It's three in the night/morning in Sweden right now so it's technically Monday, which means new update! The support for the last chapter has been a bit overwhelming, almost 20 reviews! You guys are awesome, so a big thanks to all reviewers! It will be very interesting to hear what you have to say after this one! ;)
Also there is some Swedish and Norwegian in this chapter and to those who wonder, yes a Swede and a person from Norway actually can understand each other. Our languages are very simliar, but when it comes to Danish? Don't get me started haha!
Guest (1): I'm so happy to hear that you like where it's going, thank you so much for your review!
Guest (2, Laidyx?): Haha so glad to hear you liked the chapter. Toothless is one of the most amazing characters I kinda see him as the best friend who is constantly trying to get his other friend into as much trouble as possible and push him into the situations where Hiccup dosen't dare to go. Sometimes it works, sometimes it dosen't. And Pabi, he know how to keep things between two people and to be vague, not even I know fully what he means at times haha!
Creeves59: Thank you so much! Oh yes, they are a whole army on their own aren't they? And some sister on that, my I don't even want to think about that problem myself haha!
11.
"Han för sig som om han vore född här i södern." (He acts as if he had been born here in the South.) Prince Karl of Sweden said to Elsa, the two of them watching Chief Ha…. Hiccup where he was talking to Elsa's council, the often harsh men giving Hiccup with their full attention.
"Han er en intelligent mann." (He is an intelligent man.) Elsa answered simply, though she had to admit Hiccup had impressed her with how easily he had managed to pick up the small signals at court and navigate through them skillfully. At her response Prince Karl sent her smile.
"Är han gift?" (Is he married?) At his question, Elsa felt herself stiffen slightly, but not because she was offended. She and the prince had grown up together and at one point she had even had a small crush on him. There had even been talks of the two marrying when they grew up, for the match would have been an extremely good considering the tension that had started arise between Norway and Sweden, the people of Norway wanting to brake free from their neighbor in the east. For Arendelle it would in a political sense be better if the two countries stayed together and, since they had a huge influence over Norway, the alliance would have strengthened the bonds.
But after the accident with Anna the plans had been dropped while Elsa and Karl had started to drift apart. Somehow though, they had managed to stay friends despite the difficulties and their friendship had once again grown stronger since Elsa had revealed her power.
What had made her stiffen was the fact she found that she didn't like the idea that there might be a wife waiting for Hiccup back at Berk, it just didn't fit the picture she had gotten of him.
"Nei ikke vad jag vet. Ønsker du å felle han?" (No, not what I know. Do you wish to catch him?) Elsa asked with a grin as Prince Karl laughed.
"Jag håller redan på och försöker snärja Sir Anckarloos dotter, jag tror jag nöjer mig med det. Nej, jag tänkte på Ulrika." (I'm already trying to capture Sir Anckarloo's daughter, I think I'm quite satisfied with that. No, I was thinking about Ulrika.) He responded.
Ulrika was the youngest of the Prince's four sisters and as Elsa looked over at Hiccup, she thought that the match would have been a good one if not the girl had not been far too immature, she was only fourteen years old and still more a child than a young woman.
Besides, Elsa thought that Hiccup needed a wife who could hold her own. The Chief was kind, but as she had learned he was also a strong personality and he needed someone who challenged him.
"Du kan alltid foreslå det, men vil du finne henne en mann er det trolig bedre kandidater å vurdere." (You can always suggest it, but if you want to find her a husband there a probably better candidates out there.) Elsa answered.
"Kanske det, vi kan alltid fråga honom." (Perhaps, we can always ask him.) Prince Karl said, getting eye contact with Hiccup across the room and waving him over. They could see how Hiccup excused himself to the other men before he walked over to them.
"Chief Haddock! I see you keep on wrapping Elsa's council around your fingers, should I be worried I will have to defend her kingdom from invading Vikings?" Prince Karl greeted with a smile that Hiccup returned, the two men had hit off extremely well and it was amusing to see them interact.
"I should be more worried that my plan is to exchange them with my own council, then you would have something to work with Prince Karl." Hiccup said as the other man laughed.
"If you were to exchange them I don't think Elsa would have allowed you to leave." Prince Karl said to which Elsa grinned at him.
