Author's Note: Guest reader nathan isaac ask me how many hits I've had until the previous chapter. I didn't check it to be honest, just the reviews. But as of this chapter, the hits are 34,569 views! That is a lot! Thanks readers!

CHAPTER 9 – How To Checkmate The Black King

To be a ruler was not easy. There were many things that one need to learn and one of them was how to conceal.

Of course, when her father taught her to conceal, it doesn't just apply to her powers but also her feelings.

It wasn't that her father wanted her to be a completely emotionless person, oh no. Rather, to conceal what you feel, especially negative feelings was an important trait to have when you are the ruler.

You were disgusted by foreign food or culture? Don't let it show in front of their representatives or risk insulting them.

Your kingdom is on fire? Feel free to panic but do it on the inside. Don't let your people know you're panicking or it will only add to the chaos.

Queen Elsa of Arendelle was quite good when it comes to conceal what she felt and thought on the outside. Most people would be fooled by her performance. The keyword here was most.

The Queen of Arendelle was calmly walking towards her study, with Kai following a few steps behind and her guests lagging far behind. On the outside, she looked normal as if doing her usual Queenly duties.

But on the inside…

'What on earth am I going to do!?' Elsa thought. 'How am I going to convince King Hiccup?'

You can't blame Elsa for panicking. After all, it wasn't like every day she has to advice fellow rulers on how to run their kingdom. Said fellow rulers have their own advisors for that. That and they don't come out in the open that they need to be told on such matters.

Added to the fact that, Elsa thought that she wasn't the best person to do this. After all, she has been a Queen for at most what, two years?

Still, she has agreed to tackle this matter. The wonderful question was of course, how?

She could just be blunt and straight to the point.

"King Hiccup! The way you are running your kingdom is wrong! You must do as I say!"

Elsa envisioned the scenario. She wasn't going to say it like that of course.

"Why should I listen to you? You're not my Queen!"

That was what Elsa thought King Hiccup would say.

But then her mind decided to venture off track for a moment with a single thought.

"My Queen!"

Elsa blushed as she remembered her dream she had of the Vikings.

The Queen then shook her head to clear the treacherous thoughts away. He wasn't interested, was what she told herself.

Elsa's train of thought then returned to its original tracks and she inwardly sighed.

If she did went straight to the point, King Hiccup's response would be just like that.

'It would be spot-on, given his state of mind,' Elsa thought.

It was then that Elsa realized that she would need another approach. But again, the question was, what kind of approach?

Before she could think of anything however, she has arrived in front of her study with Kai at the door.

"Your Majesty," Kai nodded and opened the door for her. Elsa returned the nod but didn't enter just yet.

"King Hiccup, please enter and make yourself comfortable. I will be following you shortly," Elsa said and gestured into her study and King Hiccup just gave her a blank look for a moment before entering and Kai closed the door.

Sigurd, the bodyguard didn't follow, thankfully. Elsa was about to tell him that she needed to speak with his King alone. What Sigurd did next caught Elsa off guard.

"Good luck," he said slowly, not wanting his King to hear him. Sigurd then went a few feet away, crossed his arms and leaned on the wall.

The twins approached her with a soft smile. "Thank you," they said softly and Elsa shook his head.

"Don't thank me yet," Elsa said with a smile. "And I apologize for my outburst earlier,"

Tuffnut waved an arm at her. "Nah, it's our fault anyway," he said and the twins went towards Sigurd.

As if on cue, Anna approached her next. "So, are you ready?" Anna asked and Elsa sighed.

"I don't know how to do this Anna," Elsa asked. "I know for sure that he wouldn't listen if I went straight to the point,"

"Of course he would, silly!" Anna answered. "You don't stoke the fire to put it out! Instead, cool him down,"

Elsa raised an eyebrow at her and Anna only gave her a devious grin.

Then, slowly, Elsa mirrored her sister's grin.

…

The royal study was a beautiful room, Hiccup noted. This was the first royal study that he ever had the chance to be in and perhaps, the last.

