Hey! I'm not dead! WHOOPEE! Six months without a single update! What a dedicated author I am!
Jokes aside. Long story short: I had exams and then College was over and I had to go home and work for my dad. This chapter was hard for me to write and that made it hard to find the motivation to write it. Even now, I'm not satisfied with it, but it's done now and I am sorry for the long hiatus.
With that done with, I need to do some housekeeping. I have to talk about Canon: Most specifically Race to The Edge.
I DO NOT CONSIDER RACE TO THE EDGE CANON! There I said it. Characters and dragons that exist on the show can and will exist in this story, but the story in RTTE is not canon in regard to this story. Some characters who have "died" may still be alive in this story (Spoiler AKA: Dagur and Ryker). Some characters who are enemies in this story may become friends later in the story AKA MALA. (I wrote that bit about her before season 4, okay.) Viggo and Krogan exist as well and they are enemies. Just the events that happen in RTTE are not considered Canon in this story unless I make specific events canon. (One more thing: No Triple Strike for Dagur! He has Shattermaster and I have plans for Sleuther.)
Anyway, one more thing: Everyone, I implore you all to go see Trollhunters. It is an amazing show. It is a perfect marriage of Guillermo Del Toro with How To Train Your Dragon, with a dash of Spiderman. It has awesome action, and the design of some of the locations and characters is outstanding. And this word will take on a whole new meaning. Aaarrrggghhh!
Alright to business:
Thank you LucasBGC, disneyandfairytales, Purpleswans, StarkeRavingMadGirl, Britterbugtx, Aryna Demitri, animelover4lifefox, Didjey Disantales, briskpillow642, Libri Ignis, Artistic Thinking, Zekuran, joshben4c, devourer of books, AryaZEvans, Ariadne Elinarious, Karin Tatiana Wesker, Karskit, Hayden-Strife, WinterWolfDragon, Bookmeister27, adachm123, feral creature, Wizard Saint, BlossomMM00, meridaqueenofdunbroch, Sarahhhh77, Controller04, final-zangetsu, razena, G.R.O.S.S, PJfan499, Hope reigns on, Invincible Idiot, Psyentist, Haikha, TheRisingDragon, Muse Delta, Darman Skirata, Flying Through Clouds, rabk194, Hgcc, I am not here right now, gundamzbd36, joshben4c, The Phantom Keeper, zero10486, Marcus S. Lazarus, goddragonking, JustACloudAway, Alex the Stargazer for yours follows and favs
Thank you to Joshben4c, BlossomMM00, RaiderWolf, Jackalope89, shiningmoonslayer, Kilo8, guests Ey-0, Maerk Andrews, the good joker and the rest of the guests for your reviews and input.
Kilo8, thank you for checking in on me. Jackalope89, hopefully this won't be too painful, (but it's angsty, so it will be a pain in the arse to read.)
ANGST WARNING. And it's probably NOT done well!
With that done, as I always say: I own nothing, let me know what you think and here we go.
Elsa POV
Elsa lost all sense of time. She had no idea how long she had been speeding across the ice, but it must have been for a while now. Her arms were getting sore, and she was getting tired. The wind was blowing snow all around making it hard to see.
I'm going to need to find shelter soon. I suppose I could just build- Her thoughts were interrupted as she hit something and went flying into a snow bank.
FLOOF!
Elsa stood up, brushing the snow off.
"What did I hit?" She walked back to where she hit the bump and saw that she hit the edge of what appeared to be an iceberg. The ice was thicker and whiter than the ocean water ice. She looked up higher to see if there were any natural nooks or crannies that she could stuff herself into. What she ended up seeing was that her iceberg was, in fact, an island of ice. It was hard to make it out in the storm, but she could see a large mass taking up most of her view, and she could make out a cave not too far from where she was.