"If you have your way, Chief Haddock will not leave anyway." She said to Karl who shrugged.
"That's true, and also the reason I called you over. Chief Haddock, are you married by any chance?" Prince Karl asked as Hiccup raised an eyebrow, throwing a look at Elsa who shook her head slightly at the other man's forwardness.
"No I'm not, though I have to tell you that if that if you are asking for your own interest, I am very content with the situation as it is." Hiccup replied.
"What is with you two people insinuating things?! I am already trying to woo one woman, believe me that is far more than any man would have to go through." Prince Karl exclaimed, as Hiccup and Elsa both laughed. "What I was thinking about was an alliance between our countries, my youngest sister is soon of age and while I know Berk can hold it's own, Sweden have some of the finest ironstone the world can offer." Prince Karl added.
Looking at Hiccup, Elsa could see that the subject made him a little uncomfortable and she choose to try and change the rules a little. After all, a possible marriage between the Chief and Ulrika would mean a totally new field to play on, a field where a huge amount of power would have shifted to her neighbors in the east who would then have the access of dragons.
"It is a good proposition, should there be a man of a higher position on Berk how is looking for a woman to marry you can always suggest that Princess Ulrika is looking for a husband. Should they find each other agreeable, it would be a great opportunity for you both to evolve your connection to our lands Chief Haddock." Elsa therefore said, putting Hiccup out of the equation while also keeping Ulrika from the line of power a position as the Chief's wife would give her.
At her words, Prince Karl sent her an impressed look and she knew he was going to accept that she had won the bigger victory while still allowing him to have the chance of a good deal as well.
"I think that this is a question that I will have to take up with my own council before I can answer it Prince Karl, but I will speak to them about it." Hiccup replied, Prince Karl nodding with a pleased expression, knowing it was the best response he could get.
"Wonderful! Well, I have to go and talk to Lady Anckarloo and, hopefully, my future wife Katarina, excuse me." He then said, patting Hiccup on the shoulder as he went to find his fiancée.
"We were meant to be married you know." Elsa said to Hiccup as they both stared after the Prince, Hiccup turning to look at her with surprise. To be honest, Elsa was a little surprised as well. She didn't know what had caused her to say it, after all it had been almost twenty years ago and really it wasn't anything Hiccup needed to know.
She supposed the wine must have gotten to her more than usually this evening.
"I actually have a hard time seeing you two together, Prince Karl is a bit… eccentric." Hiccup said as Elsa smiled.
"That is an understatement. He is an extremely kind man, but he is also smart and knows that by throwing someone off guard he can sometimes get them to agree on things they normally wouldn't. Also he has a tendency of always speaking his mind even when he shouldn't." She replied.
"Trust me, I have noticed." He said, thinking back at all the strange things the Prince at times at exclaimed over the last two days they had all been in council.
It was three days since they had met the trolls up in the mountains where they had stayed all afternoon. They had danced, learnt how to play the troll's strange lyre and simply had a good time.
Even Elsa had all the time been relaxed and at ease, conjuring up a lake of ice after a while once again so they could all try some ice-skating. Elsa had turned out to be extremely skilled while Hiccup and Anna had both mostly had trouble standing up, Hiccup's metal leg not really helping. The same metal leg had at one point also been stolen by a few child trolls who had asked Hiccup if they could look at it only for them to accidently detach it.
When they had noticed what they had done, they had taken their treasure and ran, shouting for Hiccup to catch them, apparently missing the fact that Hiccup really could barely walk, and even less run around, without it. Thankfully Toothless had interfered, easily capturing the three little trolls before he had returned the leg to Hiccup who had laughed along with the others at the strange event.
For the last two days, they had all been in council, discussing the future of their partnership and how it could grow. During these meetings, Hiccup had found that his respect had grown even more towards Elsa for the way she ruled her council with a firm hand, but always listened to everyone and never closed the door for an idea before she had heard it. She was open for input and a driving force in all the conversations.
The clear respect that the other men had for their Queen was not hard to understand at all, it was as if she had been born to lead. What he had also found out was that he and Elsa worked really well together, his mind often thinking one step further outside the box than she while she came up with solutions to problems he never would have thought about.