Hiccup sighed and went towards the window overlooking the town. Arendelle was indeed a beautiful place but that wasn't what on his mind currently. He was busy thinking of what should he do or say to the Queen.

If he guessed it correctly, the twins knew that he won't simply change his mind just by coming here. Thus, the twins decided to gain the Queen's help instead. And it seems that they have succeeded.

Now the Queen might be coming any moment to…to do what, exactly? Lecture him? Give lessons and tips on how to run a kingdom? Advise him?

'Great, another one trying to tell me how to do stuff. Next thing you know, everybody's going to tell me this and that,' Hiccup thought.

No, he doesn't need any more people telling him what to do, especially from an outsider that doesn't have dragons included in her kingdom.

He would just apologize for his behaviour during his stay and excuse himself before she would even have the chance to speak. Even if she still insist on him staying, he would still leave.

Hiccup then heard the sound of the door being opened and he sighed as he steeled himself.

Hiccup turned around and began his move. "Your Majesty-"

SMACK!

Only to have his face pelted by a snowball.

'What,' was the only that came to his mind.

…

'Oh my,' Elsa thought as she watched the snowball that she threw hit the Viking King square in the face.

'Oh my!' Elsa thought again. That…was a bold thing for her to do, for she had just practically ambushed the Viking King with a snowball.

The Viking King then slowly brought his hand to his face and oh, ever so slowly, he wiped the snow away.

"What is the-"

Elsa conjured a snowball and threw it at his face again.

'Oh my gosh!' Elsa thought. Her face was the epitome of calm but on the inside, she was feeling excited! It was just like when she was doing something that she wasn't supposed to do like breaking the rules with Anna sometimes.

The Viking King reacted more quickly this time. He wiped his face clean and brought his other hand to shield him from future attack.

Elsa responded by conjuring multiple snowballs, levitated them in the air, and pelted the Viking King continuously.

SMACK! SMACK!

"Hey-hey!" King Hiccup said as he tried in vain to stop the snow onslaught.

SMACK!

This wasn't going too well for Hiccup. First he was tricked by his subordinates twice, then had his shortcomings as a ruler told to the Snow Queen and now, the Snow Queen herself was humiliating him.

Hiccup's anger reached his boiling point and he screamed. "STOP IT!"

Elsa was startled by the cry and immediately stop her assault. She then stared into a set of furious green eyes that reminded her of the Viking King in her dream.

Fear began to creep into her being as she was reminded of the man that conquered dragons, united the Vikings and…didn't fear her.

The both of them were silent for a while until Hiccup closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then opened his eyes and began to spoke. "Look, Queen Elsa, I don't know what you're trying to do, but I'm not in the mood for it,"

Elsa was silent as she thought of her next move. Hiccup thought that he was winning the battle and was about to speak again when Elsa cut him off.

"I noticed. So you're angry," Elsa tried and Hiccup rolled his eyes at the obvious statement.

"Thank you for noticing," Hiccup said and was about to move away from the window when Elsa spoke again.

"Angry at who? Why?" Elsa asked.

Hiccup glared at the Queen. 'Is she playing with me? She damn well know why!' Hiccup thought.

"It's not your business," Hiccup replied and Elsa crossed her arms.

"I believe it is. Are you angry at my kingdom? Did we do something wrong to offend you?" Elsa asked and Hiccup took a deep breath before answering.

"No. You…did nothing wrong," Hiccup hesitantly answered and Elsa knew why. Hiccup didn't want to imply that she had something to do with his anger.

"Then is your anger to me or my kingdom justified?" Elsa asked again and Hiccup's eyes widened at this. She was right, Hiccup's cause of anger wasn't because of her.

Her cold logic was like as if an icicle had speared through Hiccup's chest.

'Ouch,' he internally cringed.

"No…" Hiccup looked away, too ashamed to look at her.

Elsa smiled. She had read a lot of books during her isolation years and anger management was one of them (which helped her a lot back then).

One of the way to beat anger was logic. Make them see reason why their anger was bad. Another was to use shame. Of course, this was a risky move. The shame must be appropriate and as well as not to use too much of it or it will backfire horribly.

