AN: Guys, I'm so sorry but I accidentally skipped a chapter! This is supposed to be chapter 8, before Life's Too Short.
Toothless lit a campfire not far away from the cliffs so they could eat and catch their breath. Hiccup pulled out the fish from Oaken's and started thawing them over the fire. The wolves paced on the other side of the gorge for awhile, but soon lost interest.
"So, how did you learn to train a dragon?" Hiccup asked Merida, trying to clear the air between them.
"Last summer Ah was out on a ride through the forests with mah horse, you know, like I dew, when we just stumbled across him." She placed a hand on the dragon's head. "He had gotten his tail caught in one of me dad's bear traps, so Ah freed him and he kept trying to follow me around. I didn't want to leave him alone and defenseless like that—we had a pretty bad bear problem—so I hid him not far from the castle and trained him. Then that winter my mother tried to marry me off to one of the princes from another clan, so I ran away instead."
"I though you said she wouldn't try to do that until you were older, until you were ready!" Rapunzel said.
"Ha! Yew heard the stories about my mum," Merida scoffed. "She doesn't care about what I want. But that doesn't matter now. We've been on our own for six months now. I joined the ice carvers and fully satisfied thank you very much."
"Do you stay in Arendelle?" Hiccup asked.
"No, I was too afraid DunBroch would send search parties after me. I made some friends up here and they found a place in the woods that's fairly sheltered. But I dew go into town to sell the ice and buy food. Mah friends aren't exactly the best cooks," she laughed. She paused to take a bite of fish.
"Oh, guess who came to the coronation?" Rapunzel said, suddenly remembering. "Eugene!"
"The theif?" Merida asked.
"He's going to be promoted to a duke, soon," Rapunzel said proudly. "We've been…corresponding over the last year."
"See, how is that not weird?" Hiccup interrupted.
"Because writing letters to someone and marrying them are completely different steps in a relationship!"
"Aye!" Merida agreed.
"So you do admit that you're in a relationship," Hiccup said, trying to catch her off guard.
"Actually, yes," Rapunzel said, blushing a little. "He asked to start courting me the other night. I was about to talk to my parents about it when you and Astrid burst in and upset Jack."
Hiccup looked away. Why was this always turned around to be his fault?
"Astrid…" Merida mused, ignoring the last bit. "You said her name was Astrid Hofferson, right?"
"Of Berk," Hiccup added.
"That name sounds familiar. Did we ever meet her, Rapunzel?"
"Not that I can recall," Rapunzel shook her head. "But maybe you did. Berk is even farther north than DunBroch, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. There was a rivalry between our two kingdoms, so we didn't meet often, but when we did we always had to pay attention and be on our best behavior. Those were the few times Ah actually listened to my mum's advice and acted like a princess. I met everyone and talked civilly. But Ah never met a princess Astrid Hofferson."
"What are you saying?" Rapunzel asked, suddenly suspicious. "You would have known her if she was from Berk, right?"
"Of course Ah would. But Ah didn't."
The two girls looked at Hiccup expectantly. "I…I don't know. Maybe she was on other diplomatic missions or something?"
Merida looked at him sternly. "My mother made me draw and memorize the family trees of every royal family from every kingdom and village within a two day's journey from DunBroch. Trust me, they were burned into my memory and there is no Astrid Hofferson. She's lying to you."
"No, I'm sure there's a good explanation," he started. Then he paused.
"What is it?" Rapunzel asked urgently. "If you noticed anything wrong or funny you need to tell us, Hiccup. It could be someone who's after the throne for money or power."
"No, it's not that. She's not like that! A person can't fake a personality that well."
"They can if you only know them for a few hours before you get engaged."
"Ok, fine. As we were leaving I saw her running through the streets. She had left the palace and she looked really worried, remember?"
Rapunzel nodded, but didn't say anything. Merida yawned and curled up next to Toothless.
"Well, we can't do anything about it until we find Jack and bring him back home to melt the snow. And Ah'm not moving until Ah get some rest. Goodnight."
Astrid shivered with cold as she ran the last few steps to get to the castle. The entrance to the courtyard had been blocked by snow and rioting people, so she had slipped around to the servant's quarters, right where Hiccup had said they were. She raised her hand to knock when Kristoff opened the door. Astrid blinked in surprise, before remembering to speak.