The party tonight was a small one to celebrate the work they had done over the last few days and it was held in one the castle's smaller rooms for it was a much smaller guest list. Only the councilmembers, their families, and the royal family was attending. Along with the Vikings of course.
"So do you have anyone else in your sights then Queen Elsa?" Hiccup asked her, a friendly smile on his face, but his eyes were a little mischievous.
"I hardly think that is an appropriate question Chief Haddock." She answered, doing her best to look offended.
"I am a Viking my lady, I see no limits to what I can say. Besides young Mr. Beltham has been paying you a lot of attention this evening." He replied.
"The man is a pain!" Elsa muttered in response, shivering with disgust as she thought of the young noble.
"And still he can't seem to leave you alone, are you sure you have not given him any encouragement? For the way you looked at him with distaste earlier could really just be technique for hiding your true emotions for all I know." At her harsh glare, Hiccup did his best not to burst out laughing, while Elsa thought that had it not been for the fact that they were in a room filled with the Arendelle Elite, she would have smacked him in the head.
Or blasted him with frost, that would have worked as well and probably been even more satisfying.
"Since you appear to be such an expert on what type of man I am looking for, perhaps you should tell me who this man is, Chief Haddock?" She therefore only said with a sweet smile as Hiccup sent her a look that clearly said he knew that she was trying to turn the tables on him.
"Normally I wouldn't even approach a subject like this." He began as Elsa tried to hold back her smile at his serious tone. "But since you are insisting I will give you my opinion. You, my lady, needs a man who you cannot walk over." He told her with a grin as Elsa's smile disappeared and she sent him a new glare.
"I don't walk over people." She responded.
"Not directly no, but you cannot deny that you are a master of getting your way. You talk around every single man on your council, make them see your side and then, somehow, you always manage to convince them you are right. You need a man who doesn't get lost and can see through that, one who can challenge you… and who can make you laugh." He added the last part as an afterthought.
"Is that so?" Elsa said skeptically as Hiccup grinned at her.
"I do believe that's so, though I can be wrong of course, after all I am just a Viking in a strange land."
"A Viking who has turned my whole staff and council into his willful servants." Elsa told him, their smiles falling when they suddenly noticed that Fishlegs was making his way through the crowd towards them with a worried expression on his face.
"Fishlegs what is going on?" Hiccup asked as soon as their friend reached them.
"Astrid." He simply said, Hiccup and Elsa sharing a worried look before they looked out over the room, locating the female Viking in the far end on the opposite side. She was standing next to Rapunzel, who had taken a hold of her arm, and Anna who had an expression of distaste on her face.
Opposite of them stood Lady Beltham and two other women the Vikings didn't know.
"Damn that woman!" Elsa cursed when she saw them and she hastily set course towards the group, Fishlegs and Hiccup staring after her.
"You know Hiccup, if the Queen had not been a Queen and had she lived on Berk, I would have courted her no matter how many men I would have been forced to fight for it." Fishlegs said before following her, Hiccup doing the same, though with a strange feeling of annoyance at Fishlegs's words.
His friend would have never been able to handle Elsa at all, she needed… she just needed something different.
When they neared Astrid and the others, Hiccup saw that behind the furious expression on Astrid's face, there was a hint of hurt in her blue eyes that was rarely ever there. In fact, he had only seen it a few times during all the years they had known each other, and his promise to stand up for her during their stay here made the guilt settle over him with full force, for even if he didn't know what had been said, it was clearly something that had been directed towards Astrid.
Had it not been for Elsa, he would have rushed over to the group, but as if sensing what he was about to do, she lightly touched his arm as they walked, holding him back. When he looked down at her, he saw that the woman he had been joking with a few seconds ago was once again replaced by the person she always became as soon they were in any form of official event.
It was the Snow Queen who walked beside him and she was asking him to trust in her to solve the situation. So despite wanting to give in to his worry, he nodded his head stayed by her side.
As they neared, Hiccup saw the exact moment when Rapunzel and Anna noticed that they were approaching, for they both got expression of relief on their faces when their eyes landed on Elsa. Seeing that their focus had shifted, the three noble women turned in their direction as well, the two in the back paling slightly while the one in the front grinned a wolfish grin while Rapunzel whispered something to Astrid.