"And I had no part in your emissaries' plan beforehand. I only knew it after you left us at lunch. If anything, I'm the victim here as I was used as a pawn!" Elsa said, this time with more confidence in her voice.

Another stab of figurative icicle and Hiccup's head lowered. 'Ouch again,'

"So is it fair then for you to be angry and rude at my kingdom when we did our best to be hospitable?" Elsa asked.

Hiccup felt the stab of another icicle and his shoulder slumped. 'Urgh!'

Elsa smiled at this. She was doing well! Now that she had caused an avalanche, it cannot be stopped!

"And don't get me wrong! I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for my kingdom. I won't have my guests be unhappy during their stay here! It would be bad for my kingdom's reputation to be known as a bad host," Elsa answered, which was in a way true.

Another icicle went through him. 'Damn it!'

Hiccup felt like a self-absorbed jerk if he thought that what the Queen did was only for him. At this point, Hiccup fell to his knees.

"It's not like I'm going to blab anyway," Hiccup said softly, his flames of anger was dissipated by the Queen's coldness.

"Perhaps, but it didn't change the fact that you're still angry," Elsa said. "If you're angry at your own people and kingdom, then be angry at home! Since that you don't have a valid reason to be angry at my kingdom, then I suggest that you stop being angry here!" Elsa practically commanded.

At this point, Hiccup felt like he was buried in an avalanche as he got on all fours. Elsa was right in every way. Hiccup's anger was misplaced. In his fury, he had been nothing but a stick in the ass towards his hosts, who had done nothing wrong.

Hiccup was many thing, but being an undeserving jerk (or just a jerk) towards anyone, especially a girl was not his style.

"Please…just kill me already," Hiccup croaked from the embarrassment that he felt.

Elsa giggled and with a wave of a hand, dumped a pile of snow on Hiccup's head.

Hiccup didn't respond and this had Elsa worried.

"So, have you cooled your head then?" Elsa asked. Hiccup sighed and got to his knees again. Their eyes then made contact with each other again.

"Yeah, I guess," Hiccup shrugged with a soft smile.

It was the first time Elsa had seen a smile adorned Hiccup's face. Suddenly, Elsa felt a blush creeping on her neck and her heart beat rised.

She was right; Hiccup looked more beautiful with a smile than frown.

'Stop it! Don't fall for someone that won't like you back!' Elsa chided herself.

Elsa looked away to stop herself from getting even more red. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at this and suddenly, he had an idea.

SMACK!

Elsa stood still as a statue as her mind tried to comprehend what had happened. A snowball had just hit her on her face!

Elsa turned to find the culprit, only to find him hiding behind her study desk. She saw a head with a devious grin pop out for a second…

'Oh my,' Elsa thought, as she found herself distracted by the rather…sexy grin.

SMACK! SMACK!

Only to have her face and chest pelted by snowballs.

"What's the matter, Snow Queen? You can dish out the cold but you can't take them?" a voice taunted her.

Elsa grinned. "The cold never bothered me anyway!"

Elsa waved her arm and soon snowballs appeared on her side as well as Hiccup's.

"Well, I should tell you, we Vikings are the sons of snow!" Hiccup replied and they began pelting each other with snowballs.

Soon the royal study was filled with laughter and the sound of snowballs hitting various surfaces of the room. This would go on for a few minutes, as the both of them tried to hit each other with snowballs. So far, Hiccup had the advantage as he was protected by her desk while she was out in the open.

It didn't stop them from having fun, however.

'Oh my! How did it come to this?' Elsa thought. 'Well, I did ambushed him first!'

"Get out of there and face me like a man!" Elsa said with a laughter as she tried to attack Hiccup.

"And what, let go of my only advantage I have against the Snow Queen?" Hiccup replied.

And he was right, the cover was proving to be effective against her.

Elsa then smiled, only to have it covered by a snow.

"I see that you really like the snow!" Hiccup said with a grin.

Elsa wiped the snow off from her face and grinned.

Elsa waved her hand and suddenly a large pile of snow materialized on top of Hiccup and fell on him.

"Gah!"

