New chap and it's a day early, yay! Not much to say here so I will just let you go on, read it, if you dare!
Laidyx: I love Toothless as well! He is such an amazing character, makes me want to have Night Fury of my own, though he probably wouldn't be able to fit in my apartment ;) And Hiccup and Elsa do work well together, though they will need some help on the way and Toothless might be a little nudge in the right direction haha!
Noctus Fury: Oh my, your reviews put such huge smiles on my faces and just, wow, thank you for taking your time to review! So happy that you liked the scene with Elsa, Rapunzel and Anna, I loved to write it! Also, there might be a possibility that Hiccup will have to save someone, or at least he have not seen the last of the maids, I can tell you that!
Yes trust is a hard thing and it will turn out Hiccup knew what he was talking about without knowing it himself ;) And I totally agree with you, they all would have been an amazing family, they appear to fit so well together. :D
Haha I simply love your ideas of how Hiccup can gain Elsa's trust and win her over! You will simply have to keep on reading to see what will happen, though I can say that some moving of feet will be seen in this chapter, after all, what is a wedding without a ball? ;D
8.
"Are you sure I look fine?"
"Anna you look stunning; no one will be able to take their eyes off ofyou." Elsa said, taking her sisters hands in her own so Anna would stop twirling them around nervously. "You are not getting cold feet are you? For if you are, it's not my fault." At her words, Elsa was rewarded with a smile and Anna relaxed a little bit.
"No, no I am not. I love Kristoff and I want to spend the rest of my life with him! It's just that I'm nervous that I will make a fool of myself. What if I fall walking down the aisle or say something wrong?" Anna answered in a stressed voice.
"You know what? Stop it! You will not fall walking down the aisle and all you have to do is repeat after the bishop." Elsa said sternly, pushing back a small hair that had fallen down in Anna's face. "Besides you have a secret weapon that will guarantee that everything will turn out perfectly." Elsa said with a smile.
"I do?" Anna said, looking at Elsa with a confused expression.
"Yes, you do; you have me. I will be there the whole time looking out for you." Elsa said, Anna's eyes filling with tears as she gave Elsa a warm hug. "I will always look out for you Anna, you know that right?" Elsa whispered to her sister, Anna nodding her head as Elsa felt how tears began to form in her eyes and she took a step back to break the hug so she could collect herself.
Seeing the tears in Anna's eyes as well, Elsa chuckled as she took out her handkerchief and dried them away.
"Look at us, we are already running our makeup." Elsa said with a smile.
"You know that I love you, don't you? That will never change, you will always be my sister." Anna said with a grave expression, Elsa feeling how she had to push back her tears once more.
"Of course I do, and I love you too." Elsa said, composing herself as she looked over Anna's appearance one last time. Her white dress was perfect and her hair was up in a stunning hairdo. Around her neck she had one of the royal golden necklaces and her golden tiara with dark green gems sparkled in the light.
"Now are you ready to go?" Elsa asked, Anna nodding her head in response as Elsa gave her her wedding bouquet filled with lilies, pink roses and lilies of the valley before Anna took a hold of her arm, and together they walked out into the courtyard.
As soon as they came out in sunlight, the huge crowd that had gathered in the courtyard started cheering loudly. The two sisters walked together down the stairs and into a carriage that took them to the old church where the wedding would take place, the people of Arendelle crowding the streets all the way, waving with flags and shouting words of luck.
Reaching the church, Elsa and Anna walked inside to the cheers of the people who had gathered there as well and, as they did, Elsa did her best to ignore Anna's hard grip on her arm, knowing that her sister was simply nervous.
Elsa had to admit that she was a little nervous as well.
Inside the church, they were greeted by the two flower girls, both looking adorable in their pink gowns, and the young boy who was the carrying the rings. Also there was the groom himself who, Elsa had to admit, looked very handsome for the occasion.
That Anna didn't fully agree however was clear when her sister flew to Kristoff's side the moment they laid eyes on each other, both looking at the other as if they were the only two people in the room. It was such an intimate moment that Elsa felt the need to give them some privacy, so she turned to the young children who were all looking a little nervous.
"Are you ready?" She asked them with a smile, the two little girls nodding their heads as the young boy, who was Sir Anckarloo's youngest, puffed up his chest and he gave her a grave look.
"We're always ready, your majesty." He told her and Elsa couldn't help to chuckle.
"I am very happy to hear it. You will all do splendidly, of that I have no doubt." She said, the young children seemingly relaxing a little as she turned back to Anna and Kristoff who were now both starting to look a little pale.