"I'm sorry, the front way was blocked. May I come in this way?"
"Mm, no," Kristoff said, stepping out to join her and closing the door behind him.
"No?" Astrid asked, again caught off guard.
"Where have you been?"
"You are not my father, I do not have to answer to you."
"You do if you want to get in the castle."
Astrid curtseyed. "I'm do apologize. I've been out in the town making sure people had enough food and warm clothes. But since I can barely feel my feet I decided it was time to take a break and warm myself."
"I'm not buying it," Kristoff said, leaning against the door.
"Sir?"
"I've spent the last several years listening to lying politicians and believe me, you're one of them."
"You don't know me," she protested.
"Yes, and neither does Hiccup, although you somehow managed to charm him into marrying you within one night of dancing. There's something wrong here, sister."
Astrid opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't think of one. She used her quick thinking and spun around, acting startled.
"Shh! What was that?"
"What was what?" Kristoff said suspiciously, slowly standing to attention.
"I heard something," she whispered, drawing out a frying pan.
"Where did you get that?"
"It's a long story," she hissed. Nobody was in sight, not even a face in the windows. "Quick, we have to get inside."
"Maybe I should call the guards to have a look around…"
Barely thinking, Astrid whirled around and hit him over the head with the frying pan. Shocked at herself, she quickly tucked the pan back into her coat and opened the door, dragging Kristoff inside. Luckily, no one was around, and she managed to get a good ways inside before she heard footsteps.
"Kristoff?" It was Anna. Astrid panicked for a moment, wondering how she could possibly cover this up.
"Over here! Help!" she heard herself crying.
Anna rounded the corner and gasped, running to her husband in alarm. "Kristoff! What happened?"
"I was coming in from town and I found him like this outside the door," she lied. "Take his feet."
Anna picked up his feet and started walking backwards, Astrid gently directing her. Luckily, Hiccup had given her a tour of the castle the other night, and she knew exactly where to take them.
"Boy, you're strong," Anna grunted, shifting Kristoff's weight.
"I have brothers," Astrid said.
"Hang on, do you know where you're going?" Anna asked abruptly.
"I think so."
She shook her head. "We're going the wrong way. This will lead us down to the dungeons."
Astrid slowed and gently put Kristoff down, stretching her back out. "You lead then. Just give me a second. Some villager gave me a frying pan and I don't think the extra weight is helping."
Anna came closer, curious, as Astrid revealed her secret weapon. "Why on earth would a villager give you…" she began.
Astrid didn't let her finish, knocking her out quickly. Nobody else had seen her with Kristoff and Anna, so nobody would discover her secret as long as she could keep the two contained. Quickly, she dragged them down to the dungeons, empty just as Hiccup had said. Strange how many useful things the boy had blabbed about without knowing. She found the keys and locked them in two separate cells and making sure they could not escape any time soon. Perhaps later she would need to hire a guard or send them off to an insane asylum. But that was a bridge she would cross later. For now, she left the frying pan near the kitchens and went out to find the head of staff. Instead, she found the Duke of Wesselton.
"Ah, hello my lady," he said courteously, though he was clearly agitated. "I'm looking for Queen Anna and King Kristoff."
"They are no longer the king and queen," Astrid said proudly. "But they have just left to go and find the new king. I'm afraid you just missed them."
"What? Impossible! the castle is practically under siege!"
"They slipped through the servants quarters," she said. "They were very anxious to find their three charges, as am I."
"Well, who have they left in charge then?" the Duke cried, flustered.
"Me," she said calmly, making sure she was standing straight.
"In that case," the Duke said without an ounce of surprise, "I think you'd better come with me. I hope you have good diplomacy skills because the representatives from Corona and DunBroch have just broken out into a fight!"
Astrid followed him, shocked that he hadn't questioned her. No suspicions, no demands for proof or a written decree, no nothing. He had simply accepted it, and now others would, too. She couldn't figure out if her plan was going more smoothly than she anticipated, or she had just plunged in over her head.
"Here we are, the North Mountain," Merida proclaimed, waving a hand around them. "And there's no sign of your brother."