Elsa's grin grew larger. She waved her hand again and the pile of snow moved away from the desk and stopped under a window, carrying its victim along.

Hiccup's head popped from the snow pile and shook his head off from the snow. He couldn't free his body, however.

"You didn't really think you can beat the Snow Queen with her own element, do you?" Elsa asked and Hiccup let out a short laugh.

His laughter vibrated well within Elsa and she found out that she liked his laughter.

"Point made. But you can't blame me for trying," Hiccup replied.

Elsa smiled. "True. Now, I've won our little skirmish and I believe that you...are my prisoner of war," Elsa said, still high with the positive rush of their snowball fight. "So what should I do to you, I wonder?"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at her. "Eh?"

Suddenly, Anna's face flashed in Elsa's mind. She grinned and with a wave of her hand, the pile of snow covering Hiccup shifted towards his hands and arms. The snow then turn to ice and pinned Hiccup's hands to the wall and his leg to the floor, leaving his torso exposed to the Snow Queen.

The Viking King has indeed became the Snow Queen's prisoner of war.

Hiccup chuckled nervously. "Wha-what did you have in mind actually?"

Elsa gave a sly smile and with a predatory gleam in her eyes, she sauntered towards Hiccup rather slowly. Hiccup's eyes widened at this and felt his heartbeat raising and a blush creeping up his neck.

Had Elsa worn her Snow Queen dress, the effect on Hiccup would be much greater.

"Uh...uh…Queen Elsa?" Hiccup nervously said as he squirmed to break free of his icy bonds.

Elsa reached Hiccup's side and stood tall over him. Seeing the Viking King bound at her mercy, squirming no less and to hear him calling her Queen gave her a wonderful feeling.

She felt confident, empowered and...a bit excited.

'Oh my! What a compromising situation we are in,' Elsa thought. 'Should I stop?'

It wasn't like she did this with all the suitors that had met her. This was perhaps, a once in a lifetime chance.

'On a second thought, no,' Elsa thought and crouched gracefully (with both of her legs closed, of course) in front of Hiccup. Hiccup, in all his life, had never seen such a graceful creature such as Elsa before.

Elsa put her left hand on her knee while her right hand tapped her chin, as if pondering a question.

"I wonder, is the Viking King…ticklish?" Elsa asked sultrily.

"Eeh?" Hiccup blurted. "I-I believe he is!"

"Believe? It seems that the Viking King himself isn't sure. Maybe I should try and see if he really is ticklish, hmm?" Elsa said with a devious grin.

Hiccup's eyes widened at this. "No no no! I mean, he is ticklish! So-so you don't have to tickle him or anything!"

"Oh! The Viking King is indeed ticklish? This, I have to see," Elsa said and brought her hands towards Hiccup.

"Wait wait wait! We don't have to do this!"

However, his words fell on deaf ears as the Snow Queen proceeded to tickle him mercilessly. Soon, the royal study was filled with laughter once again.

…

Kristoff, ever since meeting the Royal Sisters, had another role aside from being the Royal Icemaster and Deliverer. That role was to babysit Olaf the Snowman when foreign dignitaries came to Arendelle and practically, keep him out of their sight.

It wasn't because they were embarrassed of the cheerful Snowman, oh no. It was because of the implications that could arise when seeing a living and sentient snowman that was created by a human.

They had agreed that most of the world would not understand and accept Elsa's special talent. If Elsa wasn't royalty, she might have been burned at the stake instead of sitting on a throne. Of course, that still doesn't dispel the fear that people had of her.

The fear…was well founded to those that weren't use to it or hadn't known the Snow Queen. Able to conjure snow and ice from almost nothing? Create ices that doesn't behave like normal ice should? Freeze people magically?

Of course, people tolerated it because it was still within their acceptable range of comprehension and acceptance of things. But able to create a life?

The religious fanatics would cry for her to be put down in the name of their god.

Which was funny; if Elsa had lived hundreds years in the past, she would be worshipped as a goddess instead.

And so, Kristoff had the important role of making sure that Olaf doesn't stray and met foreign dignitaries, which proved to be harder than it sounds. This was because Olaf, by nature, doesn't like to be alone if he can help it.