Elsa gave them both an encouraging smile as the music began to play in the church, telling Elsa it was her cue to enter, but before she had time to walk through the doors, Anna suddenly let out a cry of panic.
"Wait! I have nothing blue! Elsa! I can't get married without something blue." She said as she rushed up to Elsa and stared at her sister in horror while Kristoff watched the situation from the same spot as before, knowing this was one of those moments it was best to just stay in the background.
"Anna, breathe, remember what I said before, I will fix this." Elsa said calmly to her sister, Anna taking a deep breath as she nodded her head, her eyes filled with absolute faith. "Now just hold on a second and don't move." Elsa said, taking a few steps back from Anna and concentrated her willpower on what she wished to create, visualizing the result in her head.
"Okay, ready?" She asked when she had a clear picture and Anna nodded her head. At her approval, Elsa began moving her hands in the air as tiny, tiny ice crystals started to appear in the air around Anna. They floated around her for a moment, taking on their form, before they closed in around her sister and landed on the wine-like patterns that had been sown into Anna's wedding dress.
"Now spin around." Elsa said as she lowered her hands, the small children gasping loudly when Anna did as she said, the wines on the dress coming to life as the ice crystals reflected the light in a way that made them take on a deep blue color. As soon as Anna stood still once more, the color disappeared.
"Elsa it is beautiful, thank you." Anna said, throwing her arms around her sister as the children and Kristoff stared mesmerized at the dress that was glowing in different shades of blue with every movement.
"Just remember that you and Kristoff are meant to be together, I know that, but if we do not get moving you will be late for your own wedding, and you don't want that do you?" Elsa said as she gave Anna a small push in Kristoff's direction with a smile.
At this Anna laughed before taking her rightful place next to her soon to be husband and Elsa nodded to the servants by the doors. With slightly awed faces, as they looked at Anna's dress, they opened them and Elsa walked through down the aisle, feeling relief that she was not too late and could make up for the lost time by simply walking a little faster than they had practiced earlier.
No one would ever even notice that anything had been going on behind the closed doors.
As she walked down the aisle, Elsa looked out over the crowd of faces, seeing them almost in a haze as they seemed to melt into each other. In one of the middle rows however, a pair of piercing green eyes caught her attention and she registered that Chief Haddock managed to clean up after his encounter with Toothless earlier that morning after all.
Turning her attention back forward, she sent the bishop a smile before she took her place in front of her seat in the front row, which had the chairs turned in the direction of the aisle, next to Rapunzel and Eugene.
When she reached them, they both smiled warmly at her and even though she smiled back, Elsa could not help to feel how a deep sadness filled her as well. There were only three seats up close to the alter. Anna and Elsa had no other family than their cousins and since Kristoff had been orphaned as a young chil he had no family at all.
Of course, this was not completely true, for he did have his family of trolls. However, the trolls had chosen to not be present despite Anna's and Kristoff's attempts to persuade them to attended. The trolls had felt that this was not a scene in which they belonged, something that Elsa could fully understand. In fact, she was uncertain if they even had been allowed into the church by the bishop at all.
In the end, Anna and Kristoff had accepted the troll's reasoning, though they had both been sad that they wouldn't attend.
As the music changed to the wedding march, Elsa let go of her darker thoughts as she turned towards the doors where the young children was just walking through, the little girls throwing their flowers happily as thy went down the aisle while Anckarloo's son looked extremely proud with his mission.
When the wedding couple came into view, a collective gasp went through the church as Anna and Kristoff began walking down the aisle. The guests were all looking at the glowing couple with wonder and, in the women's case envy, as they began whispering amongst each other, some even pointing at Anna's dress.
Despite herself, Elsa couldn't help to feel proud at the reaction to her handiwork.
When the couple reached the alter and the bishop, the old man made a notion for all guests to sit down, causing Anna and Kristoff to be the only ones who remained standing. He gave the couple a warm smile, his eyes kind as he winked at Anna, before he cleared his throat loudly and began speaking.
"Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today…"
The wedding had been a long, but also very beautiful, ceremony and on the way back to the castle, the Vikings had been amazed at the amount of people who had gathered along the streets to send their wishes of fortune to the newly wedded couple.
After the wedding ceremony, an enormous and fantastic dinner had followed, during which Queen Elsa had held a speech about the love she felt for her sister and how proud she was of the person she had become. But she had also welcomed Kristoff into the royal family, whishing him the best of luck as he now officially took on his new role as prince.