If Queen Elsa was a vision, the woman in front of them was nearly as far from it as one could come. It was not that lady Beltham she was ugly, but there was a harsh look in her eyes that sharpened her face, twisting it into a malicious expression that no one wanted to look at.
"Queen Elsa! What a joy to see that you are joining us, and you bring the handsome Chief with you I see, what a treat! You know I was just saying that it would not be fair if you had him for yourself all night." She said, her eyes traveling over Hiccup in a way that made him want to hide under a rock, or call on Toothless to protect him.
"Of course not Lady Beltham, I would bore him to death, all the political talk you know." Queen Elsa said, her eyes ice cold since she did not miss what the woman in front of her was insinuating. "Besides I just had to know what you were talking about over here." She added as a sweet tone made its way into her voice, making it sound as if she was actually highly interested in what the woman in front of her had to say.
"Oh, you know just the usual when it comes to us lonely women, although of course it's just dear little Miss Hoffersson here who is missing a husband." Lady Beltham said, sending a look towards Astrid who clenched her fists. "And I have told her tonight, your majesty, that she doesn't have to worry, even a damaged girl can find a man who is willing to take her as his own."
At her words, Hiccup felt his own anger rise as he saw the slight hurt in Astrid's eyes once more, for he knew there was nothing she was more proud of than her own integrity and this woman was just standing here throwing it all in the dirt. But once again, Elsa sent him a look that told him not to say anything, and he ignored the hurt look he got from Astrid when he kept quiet.
That didn't mean he didn't feel like he deserved to be dragged behind a Gronckle though.
"Damaged?" Queen Elsa only asked, a curios expression on her face.
"Why yes! Your majesty, you cannot mean that any man would even consider taking on a woman who has traveled alone with two men and lived them, alone, for so many weeks? I mean, she is a beauty, and while I do not doubt her competence, you must agree that it can arouse some very valid questions." Lady Beltham said, giving them all a fake smile, looking pleased that she seemed to have won the Queen over on her side as Elsa smiled back at her.
"It sure can, though you make it sound as if it will be highly impossible for her to find someone at all." She said.
"Of course not! I will find you a man my dear, one who is old and wise enough to handle you, with a large fortune and a need for an heir!" Lady Beltham replied with a grin towards Astrid who had turned red with anger.
"And I do not doubt you will succeed Lady Beltham, after all if you ignore the fact that you and Lord Beltham live in two different estates, your marriage has turned out to be very successful. You sure must have an eye for these situations." Elsa said, the venom in her voice now impossible to miss, the sweet smile on her face clashing with her cold her eyes.
Her words dropped almost like a small bomb and Lady Beltham turned white with a horrified expression while the other women discreetly left their leader hanging. However, Rapunzel and Anna were both smiling victoriously while Astrid was looking at Elsa with something Hiccup had never seen directed towards the Queen before, respect and gratitude.
"I am sorry?!" Lady Beltham finally said in a small voice.
"Oh you must not misinterpret me Lady Beltham, I meant it as a compliment. I really am impressed how you two have managed to make it work. Especially since Lord Beltham has spoken to me about your oldest son, he was really not trying to make it a secret that it he is a little worried about his estate falling into his hands since he is not his own." Elsa said. "Perhaps you should talk to your husband, it would such a scandal if more were to find out about this if you do not wish it, of course you can trust in me to keep it a secret further on."
At her words, Lady Beltham looked completely stunned for a moment before she turned around and rushed towards her husband with a furious expression on her face, no one envying the poor man at all.
"Thank you." The soft voice came from Astrid and the cold expression on Elsa's face fell away as she looked at her.
"No problem, that woman is hateful and she loves to cause trouble. She needs to be put in her place a few times each year." Elsa replied.
"Perhaps, but still, you stood up for me and you made sure I didn't beat her teeth out when I didn't know how to defend myself in a better way, which probably only would have made everyone talk even more. So, thank you." Astrid said, reaching out her hand towards Elsa, the other woman smiling at the Viking warmly as she accepted the handshake.
"You are welcome." She said, Hiccup seeing how Rapunzel and Anna were both grinning hugely, the latter drying a tear.