It wasn't surprising as she was created from Elsa's desire for warmth and human contact.

Usually, when the foreign dignitaries came, Kristoff would send Olaf with the trolls. The trolls were more than enough to keep Olaf busy for the whole day until Kristoff came to pick him up. Funnily enough, that would make the trolls babysitters themselves, and he was the proof.

Now, usually Kristoff would send Olaf early and would be back for meals with the Royal Sisters and their guests.

Kristoff didn't like having meals with foreign dignitaries. They would give him weird looks as if questioning why he was there in the same room as them. Of course, that was why he needed to be there as Elsa had told him; to remind them who he is and who he will be.

Kristoff smiled. Although Elsa didn't say it outright, Kristoff understood it; Elsa had given her blessing to be with Anna.

Anyway, back to the matter. Because of the Vikings sudden arrival this morning, Kristoff didn't have time to make it back for lunch and he hope nothing bad had happened. He arrived at the castle and instantly asked where the Royal Sisters was. Luckily, they were still in the castle and Kristoff found Anna soon enough.

Only to see her, the Viking twins, an armored Viking, Kai and Gerda of all people, putting their ears on the doors of the royal study.

Kristoff raised an eyebrow at this and not wanting to startle the eavesdroppers and perhaps, their victims inside the royal study, tapped Anna on her shoulder.

Anna turned around and squealed when meeting with Kristoff.

"Kristoff!" Anna said quietly. "You wouldn't believe what happened!"

Kristoff was about to say something when Anna interrupted.

"I'll explain later, for now, just listen!" Anna said and took Kristoff's arm to join in the Royal Eavesdroppers Club.

And sure enough, Kristoff could hear the sounds of Elsa and a man laughing inside the room with the occasional sound of something soft hitting a surface.

"They're having a snowball fight!" Anna almost squealed.

This would go on for a few minutes until a momentary silence followed. And then a full out laughter could be heard.

"Is the Queen…tickling the Viking King?" Gerda asked with a disbelieving look.

Anna nodded furiously with a proud look. She then puffed her chest. "I'm proud of you sister!"

Kristoff could only roll his eyes with a smile.

…

"You…you fiend!" Hiccup said while catching his breath. Being bound and tickled by a royalty was not something he ever expected at all.

Elsa smiled before she broke into a laughter. She had never expected to tickle another royalty before! This certainly was unorthodox to her but fun and refreshing! Not to mention very bold.

Hiccup didn't say anything but instead smiled. He found out that he…kind of like her laugh and was content to enjoy it for as long as he could.

Soon, Elsa's laughing fit was over and she found the Viking King was staring at her with a smile. She blushed and look away before composing herself again. She then released the Viking King from his icy bonds with a flick of her wrist.

"That was fun," Hiccup said.

"It was," Elsa said with a smile. "And now we shall build a snowman!" Elsa clasped her hands together. Her eyes, Hiccup noticed, was shining with anticipation and excitement, just like a child that wanted to play.

Hiccup smiled and decided to have a little bit of fun. "What? Why?" Hiccup asked.

"When you play with snow, snowball fight and building a snowman is a must!" Elsa replied.

"Uh-huh," Hiccup tried his best to look unconvinced and Elsa bought it. "And who says it has to be that way? I'm content with just snowball fight," Hiccup said and Elsa crossed her arms.

"Well, in case you've forgotten, I am the Snow Queen after all and thus, my word on everything that is related to snow is the law!" Elsa said with authority.

"That makes sense," Hiccup said.

"Of course it does!" Elsa replied rather childishly.

Hiccup laughed lightly at seeing the childish side of the Snow Queen. Elsa didn't understood why he was laughing and pouted.

In a normal situation, Elsa would have realized how she had acted and would have scolded herself for it. The way she was acting was unbecoming for a Queen. But somehow, right now, she wasn't a Queen with Hiccup.

"Alright, since the Snow Queen says so," Hiccup said "Let's build a snowman!"

Yes, she wasn't the Queen of Arendelle as of the moment but just the Snow Queen Elsa.