Her speech had caused the majority of the female guests to cry, but it had been nothing compered to the tears that flowed when Kristoff had held his speech to Princess Anna, the raw emotion in his voice and the love in his eyes moving even the coldest of hearts.
In Hiccup's case however, he had been slightly distracted during Kristoff's speech, for the noble woman next to him had cried so much that he had been forced to offer her his own napkin since she had soaked her own. After a little while though, he had been forced to ask the lady next to him if he could give the crying woman her napkin as well.
Astrid's partner for the night had turned out to not be much better either, for the man had been telling her strange stories all night about how he had once encountered a spirit high up in the mountains. Apparently the spirit had promised to grant him his deepest wish if he could find it again and during the night he had tried to find out if there was any possibility that these type of spirits lived on Berk?
So when it was finally announced that the dinner was over, Hiccup and Astrid had both looked at each other with relief, knowing that they only had to escort their partners to the ballroom before they could slip away, but, thankfully, Rapunzel and Eugene turned up just at the right time and whisked them away before anyone could notice.
"What are you two doing? Not that I'm complaining!" Hiccup said to Rapunzel, who had taken a hold of his arm and was now escorting him through the crowd, Eugene, Astrid and Fishlegs following close behind.
"We are saving you from Sir Weirdo and Mrs. Cry-me-river." Rapunzel said with a glowing smile. "Also you just have to see what Elsa have done with the ballroom, it's amazing!" She exclaimed as the guests let them through, seeing that it was the Queen's cousin who was making her way through the crowd.
Rapunzel led them all the way up to where Anna, Kristoff and Queen Elsa was standing. At their sudden appearance, Queen Elsa looked between Hiccup and Rapunzel before her eyes landed on her cousin with a raised eyebrow, Rapunzel only sending her a huge smile in reply.
At this, Queen Elsa shook her head before she walked through the doors that led into the other room and as the rest of them followed, Hiccup couldn't help to think that he had missed something during the women's silent communication, though he had no idea what it was.
"Now watch!" Rapunzel whispered excitedly to Hiccup as they entered the huge room and once it came into view, all he could do was look around in wonder.
The most part of the room was in some way decorated with glowing ice. It traveled up the pillars like vines, taking on shapes like leaves, flowers, hearts and snowflakes, only to continue up into the ceiling where it hung down in beautiful shapes and forms. It was also glowing in the light of the candles like glittering diamonds, turning the whole room into a glittering display of color.
"Isn't it fantastic?" Rapunzel asked him, smiling at the awed expression on his, Astrid's and Fishlegs' faces, an expression shared with the rest of the guests.
"It is." Hiccup said. Behind the feeling of wonder though, he couldn't help to feel some caution as well, once more wondering how powerful Queen Elsa truly was. After all, if he had ever doubted that she was the constructor of the ice-palace they had seen on their way into Arendelle, this would have made it undoubtedly clear that she was.
The sound of the announcer's pole made the awed guests turn in the direction of the man from yesterday who was standing next to Queen Elsa and the newly wedded couple. Hiccup noticed that Anna and Kristoff seemed just as mesmerized by the large room as everyone else.
"As tradition holds, I do believe it's time for the couple to start the ball with their first dance as husband and wife. Maestro, some music?" Queen Elsa said with a smile as Princesses Anna and Kristoff walked out together on the dance floor.
When they had reached the middle of the floor, Queen Elsa suddenly raised her right hand and with a wave, an ice blast flew from her hand and exploded over the couple, turning into snowflakes which began to fall down over the dancing couple, creating a magical vision as they floated over the dance floor.
"How does she do it?" Astrid asked, looking at Queen Elsa, who was now talking with an elderly man, both of them looking at her sister and Kristoff with glowing eyes. Astrid on the other hand wore an expression that clearly showed that she had not appreciated the Queen's display of power.
"Who knows? She waves her hand and it just happens like magic, though Elsa doesn't like that word. All I can say is that had I not met a woman with glowing hair before I met Elsa, I probably would have run in the different direction." Eugene said causally with a grin, as the Vikings looked at him.
"Glowing hair?" Astrid repeated slowly.
"Yes indeed! Let me introduce her!" He said as he walked over to Rapunzel and put his arm around his wife who was looking at him with amusement. "This is Rapunzel, my wife, who had extremely long golden hair that glowed when you sang to it and could heal any wound. At least it could until I cut it off." He said with a grin as the Vikings all shared a look.