"You know Queen Elsa, you may not use an axe, but you are made of steel." Astrid chuckled as they let go off each other.
"I think ice fits me better, the steel, I think, is reserved for you." Elsa replied which caused Astrid to laugh and punch Elsa on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" The Queen asked, holding her hand over the spot where she had just been hit.
"That's how I let you know you are now a part of the team." Astrid grinned, the whole group feeling how the earlier tension drifted away as they kept on chatting happily, Lady Beltham forgotten.
The rest of the feast the Vikings mostly spent with the royal family, Hiccup taking the chance to apologize to Astrid for not interfering when he got the chance. To his relief she smiled at him and said that he had done the right thing to trust the Queen, both knowing Elsa had handled the situation better than they ever could have done.
During the night, Elsa had come and gone from their small group, her position as Queen calling for her attention more than it did for the rest of them even though they occasionally were approached by other guests. Each time she had left the group, Hiccup had kept a eye on her all night, for even if he had joked about Mr. Beltham's obvious attraction for her earlier, there had been something that had changed in the other man's eyes over the course of the night as more and more alcohol had entered his system.
It had been on pure chance Hiccup had noticed it all, but at one point when Elsa had spoken to Rapunzel, the man had bumped into her, apologizing that it had been an accident. In response Elsa had accepted his apology with her normal regal grace, but when she had turned her back to him, Hiccup had seen an almost feral look in Mr. Beltham's eyes, the grin he had sent Hiccup when he had noticed his stare not really calming his unease at all.
So Hiccup had kept an eye out for Elsa and Mr. Beltham all night, throwing a new glance around the room when he suddenly noticed that Elsa was nowhere to be seen, feeling his unease rise again, he turned to Prince Karl who was next to him, looking down in his glass with a slightly dazed look.
"You don't happen to know where Queen Elsa is?" Hiccup asked, as he scanned the room, feeling even more uneasy when he noticed that Mr. Beltham was nowhere to be seen either.
"Oh Elsa often takes some time to breathe during parties, she is probably just in her study or something." The Prince answered, sending him a curious look, but the way his eyes were glazed over showed he was a bit drunk. "Why do you ask?"
"Just remembered that I need to discuss something about the transportation issue we discussed earlier today." Hiccup answered evasively, wondering if Price Karl was drunk enough to by his explanation or not.
"Really?" The Prince said with highly skeptical look as Hiccup just stared back at him without giving anything away. "Well, you both seem to be thinking of nothing but work every hour of the day so... it's on the third floor if you feel that you cannot wait." Prince Karl said, Hiccup walking out of the room as discreetly as he could when the other man went to get another drink.
Out in the corridor Hiccup suddenly realized how warm the small room had been as the cold hit him and with each step his metal leg echoed through the corridor as he walked on the stone floors. After just a little while though, he realized how stupid it had been of him not to say anything to Anna or anyone else of the royal family.
He could in no way make his way around the giant castle and he didn't actually even know if there was anything to worry about. After all, Mr. Beltham could have just left with someone else or decided to take breath of fresh air. Then there was also the fact that if, against all odds, he were to find Elsa's study, it would look extremely strange that he had sought her out when she clearly wanted to be alone.
But that didn't stop the fact that his gut was telling him that something wasn't right and that telling everyone would not make the matter better, and if it was something the had learned over the years it was to trust his instincts. They had been what led him to spare Toothless, to know how to approach the dragons and handle them. They had always guided him right, except for that one time when he had misjudged Drago.
Hiccup just hoped this was not one of those times. Still, his instinct couldn't tell him where he was supposed to go.
"Hiccup, what are you doing here?" At Fredrik's voice Hiccup turned around hastily, the relief slightly calming his unease as he looked at the young boy.
"Fredrik! You have no idea how good it was that I ran into you. Do you know where Queen Elsa is?" At his question, the young kid looked at him with suspicion for the first time looked and Hiccup wanted to hit himself in the head for how badly he was currently handling the situation.
"Why do you ask?" Fredrik asked, his answer telling Hiccup that he probably knew where she was. Now all he had to do was convince Fredrik to tell him, but he really didn't know what to say, that he had a bad feeling? That sounded stupid even to him, but he really didn't have another alternative.