The both of them then began to build a snowman in silent. It wasn't the choking silence they had during their lunch, however. It was the good kind of silence as both of them were smiling as they didn't want to risk ruining the moment with words.

After a few minutes, the body of their snowman was complete. They didn't have anything to make the face but Elsa conjured thin stick-like arms made from ice and attached it to the snowman.

Before Hiccup could comment on it, however, Elsa did something that the both of them didn't expect.

Elsa used her hands to animate the arms as if the snowman was alive. She then hid her body as best as she could behind the snowman. Her face was also behind the snowman's head.

"Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" Elsa said in a different voice.

Hiccup was speechless for a moment at the sight. The silence was enough to make Elsa realized what she had done.

'Oh my!' Elsa thought as she blushed. 'This-this! I've never done this ever since I've created Olaf! This is so embarrassing,'

It was true. She used to animate her snowman by herself when she was little to amuse Anna. But ever since Olaf was given life, she stopped doing it in respect for the real Olaf.

'I must look like a fool!' Elsa thought and she was about to stop what she was doing until she felt a pair of strong arms hugging her!

"I...like warm hugs as well….and cuddles," Hiccup said and Elsa blushed.

'Oh my, oh my, oh my!' Elsa thought.

Elsa could count the number of people that had hugged her with the ten fingers on her hand. It wasn't much but Hiccup had made the list.

The both of them broke away and didn't look at each other for a minute before the awkward silence became unbearable.

"Right-right, so that was fun as well!" Hiccup broke the silence and made his trademark hand gestures.

Elsa realized this and giggled. "Yes, yes it was,"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck and was about to stand up. However, Elsa realized this and spoke. "King Hiccup?"

Hiccup stared at her for a moment. "Yes?"

"Can we…talk…about your problems?" Elsa asked and Hiccup's face was marred with a frown.

Hiccup groaned as he rolled his eyes. He thought that Elsa only wanted to cheer him up. It seems that everything he thought about her was wrong.

"Well, I did say I want to have a talk with you, correct? The prior activities were just…ice breaking," Elsa said with a sly smile.

Hiccup sighed. She was right, again. Damn this woman and her logic!

"Besides, I hate to see my effort of cheering you up turns out to be temporary once you return to your home. I would like it to be permanent," Elsa said.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at this and Elsa realized her mistake. She widened her eyes and blushed.

"I-I mean, it's-I-" Elsa stuttered as she tried to make sense of what she want to say and in honesty, herself.

The idea of having some sort of anything that is positively permanent with the Viking King was very tempting. After all, King Hiccup definitely had the most progress with her so far compared to her other suitors.

But then, the fact hit her hard; she barely knew him.

And then she realized; this must what Anna had felt when she first met Hans. The first time of having experienced such a wonderful feeling and not wanting it to go away and then knowing that you might not get another chance?

How hypocrite of her.

What was more, if the other suitors were in the same situation, would she react the same?

Fortunately, while Elsa was warring with herself, so was Hiccup. He could just refuse her help but...

'What would that accomplish? I would still be in the same spot…maybe, we really could talk?' Hiccup thought.

Besides, there was no harm in doing it and Hiccup certainly didn't have anything to lose anyway.

"Alright," Hiccup said and this brought Elsa back to reality. "If it's alright with you, we can discuss my problem,"

Elsa smiled, glad that she didn't have to explain herself for her fumble earlier and that King Hiccup didn't took advantage of it. She was also glad that King Hiccup would finally listen to her.

She had won the battle, but not the war…yet.

"So…how do we do this?" Hiccup asked.

"Well…you don't have tell me from the start. Your twins did a good job at describing your problems," Elsa said. Hiccup groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I bet they do," Hiccup said.

Elsa giggled. "Please don't be mad at them, they have the best intention in mind,"

Hiccup gave Elsa a hard look that surprised her. "A lot of bad deeds were done with good intentions in mind. I am verywell aware of that fact,"

Elsa steeled herself. She thought that after the previous activities, King Hiccup would have lightened a bit and she could approach this matter in a more lighthearted manner. However, it seemed that her ice breaking were only able to break the surface.