"Perfect." She muttered. There was small rise that she had climb and then a short walk to the cave. She decided to cheat and made herself a set of steps and an icy walkway to the cave. She made quick time in getting to the cave and soon saw that it was an entrance to a tunnel. Before she let her fascination take over, she sat down and leaned against a wall of the cave and let the past events float through her head. Astrid…
Elsa shook her head. No point in regrets. Elsa could only hope Astrid was okay and press on. As she caught her breath, a strange peace settled on her, a blanket of relief. It took her a moment to realize why but it came to her. She was free. Free from fear and restraint. She wasn't going to hurt anyone now that she was by herself. She had been so afraid of being alone that she didn't see the benefits for what they were. After she caught her breath, she stood up and looked down the dark cavern.
"Well, what kind of explorer would I be if I didn't go exploring?" She felt an itch on her hand, and as she went to scratch it with the other, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of her unbound hands. "I never did like those gloves." Elsa mused as she started forward, sparing only a glance to the storm outside.
Hiccup POV
Preparations were thorough but quick, and it wasn't long before a squadron was in pursuit. Astrid and Eret took point with their tracker dragons while Hiccup and Heather took their flanks to keep an eye out for anything. The rest of the crew was back on Berk taking of care of things there, under Snotlout's command. Hiccup couldn't help but smirk at the recent memory of everyone's shock, especially Snotlout. Before they left, Hiccup took care to check the map. If Elsa was heading due North, there was a chance that she would come to a particular island. Whether her presence on that exact island was a good thing or bad thing, it was their best bet. Besides he couldn't deny the irony. Of course, Elsa would go to an island made of ice.
"Hiccup!" He heard Astrid call out, shaking him from his wandering mind. He saw her gesturing to the ever looming and now very close storm clouds. Even now, the winds were powerful and vigorous.
"Head down." Hiccup instructed. "We'll use the ice as a reference point and stay out of the high wind speeds. Can Stormfly and Skullcrusher keep track of the scent?"
"We have her gloves as you know," Eret responded as they dived, "but with weather like this, it's dodgy."
"We'll have to take the chance." Hiccup determined, "She couldn't have gotten too far. This storm will slow her down. Powers or not!"
The four riders soon leveled off, no more than 3 or so meters off the ground. After which they entered the cold storm. It wasn't the fact it was cold that was the real issue. It was how instantly cold it got as opposed to a more gradual cooling. The other factors didn't help either. The snow pelted them almost like waves, and the wind threatened to lift them high into the storm. It wasn't long before they had to ground their dragons and continue the search on the frozen sea. The riders had to get off now and then just to warm their legs up, but for the most part, they let their dragons do the foot slogging.
After however long, hiccup spied Windshear and Heather sidle up to him.
"How's the leg?" He yelled. His voice muffled by the storm.
"My leg feels like it's on fire, just like the rest of me." She bellowed. He chuckled knowing exactly what she meant. Weather like this was pure torture on his stump. Even after six years, it still hurt like a troll. "Hiccup, we need to build a shelter. With weather like this. We couldn't find her no matter hard we tried. We could have marched right by her and would never have known."
Hiccup gritted his teeth. He knew Heather was right, he had hoped to reach the island, but with the weather the way it was, they could easily miss that as well.
"Eret! Astrid!" Hiccup called to the other two, who both turned to look at him. The storm was getting thicker, making it difficult to distinguish them aside from the size of their dragons.
Eret yelled, "What's up?"
"Let's stop and break camp!"
"Oh, finally! I thought you would never waah!" Skullcrusher Tripping accompanied the last part? And Eret flying over him, head over heels.
The other three riders rode close to Skullcrsher as Eret surfaced.
"Pwah." Eret gasped. "Stupid dragon."
"Eret, you alright?"
"I'm fine." Eret grumbled, "Nothing's busted except my pride."
Hiccup smirked, "Well, this looks like a good spot as any to dismount."
"Hiccup, hang on," Astrid called out. "Look beyond Eret. Do you see it?"
Puzzled, Hiccup tried to look where Astrid was pointing and just saw white. "Astrid, I can't-"
Astrid growled and shouted a command to Stormfly who let out a blast of fire. Aside from the benefit of the heat provided by the flames, Hiccup didn't see the point of it. That is until he saw what the flames were striking. Even with the storm blowing snow all around, it was still flat and symmetrical. The flames were melting ice that was way too high to be sea ice.