"Look, Fredrik, I know this may seem weird, but have you seen Mr. Beltham around here as well? For if you have I would really want to talk to Queen Elsa." He said and he saw how Fredrik looked at him with a nervous expression.
"I saw Mr. Beltham just a little while ago, I don't like him, I have seen the way he looks at the Queen." He said, Hiccup realizing that perhaps he hadn't burned all bridges after all.
"Yeah, I have seen it too and that's why I just want to see if she is alright." Hiccup answered honestly and Fredrik gave him a look that clearly told Hiccup he was battling with himself.
"If Mr. Karlsson finds out I helped you and you are trying to get close to the Queen he will throw me out." Fredrik said with worry.
"I would never let that happen and I am only worried about her, I promise. Don't you trust me Fredrik?" Hiccup asked, hoping his sincerity was as clear as he wanted it to be and when Fredrik nodded his head, gesturing for him to follow, Hiccup let out a breath of relief, following the young boy quickly.
"I saw her walk into her study, she always goes there when she wants to be alone or when she needs to think." Fredrik said as he opened a hidden door in the wall. "It is the servants' way, but it is the fastest as well." He explained, Hiccup following him, feeling a bit of awe when he entered a hidden world he had known existed, but not to this extent.
Behind the lavish side of the castle, corridors, stairs and passages was reveled like an endless labyrinth as he followed young Fredrik, the young boy seemingly knowing exactly where he was going. On the way they met, servants and maids of all different kinds who were all talking lively, laughing or shouting instructions to each other as they rushed ahead, many of them so busy that they barely spared Hiccup and Fredrik a second glance.
Those who did however stared at him with huge eyes, seemingly both shocked and a little uncomfortable at his presence. At one point, a group of maids started giggling like crazy when he walked by and Hiccup could hear them talking excitingly to each other when he and Fredrik had passed.
"That's the door." Fredrik finally said after what felt like an eternity, but at most could have been two or three minutes, pointing towards a door in the middle of the corridor they had just entered from the servant's corridor. Without hesitation Hiccup walked up to it and felt the handle.
"It's locked." He said, trying to hear if there were any voices within. "Maybe I was just being paranoid." He muttered, when he heard nothing, Fredrik once more looking at him with a slightly torn expression.
"Mr. Beltham once hurt one of the maids and Queen Elsa has always been very kind to me, she took me in when no one else would, even went over Mr. Karlsson's head. If something was to happen to hear, I would never forgive myself. Come." He said, Hiccup following the young boy once more as he led him into another passage.
"This leads into the study, it's so the ones inside can escape should something happen, but it's also so we can go in and out unseen. Just push down the handle when you reach the wall, it cannot be locked from the inside." Fredrick said, and, carefully Hiccup walked through the small corridor, wondering if he was not overreacting and if he was just bringing down problems upon himself.
Really he had nothing more than a feeling to go on, it was stupid.
Reaching the door, the felt for the handle and hesitated, knowing that if he was wrong he would probably have ruined any amount of trust he had managed build up between himself and Elsa if she was in the room, but at the sound of sobbing, he didn't hesitate a second before he burst into the room.
The scene that met him made him freeze mid step as he took it in with shock.
The whole room was freezing, completely covered in frost while snow was falling from the ceiling. In the middle of the room stood Mr. Beltham, a look of pure fear on his face as he was trying to free himself from a block of ice that covered most of his body, including his mouth. When he saw Hiccup enter, he tried to scream out something but only a mumbling sound was heard.
The person Hiccup was drawn to though, stood by the huge windows, her back turned to him. Her dress was wrinkled, but she looked otherwise unharmed, expect for the fact that the air seemed to glitter around her and that she looked extremely fragile.
Hearing him enter, Elsa swung around and a blast of ice escaped from her hands, hitting the bookshelf behind him with a bang as she cried out in fear.
"What are you doing here?! Get out!" She shouted, wrapping her arms around herself as if trying to protect herself, the distress clear on her face.
"I saw him follow you and I became worried, did he try to…?" Hiccup asked, the anger at mere thought at what might had happened overpowering him for a second, but a bitter, harsh and cold laugh from Elsa caused it to die just as quickly, being replaced with worry for the woman in front of him instead.
