Guardian of Equality used some water from a bucket to give them a major Wet Willie.

"Just stop using your powers for a minute and take your pick." Hiccup decided to speak up before the lesson was wasted.

The two teenage Guardians carefully looked over the items for a few minutes before they decided. Jack picked up a heavy long sword, the weight nearly tipping him over as he lifted it upright while Sapphire decided on a bow, carefully slinging her quiver of arrows over her shoulder.

"Alright, good choices. Ready for this?" Astrid asked them grabbing a battle axe.

Fishlegs, a short sword while the twins settled for spears. Snotlout managed to get his head out of the ice cube with his club and was up for the challenge, despite the fact that his face was still slightly blue from the cold. Angrid grabbed another axe while Hiccup simply settled for a longsword like Jack's. Toothless, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Magnus, Blitz and Tridacna settled down on the corners.

Stoick and Thornado flew past the arena a few minutes later to see his son and his friends sparring with the two new Dragon Trainers.

"Have to tell you my friend I'd never thought I'd see the day my son would show such…fierceness." The Chief of Berk remarked to his Thunderdrum as they joined the teens' dragons in watching.

Hiccup expertly parried the sword as he taught Jack how to wield his long sword properly, the Guardian of Fun often losing his balance as he clumsily swung the blade around, missing the twins and Snotlout, his targets more often than crossing weapons with them.

Sapphire on the other hand, was struggling to shoot straight at the shield targets Fishlegs, Angrid and Astrid were holding up. She managed to load her bow and after some initial struggle with the string, let out a strong shot, which missed the shield Fishlegs was holding and hit his helmet.

A few more inches down, the arrow would've split his skull.

"Sorry Fishlegs!" Sapphire apologetically gave him the peace sign. "It's okay!" the husky Viking said before leaning over to the two sisters and whispered, "Can we bring armor next time?"

Angrid and Astrid just laughed.

Later at Santoff Claussen, North was busy preparing the equipment needed for Jack's training when said Guardian went into the inner workshop, looking exhausted.

"Are you alright? You look like you spent a whole day on the field of battle!" the Russian chuckled. Jack managed to give the Guardian of Wonder a tired smile.

If only North knew that he'd been sparring with Vikings half an hour ago! Not to mention the fact that he got a major workout from lifting that heavy iron blade.

"I just had a lot of things to do that's all." He said quickly. North smiled and nodded. "Well alright then. Today we're going to make sculptures. Does that sound good?" Jack nodded at this and inwardly sighed with relief.

No combat training, what a relief!

And at the Palace of Beginnings, Sapphire was relieved when today's 'apprentice' lesson was on Gardening. With Mother Nature, Sapphire spread specially made plant food over a bed of tulips in the Seasonal Gardens' Spring section.

"Can you tell me why you looked so ragged when you came here, Sapphire?" Mother Nature asked as a sprig of holly grew out of her forever alive hair.

The Guardian of Equality dusted her dirt streaked palms on her gardening apron. "Well…I just did some really physical things." She said carefully. "Ah…I see. Oh and here, Marina's allergy medicine." The great Guardian of Nature then handed her a large bottle filled with green liquid.

Sapphire smiled and put the bottle in her basket.

Both teens separately continued their apprentice duties for the rest of that one hour before North dropped Jack off at the Palace for Science class with Sapphire. For this subject, neither slept in class for Mother Nature was an excellent teacher. She could make any lesson fascinating.

Today's lesson was about herbs and their different uses.

After covering the details on wolfsbane, chamomile, globe mallow root and geranium, Mother Nature promptly pulled out a leftover sprig of dragon nip.

Both Guardians cut nervous glances at each other.

"It was quite a challenge for my love and I to create the antihistamine for Marina. Where did you find this? I've never seen anything like it…" Mother Nature mused, examining the sprig.

Sapphire quickly came up with a reply. "Er…Um…I found it growing at a bog in Florida. A lot of interesting plants grow around the swamps there."

Suddenly her hair began to drip water.

Jack got nervous. So far, he was the only one who knew that whenever Sapphire lied or got nervous, her blue hair would start leaking water. He silently hoped that the great Guardian of Nature wouldn't see through her ruse.

"Jack, could you be a dear and cool this area a bit? Sapphire seems to be hot." Mother Nature asked him. "Yes m'am!" the Guardian of Fun then summoned a cool gale to dry Sapphire's hair (and the puddle forming around her) off.

Mother Nature just smiled and thanked him before continuing the lesson. Sapphire looked at her boyfriend and gratefully grinned. The winter spirit blushed a bit and smiled as well.

That sure was close!

Next lesson was at Tooth's Tooth Palace. The spirited Guardian of Memories smiled when the two came out of a portal. Baby Tooth fluttered over to Jack, chirping excitedly.

"Haha! Yeah, hey there Baby Tooth." Jack laughed as the little fairy flew circles around him, along with several of her friends. "That's some fan mob you've got there." Sapphire giggled as the Mini Fairies fangirled over the winter spirit.

"Okay ladies, back to work!" Tooth then clapped her hands together to signal the fairies.

Reluctantly chirping, the Mini Fairies, excluding Baby Tooth left. Settling down one of the columns suspended in the Palace, Tooth brought out a chalkboard.

"So, I take you've been putting your Filipino lessons to good use, you two?" she quipped. Sapphire nodded eagerly. "I made a lot of friends in Manila and in the Visayas Islands, or 'madaming kaibigan' as the translation is." She grinned.

"I stopped by only a few times. The weather there's a little bit too hot for me but I've been getting really good in my French." Jack said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Comment allez-vous?" Tooth decided to test him.