"Toothless!" Hiccup commanded. Toothless let out a burst of plasma aimed high. It wasn't long before he saw the explosion of smoke and heard the accompanying boom.
"This is it!" Hiccup declared, "Glacier Island." A little presumptuous perhaps, but given what he knew about islands in the Archipelago, it was a safe bet.
"Hiccup!" Eret yelled. "Check this out!"
Hiccup dismounted and slogged over to Eret, who was on his knees, shoveling snow away from something. Hiccup knelt beside him and inspected what Eret was looking at. What he saw was ice. Platforms of ice stacked on one another, with plateaus in between. It took him a moment to realize that the platforms were stacked too deliberately, too evenly spaced and too smooth. They were steps. It wasn't natural, and it wasn't made by man either.
"Looks like we're in luck." Hiccup called out. "We got out refuge and our objective."
Astrid POV
It didn't take much to find a path made of the same smooth ice that the steps were constructed from, that did not mean they could walk on it. After Eret and Hiccup cracked their skulls respectively, they let their dragons do the walking. Following the path led them to a cave on the island. The cave was large enough for the dragons to fit and while it wasn't a summer paradise, the fact they were out of the wind was an improvement all on its own.
"Whew." Heather shuddered. "That was close. Let's not do that again."
"You said it." Eret supported. "I don't like freezing to death." Meanwhile, Astrid pulled out some torches from her saddlebags. With a puff from Stormfly, she had four lit torches which she then passed around. The torches were a welcome addition providing light and warmth. After a few minutes of adjusting to the light and defrosting, Astrid inspected the walls of the cave/tunnel.
"Anything?" She heard Hiccup ask.
"Nothing to suggest she's been here," Astrid answered, "but that ice path led here, so we can assume, she came through here. She pulled out the glove in her pocket and held it to Stormfly's nose, who, after a few sniffs, gestured down the tunnel with her head.
Heather shrugged, "Well, that answers that question."
Hiccup examined the tunnel itself and came to a decision. "The dragons can fit one by one, but they'll be just ahead to wait here."
Eret looked at him like he was crazy, "You do realize what lives here, right? You told me the stories yourself."
Hiccup scoffed, "Relax; we relocated those dragons. Nothing's lived here for years. We'll be fine."
"And what about little miss Snowstorm." Heather countered. "A little firepower wouldn't hurt."
"When did this rescue mission become a battle mission?" Astrid snarled.
Heather hesitated, "Astrid. I know Elsa means a lot to you but…"
"But what Heather?" Astrid spat. She knew what Heather was thinking and that she was in the right to think that, but Astrid didn't particularly care.
Heather spoke her words carefully, "I'm just considering the outcomes. Today, we might have to do something we don't want to do."
Before Astrid could respond, Hiccup cut in, "That may be true, but let's not put the cart before the yak just yet. So just relax. The dragons will stay." He added the last sentence with an air of finality that brooked no argument. "Now, with that out of the way. Let's go." With Hiccup at the head, the four riders began their trek into the tunnel.
Elsa POV
Elsa had been walking for what felt like a long time when she saw the light. Up until this point, she had been walking in total darkness. It was the cause for her tripping over her feet many times, as well as any jut outs of ice. She even tripped on some round pieces of ice that shattered and cut her hand on one of the pieces that broke off. He even ran into the ice wall itself when it split in two. Now the light, Or rather it's reflection. The light was reflecting off the icy floor of a twist in the cave. As she came around the turn, she could see that there was a long stretch of tunnel that made a hard right into somewhere that allowed light.
Walking down the stretch allowed her eyes to adjust and when she exited the tunnel, she could see that she was in an enormous dome cavern. The cavern was so large that her family's castle could fit in the cavern. In the middle was a pit that took up about a third of the floor and there were several ground level entrances into the cavern. Elsa, with care, crept over to the edge to peer down the hole. The bottom seemed to be solid. Elsa looked up to see that the dome of the cavern was a thick sheet of ice that allowed light in, hence the reason that she could see.