"Oh, he did. He did try to do what all men try to do when they want to punish a woman." She spat out the words, her eyes flashing with anger. But when she saw that Hiccup was approaching her, she began backing away, holding her arms around her closer.
"Are you okay?" He asked carefully, for he had recognized the resentment in her voice, he had felt it himself towards his own people, but as he approached her, he saw how the anger in her eyes was pushed back by pure fear.
"Go away!" She shouted, the frost around him flashing up in a strange color of red. Any normal human would probably have run, but Hiccup had grown up working with dragons, helping them in their most distressed need. He was stubborn and his mother would had said that it was his soul that made him brave, and stupid, enough to do what no one else did. He was not normal and no matter how powerful Elsa was, he was not afraid of the woman in front of him.
"I am not leaving you until I know you are alright and you are clearly not." He only said calmly, his concern for her only increasing when he noticed how she only seemed more distressed the closer he got, she didn't think he would hurt her did she?
Reaching out his hand to her slowly, as he had done so many times to dragons in an offer of friendship, her eyes flashed to him before she locked her arms around herself and moved away from him again.
"Don't touch me! I don't need your help; I just want you to leave me alone!" She shouted, her fear now mixing with the anger again, her eyes storming when she looked at him.
"Then why don't you release Mr. Beltham?" He asked calmly, seeing how her expression turned panicked, and if possible, she looked even smaller.
"I can't." She whispered, suddenly sounding utterly defeated as she looked down at her hands. "I can't control…" Looking at her, Hiccup finally understood. Her fear was not directed at him or at what had just happened, it was directed towards herself. "I don't know how… I cannot feel…" She stammered and closed her eyes, the frost around them suddenly growing more solid as it began to turn into ice.
"Hey, hey!" Hiccup said and she looked up at him. "What do you need to feel?" He asked and she looked at him with a confused expression for a second.
"Warmth… and love. But how can I…. I hate him." She said, her eyes turning dark as she turned to the man who was frozen in the ice. "Who does he think he is? Trying to use me as some… whore he can just throw away!" As her eyes flashed, spikes of ice suddenly grew out from the walls around them.
"I have the right to hate him! Coming in here like some pig who thinks he can get away with… It helps me contain him, it always saves me… my heart is cold… all I feel is hate and resentment towards him, towards all of them! I always do! Don't they think I know they look upon me as some freak?! But that must mean I have a cold heart, doesn't it? Otherwise I would be able to let it go, wouldn't I? Anna always forgives, but I can't do it. I don't know how to control it… I don't want to… I just… I just…" She stammered, closing her eyes again as her body began to tremble.
To Hiccup, she wasn't really making any sense, but at her broken voice, he did something he would probably regret later, still he really knew no other way of breaking through to her. He started walking over to her again, and when she noticed what he was doing, she backed away from him once more, but this time he only followed her until she hit the wall.
"Please, I don't want to hurt you, I will hurt you if you stay. Please just go, please..." She whispered when she realized that she couldn't go anywhere, frost dancing around her hands as she breathed heavily.
But instead of leaving, Hiccup reached out his hand and pushed back the hair that had fallen down in her face. At the action, her eyes snapped up to him as they turned huge with disbelief, her trembling body slowly calming as he allowed his hand to caress her ice cold cheek before resting it on her shoulder.
Her skin was even colder than usual and felt like small bites against his hand, not like the tingles he usually felt when their temperatures clashed.
"You have a warm heart Elsa; I have seen it. You are compassionate, caring and fiercely loyal. You just need to trust in it, you need to trust in yourself. You will not win over this by allowing yourself to get revenge, or by trying to control and containing it, you have to allow yourself to be vulnerable, you need to feel, the good and the bad." He told her, hoping he had managed to get something out of her earlier rambling.
But at his own words, he couldn't help to feel a bit of a hypocrite. Who was he to say anything when he pushed away his own fears and his own guilt? Still, he didn't have the time to reflect upon his own troubles now, all he cared about in that moment was the woman in front of him.
"But what if I only find darkness, what if there is only hate? What if I only want to punish him and the power takes over? I could hurt you, I could hurt everyone!" She whispered with panic, Hiccup feeling how his heart clenched in his chest, recognizing the fears that once had been and, to some point, still was his own, remembering how hard it was to face that side of himself.