"How did it…" Hiccup began to ask, curious to hear that another family member had had special abilities, but Astrid put her hand over his mouth.
"Don't ask! I can only handle a certain amount of crazy in one day and I certainly have had enough!" She said, a slightly pleading look in her eyes and Hiccup smiled at her as he nodded his head. "But I have to admit that it sounds like an awesome power Punzie." Astrid said to Rapunzel who laughed.
"Punzie?" Rapunzel repeated. "I like it!"
"You didn't like it when I called you that!" Eugene exclaimed, looking down at Rapunzel who smiled up at him.
"Of course not, you are my husband, I cannot have the man of my life call me Punzie, it's something one calls a friend. Don't you agree Astrid?" Rapunzel said as she left Eugene's side and walked up to Astrid, looping their arms together.
"Of course, didn't you know that Eugene?" She said as the two women grinned at him.
"It's official; I will never understand women." Eugene said with a tired voice, Hiccup and Fishlegs feeling that they had never agreed more on any subject.
"And unfortunately I fear you never will, Prince Eugene." A deep voice said next to Hiccup. Looking to his right, he could see that Queen Elsa had walked up next to him, but it wasn't she who had spoken, it was the elderly man they had seen her speaking with earlier.
"And I think that's for the best." Queen Elsa said with a smile to the old man who chuckled before he reached his hand out to Hiccup.
"It's wonderful to finally meet you Chief Haddock, I have heard much good about you. I am Peter Anckarloo, her majesty's closest man." He said, shaking Hiccup's hand firmly, a kind smile on his face. "And Miss Hofferson, a pleasure as well." He said, giving a small bow in Astrid's direction.
"And lastly, Master Fishlegs." The man then said, turning to Fishlegs who shook the man's hand as well. "I must say I am very, very pleased with our partnership Master Fishlegs, very pleased indeed. In fact, there are some men here tonight I would very much like for you to meet, if her majesty and Chief Haddock approves?" He said, turning to Hiccup and the Queen.
"Fishlegs is free to choose for himself." Hiccup said, once again thinking how strange it was that everyone in this land expected him to approve of decisions his friends could make very well on their own.
"I see no problem with it at all, just don't bore my guests Sir Anckarloo, there will be time to discuss all of this later on." Queen Elsa said with a smile, the man nodding to her with an excited expression as he and Fishlegs both disappeared into the crowed.
"Well, I just came over to see that you all are having a good time, and to see my cousins are not corrupting you all too much?" Queen Elsa said to them with a smile, sending Rapunzel a look which caused her cousin to chuckle.
"Come on Elsa, how could you possibly think we are corrupting anyone?" Eugene said with an innocent smile as Elsa turned her attention to him.
"You really want me to answer that?" She asked with a skeptical look as Eugene looked a little sheepish, an expression Hiccup had never seen on the other man's face before.
"I think I'm good." He replied, clearing his throat.
"And even if they were trying to corrupt us Queen Elsa, I think they would hardly succeed. Vikings are not the easiest to corrupt. In fact, I think you should be more worried that we are corrupting them." Astrid said, her face guarded as she looked at the Queen.
"Well if you are, please do corrupt my cousin to not mess with my dance card as she did last time. It would actually be appreciated." Queen Elsa said with stern look at Rapunzel, who looked completely innocent, before she sent both Astrid and Hiccup a warm smile. "I do hope you will enjoy your evening and that I will get to speak with you some more before the night is over, but now I need to attend to rest of the guests."
With those words, Queen Elsa nodded to them before she glided through the crowed with ease, Hiccup looking after her as she disappeared.
"What's a dance card?" Astrid asked, looking after the Queen as well with a thoughtful expression.
"Oh it's a card where you write down all of the men you have promised to dance with during the night. Elsa didn't really like it when I kind of accepted some dances in her name once." Rapunzel said casually.
"How strange. At Berk, you simply grab a hold of the one you want to dance with, there is no list." Astrid said, frowning.
"Sounds like a much better system." Eugene said, grabbing a hold of Rapunzel's card to show Astrid what they looked like, Hiccup noticing how almost every single slot held Eugene's own name.
"Do you dance Chief Hiccup?" Rapunzel suddenly asked him, a thoughtful expression on her face as she looked out over the sea of people around them.
"No I don't and defiantly not like this." He said, shaking his head, as he looked over at all the couples on the dance floor who were moving in perfect sync to the music, each step well rehearsed.
"Too bad." Rapunzel answered, her eyes trained on Queen Elsa who was standing across the room talking to a group of men, her face once more the perfect picture of nothing more than politeness and grace.