"Tres Bien. Et vous?" the Guardian of Fun easily replied, earning a smile from her.

"Anyways, today we're jumping over to Norse languages. These mostly consist of the Old Norse used in the Viking era, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Icelandic. I'm going to write down some basic terms in English and I'll teach you each translation." Tooth told them before turning around to write some words.

Jack then pulled out the notebook he had jotted down his Dragon Training notes and reviewed on the runes, much to Baby Tooth's fascination.

"How's the fang?" Sapphire whispered to him.

Baby Tooth looked at her, confused. Her eyes widened as Jack pulled out the half tooth next.

"It's safe. It's your turn tomorrow by the way. Remind me if I forget." The boy told her.

Baby Tooth flitted over to the fang and examined it in awe. Jack then put a finger to his lips and winked at her. Baby Tooth nodded. She knew that meant Jack wanted her to keep a secret, and she respected that by not chirping excitedly at the magnificent teeth specimen.

Then Tooth finished writing the English words along with the different language columns.

"First word we have here is apple. Now the Old Norse translation for this is…?" Tooth asked them to get their attention.

Good thing the two had studied! Sapphire raised her hand. "The Old Norse translation of apple is epli." She answered.

Tooth was surprised.

It was a rhetorical question yet the water spirit knew!

"Wow, you got it right! Now the Danish equivalent…" she remarked before Jack's hand shot up. "It's aeble."

Right again!

The two really had studied!

"Seems like you two have been advance studying. Let's play a game then." The fairy smiled before saying, "Barley, Swedish translation!"

Sapphire answered, "Korn!"

Tooth smiled. "Correct! Autumn, Danish."

"Efterar!" Jack answered back.

This game was getting good!

"Eighteen, Icelandic."

"Atjan!"

"Dog, Old Norse!"

"Hundr!"

"Neighbor, Norwegian!"

"Nabo!"

"Ready, Icelandic!"

"Reioubuinn!"

"Family, Icelandic once more!"

"Fjolskylda!"

Baby Tooth watched amusedly as the game continued. Words flew back and forth. In just a span of 28 minutes, Jack and Sapphire had already translated more than a 150 words in all Norse languages, without even asking for hints!

Tooth was nevertheless, very impressed and decided to give them one last challenge before dismissing them.

"Last one is a phrase. Norse translation of…'go raiding'." She said mysteriously.

The two teenage Guardians looked at each other and smiled.

This was so easy!

"I Viking!" they both said in unison.

Tooth beat her wings excitedly. "Very good! Keep studying and tomorrow we'll move onto more phrases." She said as class let out.

Jack and Sapphire then used another portal to get to Burgess so they can play with the kids.

As soon as they were gone, Tooth looked at Baby Tooth. "I was rather surprised how fast they answered. Normally they would've been stumped. I wonder…" the Guardian of Memories trailed off, deep in thought.

Baby Tooth was wondering about that too.

Could the fang Jack had earlier have something to do with both teens' academic performance?

Both fairies were pulled from their thoughts when a cluster of sparkling first teeth arrived from Botswana.

"Oh my gosh, what a beautiful right central incisor! And a lovely left canine. Look how they flossed!" Tooth squealed excitedly along with her fairies, and the questions were forgotten.

"And then Saph wiped out on the shore and the board hit her in the head from behind! It was kinda funny, especially when she fell facedown to eat the sand!" Layla said earning laughs from her friends.

To pass the time while waiting for their Guardian friends to arrive, the kids decided to tell stories from the past two years.

"Oh I got a good one! My first ballet recital, I accidentally stepped on a loose floorboard and hit our director in the face when he was inspecting the stage." Cupcake told them, giggling as she remembered.

That made the kids laugh even harder.

"Last winter Jack taught me and Sophie how to ice skate at the Pond. Sophie did pretty well. Me…" Jamie blushed before his little sister finished for him. "You skated straight into a snowdrift!" the youngest Bennett giggled.

"Now that's funny!" Claude laughed. "I would've paid any amount of money to see that. Too bad you didn't take a video!" his twin, Caleb hooted with laughter.

Suddenly Pippa, Monty, Donnie and Sophie came out of Jamie's house's back door, Pippa waving a sheet of paper in her hand.

"You…are…not gonna…believe…what we just found…!" Monty breathed out, his widening eyes magnified in his red glasses.

"What did you guys find?" Jamie cocked his head.

"We found this website that lets you know about your family tree and ancestry. And Jamie when we searched your family name…" Donnie explained before Pippa handed the paper over to the brown haired kid.

"This is what we found." She said.

Jamie and his friends crowded around the paper.

To their surprise, Jamie's family ancestry was very complex, spanning all the way to Viking forefathers. But it was the colonial branch of the family tree that made their eyes widen, Jamie's especially, in amazement.

A family with the last name Frost was included.

And one of the names in that family…was Jackson Overland Frost.

As in Jack's full name…

Which meant…

"Jamie…We're related to Jack Frost…" Sophie said in awe.

Jamie stared at the Bennett family tree for a full two and a half minutes before grinning from ear to ear.

He and Jack really were brothers.

Just…separated by three centuries but they were still…brothers…

Hooray, Astrid and Angrid are friends again! :D

How'd you guys like the little Foreign Languages Lesson part? I did some pretty good research for Old Norse and Danish terms.

And, surprise! Jack and Jamie are related (in my story at least). When I watched ROTG, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Jack and Jamie. Peter Ramsey (the director of Rise of the Guardians) said that Jamie's similarities to both Jack and his sister was one of those "movie mysteries" they didn't have enough time to fully explore so I kind of had the idea of having the two of them related ;)

Anyway, read and review whatever and whenever you like!