"Hey, you will not hurt me or anyone else." He said, squeezing her shoulder lightly before he took a small step back to put some distance between them, holding out his hands to her once again. She stared at them with fear before, slowly, she raised her own hands, hesitating when they hovered above his own, the frost still glittering around them. Her ice blue eyes darted up to his and he could see how much she doubted herself, how certain she was that she would indeed hurt him.
"I trust you." He whispered to her, and he really did, the fact that she was so afraid of hurting him making him certain that she wouldn't. When her cold skin made contact with his, it stung painfully for a second before it disappeared, only the usual tingle remaining as the frost dancing around them disappeared. Carefully he closed his hands around hers, Elsa looking down at their joined hands as if she couldn't fully comprehend what was happening.
"Elsa." At her name she looked up at him again and knowing he had her attention, he continued. "I know it can be hard, but trust me, pushing away your feelings will not help you. You have the heart of a leader, of a Queen, which means you have a heart that can feel and embrace more than most can only dream of. I have seen it in your love for your people, your family and your country. I have seen it in the way you greeted us when we came here. You cannot push that away, if you do, that's when your heart turns cold. It turns cold when you do not allow it to be alive."
Once again he had spoke from what he knew himself, he had the heart of a Chief and she the heart of a Queen, but really there was no difference, for it required the same thing; to care more for others than yourself, to be able to embrace not just a family, but a whole tribe or kingdom. To, at times, sacrifice your own happiness for their wellbeing.
"I don't know if I can, I have always trusted in the love of others, the love for Anna… but now it isn't enough." She whispered and leaned her forehead against his chest, as if she was needing some help to support herself and hesitantly Hiccup wrapped his arms around her. Thankfully she didn't draw back instead he felt how she slowly, hesitantly, wrapped her arms around him as well.
"That's because this is not for Anna or anyone else. This is for you, you must find the motivation and you can only do that by embracing it. You have the love within you Elsa, the love that makes you the caring, compassionate person you are. The person who have a heart big enough to love a kingdom. If you didn't you wouldn't sacrifice so much for them. You have to trust in that. You need to give yourself the chance to find that place where you have your own warmth. You need to let it go." He whispered to her and just like that, it was as if something broke within the woman in his arms.
Elsa gave out a strangled sound before she started to cry, her knees giving out underneath her. Hiccup increased his hold around her so she wouldn't fall, holding her while she held onto him for dear life, soaking his shirt with her tears.
Holding her close, Hiccup felt how her cold body, that seemed so fragile, slowly began to warm up. Around them the cold began to disappear, the ice slowly turning into small ice crystals that disappeared in the air while Mr. Beltham was slowly being released from the ice. Before he was fully free though, he was hit in the head with a pole with such force that he passed out, young Fredrik looking down at him with a stunned surprised expression, it was almost as if the young kid didn't really understand what he had just done.
Then Fredrik looked up at Hiccup, sending him one sad look before he left the room once more, leaving Hiccup alone with Elsa as he kept holding onto her tightly, offering the only comfort he could; the one of human contact and the promise that he was not going anywhere.
So... yeah... I think you can guess now what I meant with emotional scene in the previous chapter. Now something that I really missed in Frozen (but I can understand since it's a kids movie and you don't have unlimited time) is how easily Elsa just came to control her power, so this is kind of my way of showing that no one would be able to get over what she has been through that fast. She is still broken and I kinda like the idea that she has never embraced her power except for when she tried to break free.
Now also, I know Anna love Elsa more than anything, but when you think about it, she has never said to Elsa just to embrace the power. Even when she went to find her, she just assumed it was a part of Elsa that could be controlled and I really see Elsa's power as a part of herself, not just a tool or something she can use at will.
Also I want to give a shoutout to KtyouVsWriting who came up with the idea of the trolls steeling Hiccup's leg, just genius and thank you for allowing me to put it in my story.
Now, what will happen next? What did you think about the chap? And about the fact that it was Elsa who took Hiccup's hands, making it her choice to trust him? (Does it sound familiar? ;) )
Wow this became a long note! Until next time all my lovely readers!
/Lysistrate