Elsa took a deep breath as she walked out of the warm ballroom, welcoming the cold breeze coming in from the mountains. With each breath she took, she could feel how her body relaxed and how her mind began to clear, and she was grateful that she had finally managed to escape the crowded ballroom.
Over the last hours, Elsa had done nothing more than to talk polity to all of the guests. She had smiled at the right places and declined countless of offers do dance as polity as she could. When she finally had felt how a headache had started to form, she had managed to excuse herself to get some air.
Now standing out on the balcony, which led to royal gardens, Elsa felt that she was in no way ready to return to the warm ballroom. Making sure no one could see her escape, she rushed down the staircase and disappeared into the garden as swiftly as she could.
As she walked further away from the party, she felt relief as the sound from it started to die away and being replaced by the music of crickets instead. The full moon was shining in all its glory high up in the sky, casting its ice blue light over the world and Elsa felt the usual hum inside that she always felt during the full moon.
Walking slowly down one of lanes, Elsa felt how tired she was of all the noblemen who were trying to gain her attention and get in her good graces, for they simply refused to understand that she was not looking for a man to marry.
Or any man at all for that matter.
Sighing, Elsa looked around and noticed that her feet had taken her to her favorite glade in the gardens. It was one of the smaller ones, with a huge willow tree right next to a small pond. Underneath the willow, a bench had been placed and over the years, the three had come to hide it away from watchful eyes.
This was a place Elsa had often escaped to when she was little and needed to be alone. It was a place that held a lot of painful memories, but also memories of relief since it had given her solitude when she had needed to be alone and even though she no longer came to the glade as often, Elsa could still escape to this place whenever she needed to be alone and wanted no one to find her.
Now she walked up to the lake and, without stopping, she walked out on it, the water turning to ice underneath her feet with every step. She didn't stop until she had reached the middle of the lake where an old statue had been placed many decades ago. It pictured a woman who was holding the royal relics in her hands.
She was very beautiful and one of Elsa's old relatives. What mostly connected Elsa to the woman in front of her however, was the fact that she, just like Elsa, had once ruled as Queen without a man by her side. In fact, she had been Arendelle's first and only female ruler until Elsa.
"Did you have the same problems I do?" Elsa whispered as she looked up at the statue, her ancestor silent as she simply stared ahead. "I suppose you did, not that you're going to answer me." Elsa muttered to herself and walked back across the lake to sit down on the small bench by the willow, waving her hand so the ice disappeared once more.
If she was ever to fall in love, she thought as she conjured up a snowflake to play with, it would be with a man who was honest and could love her for who she was, not for her title. It would be a man who could challenge her, allow her to be different and want her to be so. It would be a man who did not wish to steal her crown and could accept her power. But most importantly, he would have to understand the responsibility she felt for her people and that, despite what everyone thought, she wasn't whole.
The only problem was, did a man like that even exist?
"I must say, your power only appears to be more and more impressing."
At the voice Elsa flew up from the bench, her heart racing and her hands raised to defend herself. When she saw the intruder though, she lowered them slowly. But her senses were still on high alert.
In front of her stood Chief Haddock, a serious expression on his face and his green eyes cautious as they were fixed on her hands. Feeling her heartbeat calm a bit more as he looked at her with an apologetic expression, Elsa couldn't help to be surprised that the Chief had managed to sneak up on her, especially considering his metal leg, but then again he moved with a stealth that was unusual, especially among her people.
"I didn't mean to scare you." He said carefully, staying rooted in place, his eyes darting between her eyes and her hands.
"It's okay, I was just a bit far away." Elsa said, finally relaxing a little.
"I meant what I said though, your power seems truly amazing." Chief Haddock said, first taking a hesitant step forward to see if she would stop him, before slowly walking up next to her when she simply sat down on the bench one more.
"Thank you… I suppose." She replied, a little uncertain what she would say. After all, it was normally only her family who usually complimented her power, others usually didn't dare to mention it since they were afraid of it.
"So…" He said as he sat down next to her, looking out over the lake.
"So what?" Elsa asked carefully, wondering if the Chief was about to ask if she had been cursed or how powerful she was, those were the usual questions after all.
"How does it work?" He asked instead, looking at her with interest as Elsa looked at him with a surprise. Out of all the questions, this was the last one she had expected. In fact, no one had ever asked her how her power worked, everyone had just simply accepted that she had it or drawn their own conclusions.