Gazing around, she saw no one around and felt her exhaustion come to the forefront her mind. So, before sleep could overtake her, she made a bed and built a little cottage around it, cottage being four walls, a roof, and a door. As she laid down on the bed, she made, Elsa started thinking about things she would have to do: Build a proper home, find a source of water and food. Find wood for a fire, not for warmth but for food of course. Before she could think anymore, her body seized control and said you will sleep now. However, sleep would not come, not because she was restless or worried but rather because she could hear something outside her house. Something big.
Hiccup POV
Damn it, Elsa. Hiccup cursed. You couldn't just stay near the mouth of the cave. You had to go down the stupid cave. He then had to berate himself because if he had free time, he probably would have done the same thing. Although he could have done without the smoke that billowed from the torches. It made it hard to breathe at times.
"Ack!" Hiccup heard Heather cry out. He turned to see that she had slipped on some loose ice.
"You all right?" Astrid asked, with real concern.
"Yeah." Heather grumbled, "Stupid leg."
"Here, let me help." Eret offered. Not even waiting for an answer, he reached to grab her hips.
"No." Heather snapped as she elbowed him, "You just keep away from me."
"I'm just trying to help!" Eret shouted.
"If I wanted help." Heather berated, "I wouldn't ask an overgrown moose."
Eret sputtered "I beg your pardon!" While the berserker and the trapper bickered, Astrid made her way to Hiccup's side.
Astrid POV
"I never got a chance to say it before." Astrid murmured, "But thank you for supporting me at the mouth of the cave."
Hiccup shrugged, "Don't thank me yet."
A moment passed before Astrid spoke again. "Hiccup, you aren't seriously considering-"
Hiccup looked at her head-on, "Astrid, I have to be serious. If Elsa is a threat us and our home, then all option must be on the table. Child or not."
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third." Astrid growled, "You better be joking, or I swear I'll-"
Hiccup cut her off "I don't want to think about it any more than you do. Trust me; I don't want infanticide hanging over my head." Astrid guarded her sigh of relief as he continued speaking. "Look I want to help her just like you, and I'm already pretty sure that our fears will be unfounded."
Astrid scowled in confusion, "How can you be sure?"
Hiccup shrugged, "We're alive aren't we." He joked with a smirk ghosting his face.
The two shared a laugh before they heard Heather calling for their attention.
"Guys. We have a problem."
Hiccup POV
"Catch," Heather stated as She tossed one of the pieces of broken ice over to Hiccup. As soon as he grabbed it, he knew what it was.
"Oh, crap," Hiccup muttered.
"What? What is it?" Astrid asked.
"Eggshells." Hiccup answered. He handed the piece to Astrid to confirm it.
"I thought you said this place was empty." Eret protested.
"It was." Hiccup countered.
"Hiccup," Astrid spoke, "These are snow wraith eggs."
Eret's eyes widened, "You mean?"
Hiccup nodded, "Oh yeah. Which probably means there are some angry dragons with teeth." And like it was from a script, the four of them could hear a grinding noise coming from above.
"Oh, come on!" Hiccup whined.
"Run!" Astrid bellowed. Hiccup and Astrid while Eret scooped up Heather and bolted after them.
"Hey, put me down!" Heather yelled as she kicked him.
"You're too slow to run on your own!" Eret back. "So if you don't want to be dragon chow. Hang on tight."
CRASH!
Hiccup spared a glance to look at their quarry. Sure enough, it was a Snow Wraith. White scaled body, horns and tusks protruding from its body, blue eyes and two legs to go with it. Because after all, four legs would be cheating, now wouldn't it. He berated himself as he jumped over a protrusion of ice.
"Go on ahead!" He yelled as he grabbed at his thigh.
"What are you doing?" Astrid yelled at him.
"I'm going to slow it down," Hiccup shouted. "Now get going." Even as Eret ran past him, Hiccup focused on his task. After Drago, Hiccup did some tinkering with the canisters that held the zippleback gas. His experimental project hadn't been field tested, but as he lit Inferno, he couldn't help but chuckle. No time like the present right?