She was treading on thin ice and she had to tread carefully, lest her effort would be gone to waste.

"That's true. But they did it because they care. If anything, their action mirrored yours. You have the best intentions for your people, but…" Elsa countered.

Hiccup clicked his tongue and looked away. Queen Elsa was right again. If anything, what the twins did was tame compared to what he had done.

Elsa shook her head. "I won't judge you for the actions that you had taken to come this far…and if anything, I don't think I had the qualifications to do so,"

Hiccup turned to look at her with a puzzled look.

"After all, you are a self-made King, whereas I'm a Queen through birthright. I did not experience the hardship that you went through to earn your title," Elsa said.

Hiccup sighed. "What is this? A pity competition to see who went through the most hardship? And then whoever wins gets kisses and huggies for prize?"

Elsa's eyes widened at this. "No! That wasn't-"

"I know what you mean but I don't want…" Hiccup avoided her eyes. "…making me feel that my suffering is greater than others is…it's not, alright? And I don't want to feel entitled for help or anything,"

Elsa's eyes softened at this as she realized that King Hiccup was trying to bear everything alone.

"Besides, what we went through might not be the same, but it doesn't necessarily mean the hardship isn't," Hiccup turned to look at her again. "To become a King is easy, but to keep it? You're certainly more experienced in keeping the throne than I do,"

Hearing that surprised Elsa. King Hiccup thought that what she went through is equal and perhaps greater than his but never less.

That line of thinking was just like…her.

It was then that Elsa was struck by an epiphany. The Snow Queen and the Viking King were mirror images of each other.

Each wanted to bear their burden alone.

They both thought that they're doing everyone that they love a favour by handling the burden alone.

They both thought that what they've went through, was nothing compared to what they had put others through.

Much like the hardship that Elsa had put Anna through, King Hiccup was when he had subjugated his friends and people to war to achieve his ideals.

It was unsettling to watch a mirror image of yourself and trying to fix the imperfections that you see. Perhaps…maybe if she could help the Viking King, she could better herself as well?

Elsa wrung her hands while she was deep in thought and Hiccup noticed this. But he didn't say anything and allowed Elsa her peace.

Soon, Elsa's focus had returned and she turned her attention to the Viking King again. "Well, I've only been Queen for two years,"

Hiccup snorted. "And you've been trained for it your whole life! I was barely the Chief to my tribe before I decided to be King,"

Elsa smiled. She was grateful that King Hiccup didn't allow either of them to win the so-called 'pity contest'. In a way, it made them equal and they didn't have to carefully tread around each other in fear of hurting their feelings.

It means that Elsa could go all out.

"That is indeed true. So that means I am qualified to…advise you in such matters, yes?" Elsa said.

King Hiccup's eyes widened at hearing this. He could not back away from this, logically. The only way he could was through…childish means akin to a tantrum of a teenager that doesn't want to listen to reason.

Of course, if he did that, it would be embarrassing for someone of his rank.

"You…you set me up!" Hiccup accused.

Elsa smiled innocently. "How could I? I barely knew you, so how could I 'set you up'?" Elsa air quoted.

Hiccup pouted.

'Oh my!' Elsa blushed a bit at seeing the cute moment.

"I set myself up for that, didn't I?" Hiccup sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I believe so, yes," Elsa replied. Hiccup groaned and took a handful of snow before rubbing it on his face and hair.

Elsa's eyes widened at this. She rarely had the chance to see a man so comfortable with snow before, well aside from Kristoff, that is.

A part of her was…excited by it.

Hiccup sighed in relief before continuing. "Alright…you got me," Hiccup smiled. "Let's discuss my problem,"

Elsa smiled. She feared that she had to tread carefully all the way through during their discussion. However, it seems that her fear was in fact, short lived.

"Alright,"

Elsa couldn't help but to think, 'Checkmate,'

Author's Note: I've started my study again, which means that updates will be sporadic in the future. The funny thing is, I might be able to update quicker because writing this when I should be studying makes it a form of procrastination, hahaha.

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