For a moment, Elsa considered not to answer the question at all, but when she looked at Chief Haddock's open, kind and genuine expression, she felt herself reconsider. His eyes didn't look at her with fear, suspicion or judgment, all she could see in his eyes was genuine interest. As she looked at him, their conversation from earlier that day suddenly returned.
Chief Haddock had told her that for trust to build, one part needed to take a risk and, if she was honest with herself, since they arrived it was the Chief who had taken most of those. He and his friends had come into a strange land, knowing nothing of what had awaited them and he had also allowed her to meet and gain information about their dragons without asking for anything in return.
Chief Haddock had clearly showed that he wanted the alliance between their countries to not only be built on trust between Fishlegs and her council, but also a mutual trust between them as leaders. For it to work though, it was now Elsa's time to take a risk and share a small, but vital, part of herself.
"To be honest, I'm not completely sure. I was born with my power and it's very much in tune my emotions. It takes the shapes I wish it to, but I can also use it on a larger level, controlling the environment around me." She said, feeling how she felt nervous about how the Chief would react.
In response, Chief Haddock only nodded his head as if in deep thought.
"So, if you get emotionally upset, that will effect the world around you?" He asked and Elsa couldn't help to smile at his wondering expression.
"Sometimes yes, though it's only when I am feeling something extremely strongly." Elsa said with a shrug, looking away from his green eyes for a moment.
"But you also use it without really thinking about it?" He asked, still looking at her with a thoughtful expression.
"Like I said; it's a part of me." She said, feeling a little uncomfortable under the Chief's gaze.
"When we flew in over the north mountains, we flew past a giant ice palace up in the mountains." At his words, Elsa felt herself tense up a little, for she clearly heard the unspoken question and she had to force herself to answer.
Take a risk, she said to herself.
"Yes, I would expect that you did if you came over the north mountain." She replied, happy that her voice sounded causal as she felt her power tingle in her fingertips and when she touched a leaf on the willow, the frost spread over it giving her an outlet to her mixed emotions.
"And you praised me for exquisite work earlier this day." The Chief said with awe and as Elsa turned to look at him, she felt how a huge weight lifted from her shoulders. Chief Haddock was looking at her with slight disbelief, but in his eyes existed nothing except acceptance.
Well, there was a fair amount of interest as well, but it was the way that he honestly wasn't looking at her as a freak of nature that made her feel such relief that she couldn't help to smile at him.
"I was being honest Chief Haddock." Elsa said, for she had really meant her praise earlier that day.
"You might have been, but a saddle compared to an entire ice palace? I mean come on, that's just… unbelievable." He exclaimed.
"Says the man who tamed a dragon." Elsa said with a pointed look as Chief Haddock grinned at her.
"I suppose that does make me a kind of amazing." He said.
"Oh I never said that!" Elsa laughed, happy at how easily Chief Haddock had just accepted everything she had just told him. But then again, the man did live with dragons. "Besides shouldn't I be worried? A Viking following me from a party and catching me alone, you might be planning something?" She said as rose from the bench and took a few steps forward, happy that Chief Haddock understood the hint and began walking next to her.
"I actually think you followed me, Queen Elsa." Chief Haddock said, a serious expression on his face, though his eyes were full of mirth.
"A Queen never follows anyone; besides, it wasn't I who found you." Elsa replied.
"Really? For if I was not mistaken I was already in the glade when you came there, I was just standing on the other side of the pond." Chief Haddock said with a grin.
"I would have seen you!" Elsa exclaimed.
"And yet you didn't, but you were in deep thought so I suppose I can forgive you for the fact that you so fully ignored me." Chief Haddock chuckled as Elsa sent him a small glare, which was totally lost since she was smiling at him at the same time.
"So if you were not following me, what brought you out here in the gardens then?" She asked, actually a little interested.
"Dancing." The Chief replied, as if it was the most simple answer in the world.
"Dancing?" Elsa repeated, thinking it was a little fun since it had been one of the reasons she had left the ballroom herself. "I am sorry Chief Haddock, but I hardly think you will find a partner out here." She added as Chief Haddock looked at her with a horrified expression.
"I'm not? It appears then that I have been fooled by the Queen's court my lady!" He said in a stage whisper that caused Elsa to laugh despite trying not to. "However, the real reason, Queen Elsa, is that I was simply tired of having to decline one dance after the other. I do not know the dances here at your court and also, peg leg." He said, gesturing to his metal leg as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"You must excuse me if I am being rude Chief Haddock, but for how long have had your… peg leg?" Elsa asked, hoping she was not overstepping a line when asking. But the Chief simply shrugged his shoulders as if it was the most natural question in the world.