He held inferno against a piece of fast burning string, cut to last three seconds "Alright big fella." Hiccup muttered at the Wraith as it drew closer. "Have a taste of this!" The string ignited, and he threw the canister at the Wraith as he bolted. The Wraith paused to consider what had clattered to the ground in front of it.
BOOM!
The tunnel filled with flames and smoke, momentarily threatening to catch Hiccup in the wave of fire. However, the flames soon dissipated as they ran out of fuel. Hiccup could hear the scream of the Snow wraith as it thrashed around. Probably trying to stop its eardrums from ringing. Hiccup would know; those 'bombs' had been murder on his own ears when he was designing them. He ran and soon caught up to the others.
"You might've warned us about that." Eret spat. "I thought the roof was coming down on us."
"Save it for later," Hiccup advised, "that won't hold it off for long." His words were punctuated by a roar from up the tunnel.
"Move. Move." Astrid yelled. The three riders moved quickly deeper into the bowls of the island with their hunter in pursuit. They then ran into a fork in the road, literally.
"Which way do we go?" Eret huffed as they saw two tunnels ahead of them. Hiccup made a split decision.
"Split up." Hiccup shouted. "Eret; you go left with Heather. We'll take the right tunnel and try to draw the Wraith after us. After which, you can make it back to the surface."
Eret's eyes widened even more, "Are you sure?"
"No!" Hiccup yelled, "but it's the best I got, so get going!" They split up and sprinted for their respective tunnels. Hiccup ignited his blade, intending for the heat to draw the Wraith's attention. It worked. The Snow Wraith shot a burst of high-velocity frost at Hiccup and Astrid, narrowly missing them, before pursuing them.
"It's working." Hiccup shouted.
"I know it's working. RUN!" Astrid bellowed before grabbing him and pulling him forward. The chase continued. Hiccup knew the only reason they weren't dead right now was that the Snow Wraith was disoriented from the blast. If it hadn't been, it would've overtaken them long ago, but that wouldn't last forever, and the location only served the Wraith's favor. They needed a change in fortune, and they would need it soon.
Eret POV
Eret peeked around the corner into the tunnel where Hiccup, Astrid, and the dragon went down. He shook his head. "One of these days, he's going to get himself killed."
"I've been saying that for five years, and it still hasn't happened." Heather scoffed from her perch as Eret started the trek up to the surface.
"Ah, but how much luck can one have after surviving the ice of a Bewilderbeast?" Eret grunted.
"I don't know," Heather admitted. "I just know it's wise not to bet against Hiccup and Astrid." Eret couldn't argue with that, so he just put his mind to getting to the mouth of the cave and the dragons.
"Can you put me down."
"No, you're too slow." Eret quipped
"I think you're enjoying this." Heather sneered.
"Well let's see: We are in a tunnel of ice and could be ambushed by ice dragons at any moment, and I have a beautiful woman on my back." Eret reflected than gave a satisfied smirk, "I'm enjoying this very much." He chuckled as he bounded up the tunnel floor.
Elsa POV
Elsa stayed silent, diving under her covers, waiting for the interloper to leave, but it wouldn't leave. The animal kept circling the house, over and over. She knew it was an animal because she could hear it breathing, a deep snort like sound not unlike a horse. She could also hear it walking; a thumping step. The good news was that it didn't touch the house or try to come into the house. It just walked around the house sniffing.
What to do? What to do? What to do?
Maybe we can scar it away with a cold wave.
We're on an island of ice. It's already cold.
Maybe-
NO! I'm the intruder. I'm not going to hurt it just because it's investigating.
And what if it won't let you stay? What if it decides to end you?
Before Elsa could finish her thoughts, the animal made a deep snort and started moving off. Soon it was gone. Elsa released the breath she had been holding. She waited for a little bit and after a while exited the shelter to investigate. Outside, Elsa darted her eyes around the cavern and saw that it was empty. When reassured of her solitude, she investigated around the shelter. Unfortunately, the ice floor didn't do anything to offer any clues as to what was sneaking around. Except for one small clue; two holes dug into the ice in front of the house. Elsa got on her knees to examine the depressed ice. She could fit her whole finger into the holes. They looked like claw marks.
HUFF!