It had been a long day of climbing and fighting through the snow, but they had finally made it to the North Mountain. They were half way up and had stopped to catch a breath. At this point, there was no way to go but back down. If they kept going they would fall off, and a sheer rock face blocked them from going higher.
"We just need to keep looking around," Rapunzel said. "I know what his magic is like and this definitely feels magical."
"You two obviously aren't used ta this climate. Fine, stay here and rest and I'll do some more scouting. Toothless, stay here with them."
Hiccup stared up at the cliff determinedly. It was somewhere between 50 to a 100 feet high, although it was hard to tell. Although it was nearly vertical, he was fairly certain he could climb it. Something told him to try, so he stood and dusted himself off.
"Oh no," Rapunzel sighed. "Please tell me you aren't thinking of climbing that thing?"
"I just have this gut feeling that if we go up, then we'll find Jack." He started climbing, though the slippery rocks made it a struggle.
"You don't know how to climb a mountain?"
"Says who? That's what we've been doing this whole time, isn't it?"
Rapunzel crossed her arms and leaned against Toothless, who was sitting and watching the whole thing curiously. Merida came back only a moment later and looked up skeptically.
"What are yew doin'?"
"I'm going…" Hiccup grunted with the effort. "To see my brother."
Merida looked over at Rapunzel. "He's going to get 'imself killed, ya know."
"He's stubborn and I have magical healing powers," she said, unconcerned. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
"Ya know, most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone," Merida said.
"Nobody wants to be alone."
"Trust someone who does," she shot back.
"Ok, you're just distracting me now."
Merida sighed. "By the way, if you had waited for me for a few more minutes you would have known that I found your brother's ice castle."
"Seriously?" Hiccup sighed. "Well I'm nearly there so it doesn't really matter."
"Nice try, Hiccup," Rapunzel said. "But you're only a few feet off the ground."
"Get him, Toothless," Merida said, snapping.
Toothless stood on his hind legs and walked over to the cliff, picking up Hiccup by the hood of his coat, which had fallen down in the climbing attempt.
"Hey!" Hiccup said, swinging in protest. "Put me down!"
Toothless let go, dropping him in the snow, and followed Merida and Rapunzel through a small passage in rocks. It twisted up almost like a staircase, leading them to a breathtaking open view of the mountains surrounding them. Then Rapunzel gasped at the magnificent castle looming over them. The outer walls mirrored rough stone dusted in snow, and they could see the spiraling icy towers poking above it.
"That's…impressive," Hiccup breathed, a little overwhelmed. Gently, he touched the rail of the stair case that vaulted them to the front gate.
"Are yew crying?" Merida asked Rapunzel.
She nodded, wiping the tears from her face before they froze. "It's just…Jack was almost always afraid of his powers. He hated them and he hated himself. I'm just so glad he got a chance to play with them while no one was around to get hurt. He would have rather died than hurt someone a…" she stopped, unintentionally glancing at Hiccup.
"Well, he did freeze the whole kingdom. That might 'ave hurt people," Merida added.
"Don't mention that," Rapunzel said urgently.
"Um, is there anything else I should know before I go in there?" Hiccup asked. "I get the feeling there's still something that nobody has told me."
Rapunzel bit her lip. "I think you should probably reconcile and unfreeze the kingdom first. There's a lot going on right now, Hiccup."
"Alright, fine," he said, starting to ascend the slippery steps. "But after this is all over we all need to sit down and discuss this problem of always leaving me out."
The two girls said nothing as they followed him up. At the gate, which was made of thick icicle trunks that criss-crossed, they could see through to the courtyard, where a sparkling fountain stood frozen in time. Rapunzel pushed the gate open cautiously and they entered, getting their first real look at the castle. It was relatively small compared to the one in Arendelle. Two towers flanked the keep, which looked roughly the size of a ballroom three stories high.
"Maybe you should stay in the courtyard," Hiccup suggested. "Let me talk with him."
"Wait, maybe I should go in first," Rapunzel said. "I've been able to talk with him before."
Hiccup glared at her. "I think it's my turn, actually."
Determined, he marched up to the door, took a deep breath and knocked. The doors swung open, and he felt a strange sense of relief. Maybe Jack did want to see him after all.