"It is a vailed question. I lost it when I was fifteen. Toothless and I was battling a giant dragon who had been torturing Berk for many years. We defeated it, but it managed to get the lower half of my leg with it. Luckily Gobber, my old mentor and our master blacksmith, managed to design a new one. Although I have altered it many times over the years." He said.
"How large was this dragon if you call her a giant?" Elsa asked, feeling some dreed to hear the answer since none of the dragons she had met could be considered small.
The Chief stopped walking, looking around before he gestured to the castle. "Not as large as your home, but about half its size."
"How could you defeat that?" Elsa asked as she stared at the Chief with disbelief, trying to understand how any creature could be so horrendously large.
"I couldn't have done it without Toothless and we didn't win on strength. We simply managed to outwit it." Chief Haddock answered humbly, acting as of the whole ordeal was nothing to talk about and and Elsa felt how her respect for the man next to her grew.
Any noble she had met would have bragged about his accomplishment for hours at any chance he could get. Just earlier that evening, Lady Beltham's son had told her for half an hour about a deer he had killed earlier in the week. Chief Haddock had killed a monstrous dragon at the age of fifteen and still he didn't seem to find any need to blow up his achievement.
"So a man who outwitted an enormous dragon still fears to try a dance here in Arendelle?" Elsa asked, happy when the Chief laughed.
"I will not be ashamed to admit that I actually do fear the wrath of the woman I would step on the toes more than the wrath of a dragon any day." He said as he drew a hand through his hair, looking a little distressed at the mere thought.
"You can't be that bad Chief Haddock." Elsa said skeptically.
"Oh, I think I can Queen Elsa. Besides from what I heard, you have not engaged in dancing all evening either." He said, turning the tables around on her.
"I do not dance, Chief Haddock." Elsa said as she sent an irritated thought to Rapunzel who she knew had to be the villain behind this knowledge.
"And that, I believe, puts us in the same boat Queen Elsa."
"That may be so, but at least I know the steps." She said as the the Chief sent her a look that made her slightly nervous.
"How would I know that you do?" He said with a smug smile.
"Do what?" Elsa asked, doing her best to look away from his green eyes, for they only made the nervous feeling inside to grow slightly.
"Know the steps. You just admitted that you do not dance and since you indeed have not danced tonight, how do I know you are telling me the truth?" He said.
"I was raised learning how to dance Chief Haddock, trust me, I know all I need to know about dancing." Elsa replied.
"Right." The Chief said and Elsa felt how she became a little frustrated at how he had managed to turn the situation around, but also at how he seemed to think he had just made his point solid. Then an idea entered her mind at how she could throw him off guard once more.
"Well, I suppose you leave me with no choice then. Chief Haddock, I need you to put your hand on my waist." At her words, Chief Haddock tripped over his own feet as he stared at her with wide eyes and stuttered something she couldn't understand.
"What?" He finally managed to croak out, his face red as Elsa smiled at his distressed expression.
"You just told me you do not know how to dance which I do not believe, while I told you that I am an excellent dancer which you claim not to trust, so to solve this once and for all, I will teach you." Elsa said innocently.
"Are you serious about this or is this some kind of weird way to get me arrested for doubting the Queen's word?" Chief Haddock asked, still looking at Elsa as if he really had no idea what to think of her at all. It was a little amusing actually.
"I can most certainly promise that you won't get arrested, if you do not cross any lines of course." Elsa said, the challenge in her voice clear and judging by the Chief's expression, she knew he had picked up on it.
"If I brake your toes, you stand the risk." He finally muttered before he walked over to her. "So what do we do?" He asked, still looking very hesitant about the whole thing. He looked even more so when Elsa placed his warm hand correctly on her waist, one of her own hands on his shoulder and took his left hand in her right.
Looking up at him now, Elsa noticed for the first time that the Chief was half a head longer than herself. Normally, all men were her own seize or shorter and she had to admit that it was a pleasant change.
"Now first of all, you need to have a straight back. Relax the shoulders." She said since the Chief had tensed up at her closeness. "And just so you know, I do not bite Chief Haddock; I promise you that." Elsa said to him when he still looked very uncomfortable.
"No frostbites either?" He asked and Elsa blinked at him before she laughed.
"No promises there." She said and, at her words, the Chief laughed as well and finally relaxed.