Elsa felt her braid move from the rush of air, while the hair on her neck stood on end. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she struggled to breathe. The presence behind her affirmed its existence by snorting. She refused to move anywhere out of the fear that it would be her last move. She didn't want to cry, but she could feel a drop or two sliding down her cheeks as she stayed kneeling.
How'd it sneak up on me? I should have heard it coming.
It didn't matter how. The animal was there and had Elsa in a vulnerable position. However, the animal didn't attack. It just stayed where it was. For some reason, the situation became an impasse. Elsa wasn't moving, and neither was the creature. They probably stayed like that for five minutes, Elsa didn't know; what she did know was that her knees were getting sore.
She decided to take a chance. She mustered up all the courage she could manage and spoke in a calm voice, "I'm just going to change my sitting position." She waited. When the creature didn't make any noise in protest, Elsa gently and carefully shifted to sitting on her behind. She let her arm shoot out to help balance herself which caused the animal to growl but other than that, the creature allowed her to do so. Having established a 'working relationship,' Elsa decided to turn around.
If I'm going to die, I'd like to know what's killing me.
She turned around to no protest, greeted by the sight of a toothy maw. It took all her willpower not to scream. So far, she was still alive because she was quiet; change that and goodbye Elsa. She forced herself to look past the teeth. She made a note of the tusks that were sticking out of its mouth, as well as the horn on top the nostrils and the horn under the jaw along with the hair like tendrils under its jaw, giving a beard like appearance. She saw that it had a white scaly body with some harden scales that lifted above the skin by an inch or so. The creature had two stout legs with two toes each and two wings that wad finger-like projections on the back of the wings and two claws in the middle of the front of the wings. The most striking feature of the dragon, for it clearly was a dragon, were its pair of sharp blue reptilian eyes.
It was a small dragon compared to the other dragons that Elsa had seen. Not that it meant much, it wouldn't take much for the dragon to finish it in one strike.
"Hi." Elsa squeaked. She gulped and tried a little more confidently. "Hello. My name is Elsa." The dragon cocked its head as it considered the girl before it. The fact that the dragon didn't attack her was a relief. With this relief came enough courage to try something that one call idiotic. She held up her hand in the same pose that she had taught by Astrid, and as soon as she did that, the dragon showed its displeasure at the gesture. It snarled, scaring Elsa back onto her back and the white dragon pounced above her and trapped her between its wing claws. Elsa screamed, and the dragon roared at her, phlegm dripping down onto her face.
This is it. Elsa thought. This is how I die.
Fight back.
No, it's just defending its home.
It is going to kill you. Protect yourself.
I won't. Elsa felt her tears fall once more. It's easier this way. Even as it was happening, Elsa realized that she was okay with dying, if it meant that the world would be safe from her. It would be worth it.
The Dragon lifted its head up, prepared to strike and as the dragon lunged, Elsa raised her arms defensively and closed her eyes, praying that was quick.
SLAM!
Elsa waited… and waited… nothing.
Am I dead? Is this the afterlife? Strange, it doesn't feel any different.
Elsa slowly opened her eyes and quickly found that she was very much alive, which, despite her self-loathing and wanting to die, was quite frankly a relief. The reason for her being alive might have to do with the barrier of ice between her and the dragon. It had a few cracks in it, probably from the dragon striking the ice. It was a sealed barrier, and so Elsa was successfully shielded from the dragon. Said dragon was perplexed by the obstruction and how said barrier got there. Other than perhaps a sore snout, it was none the worse the wear. The dragon scratched at the ice and then stared at Elsa.
We're both okay.
After a moment, the dragon gazed at her intently before bolting for one of the many tunnels. The entire situation left her stunned. Elsa may very well have laid on that floor for an hour trying to figure out what happened if an explosion didn't occur.
Astrid POV
Thank Odin!
Astrid praised as she and Hiccup zipped out of the tunnel, billows of smoke escorting them. Astrid was about to go mad in that tunnel. With only the light of their torches to guide them and with a Snow Wraith on their back, it was a very unnerving experience. The only thing that kept the wraith at bay was Hiccup's new toys, which was a maddening addition. If the flames they were producing weren't trying to catch Hiccup and Astrid, the noise was murder on their ears. Hiccup had used his last bomb as they entered a big cavern. It didn't do much to help them, other than the light it provided and some maneuverability but it would have to do.