"Now, in the waltz it's the man who leads the dance, but we'll come to that. First of all, you need to learn the steps, which are really easy. The first thing we will do…" Elsa told him as she guided him as well as she could and, to her delight, Chief Haddock turned out to be an excellent student. He listened to her carefully and soon he had picked up both the steps and the pace of the waltz.
I didn't take long before Elsa allowed him to start taking the lead as she kept on counting out loud. Sure, in the beginning, Chief Haddock managed to step on her toes a few times, but as they got used at having the other as a partner, it didn't take long before he was leading her over the soft grass with ease.
Staring to trust him a little bit more, Elsa stopped counting out loud and allowed herself to be fully guided by Chief Haddock in the dance. It surprised her how at ease she felt being so close to him, for she usually had difficulty with human contact.
But she supposed it helped a lot that she was dancing with a man who looked at her with mirth instead of hunger, and that he laughed each time he did something wrong instead of trying to get closer to her. His green eyes were open as he looked down at her with smile and Elsa felt how she couldn't help to smile back.
His green eyes were full of life, but they were also deep. They were filled with evidence of the fact that this was a man who, just like herself, knew far too much for his age and held the heaviest of responsibilities on his shoulders. As she looked at him now, Elsa couldn't understand how she hadn't been able to see this before.
The more as she looked at him, the more Chief Haddock's eyes seemed to draw her in. There was a story hidden within them, one she realized she wanted to know. At the realization, Elsa suddenly also became aware of how they had moved closer together during their dance. Chief Haddock's warmth was surrounding her and his hand on her waist was burning through the fabric of her dress.
It was a strange sensation and, to her confusion, Elsa didn't find the feeling repelling at all. But before she had more time to reflect upon it, both she and the Chief missed a step as Chief Haddock managed to step on her toes.
"Sorry!" He exclaimed as he let her go, Elsa taking a step back as she let go of the strange feeling and chuckled at his sheepish expression. Her toes were aching a little, but to be honest, she had been through much worse.
"I think I will survive. So, do you still doubt my dancing skills?" She asked as they continued walking in the direction of the castle.
"I wish I could, but anyone who can teach me to even take two steps in the right direction has to know what they are doing. So I have to admit my defeat." Chief Haddock answered.
"Good! Now you'll also have no excuse the next time a lady asks you for a dance, for I will know that you actually do know how to dance."
"You had that one figured out all along, hadn't you?" Chief Haddock said with a groan.
"Of course I did!" Elsa chuckled as she started walking up the staircase which led into the ballroom, stopping when she noticed that Chief Haddock wasn't following her. "Are you not coming inside?" She asked, the sound of music, laughter and chatter flowing out from the ballroom, reminding her about the reality she had somehow forgotten about out in the gardens.
"I think I will end the night here, Queen Elsa. After all, I don't want to steal your sister's thunder with my newfound dancing skills. This is her night to shine and not mine." Chief Haddock said with a grin.
"I suppose that's the safest option, I wouldn't want to have Anna's wrath aimed at me." Elsa said.
"I would blame it all on my teacher." Hiccup replied.
"And I would deny all involvement. But I will say goodnight then Chief Haddock, I will send a message for you and your friends tomorrow on when to meet up so we can discuss our future partnership." Elsa said, a little more serious once more as she reminded herself of the reason the Chief was here.
"That sounds very good and goodnight to you as well Queen Elsa, thank you for the lesson." The Chief said, nodding his head to her before he walked away.
The moon allowed Elsa to look after him a moment and when he was gone, she turned around and braced herself to meet the guests once more. Clasping her hands together, Elsa could feel how her right hand was slightly warmer than her left, and a smile spread over her face as she walked inside, thinking about how Chief Haddock had managed to find himself a dance partner out in the gardens after all.
What she missed though, was that a certain princess saw her enter the room with that warm smile upon her face. Watching her cousin, Rapunzel felt how an even bigger smile spread over her own face when she looked at Elsa and for the first time, Rapunzel knew for certain that there was some frost left to thaw within Elsa's heart after all.
Oh my, dancing with Hiccup in the moonlight, the feels! And is Elsa's heart still frozen? If it is I think it is slowly starting to thaw or what do you think? But I will tell no spoilers! What I wish to know though is what you thought of the chapter! Tell me, tell me, I love to know!
Also, thinking the wedding was a bit short? No need to worry, as KtyouVsWriting pointed out, Anna and Kristoff is not a traditional couple!
Until next time all of my lovely readers!
/Lysistrate