"Hiccup." Astrid shouted, "Break right. I'll go left. We'll try and confuse it when it exits the tunnel." It wasn't a great plan, but it was a plan. Hiccup nodded as the came closer to the pit.
About a meter away from the pit, Astrid yelled, "Break!" And they split apart, or at least, that should have happened. Instead, Hiccup fell and was sliding towards the hole.
"Uh, Astrid!" Hiccup cried.
Astrid screamed, "Hiccup!" She ran to him and snagged his arm as his body went over the cliff. The result was Hiccup dangling on Astrid's arm on the edge of a deep pit. Astrid couldn't let him go because there was no ledge for Hiccup to grip on.
"Hang on," Astrid spoke through gritted teeth. She couldn't lift him up one-handed without slipping herself, and she needed her ax for the Snow Wraith. The Snow Wraith!
Elsa POV
Smoke had poured out of the tunnel that she came out of and soon Elsa saw two figures sprint out of the tunnel. They were so focused that they didn't even see her. They were shouting and yelling about something, but she couldn't make it out. As the smoke cleared, she realized that it was Hiccup and Astrid. They were moving closer and closer to the pit.
What are they doing here? Are they… looking for me? Why do they look scared?
Before the questions could be answered, Hiccup slipped and would've fallen into the pit if Astrid hadn't caught him. She squealed in fear for him, even though they were too busy to hear her.
GROWL!
Elsa turned to see and had one of the questions answered. The reason they looked scared was that they were scared. There was another dragon, just like the one Elsa had seen before but much, much bigger. It started pacing towards them, moving side to side to keep them from escaping.
They need help! Elsa realized and moved to get up, but she couldn't move. The ice that had protected her now was trapping her. Never mind the long-term problems, if she didn't help, Astrid and Hiccup would probably die. There was surely no way that Astrid could fight while holding onto Hiccup. Elsa tried to melt the ice with her magic, but just like every other time before, it did nothing. She tried to break the ice with her fists, but a dragon tried to break the ice and couldn't do it. A little girl wasn't going to break it, but Elsa was desperate. Elsa slammed her fists on the ice over and over again.
WHY? Why? Why did they come here? I never asked them to come. I betrayed their trust. I just wanted them to be safe. I wanted to be somewhere, where I could just be me and not hurt anyone!
Did they come to-
NO! They would never do that. Never!
How do you know that!
Because they are kind! They are good! They gave me a home! When I almost drowned, Hiccup rescued me. When Astrid found me, she wouldn't leave me.
The tears, the stupid blasted tears came down her cheeks. The dragon snarled. Elsa looked over and saw that the dragon shoot off a couple of blasts of ice to ensure that his prey didn't move.
"Don't hurt them." She pleaded. To whom, she had no idea: The dragon, the gods, God. She didn't know, and she didn't care.
So why did they come? Her mind berated her.
I don't know!
WHY DID THEY COME?
I DON'T KNOW!
WHY DID THEY COME?
Elsa shook her head and screamed. "I DON'T KNOW!" Elsa beat the ice in time with her words. She saw the Dragon prepare to pounce.
Then why do you care?
"BECAUSE THEY CARED ABOUT ME!"
WHY?
Elsa shook her head. "HOW SHOULD I KNOW? HOW SHOULD I KNOW HOW THE SUN RISES AND FALLS? HOW SHOULD I KNOW WHY THE BIRDS FLY? HOW SHOULD I KNOW WHY I GOT THESE POWERS? HOW SHOULD I KNOW WHY TWO PEOPLE WHO I'VE COME TO LOVE ARE GOING TO DIE IF I CAN'T HELP THEM! I'M SICK OF WATCHING PEOPLE GET HURT AND I CAN'T JUST SIT BACK AND TAKE IT ANYMORE! I WON'T LET ANYONE ELSE GET KILLED!" Elsa screamed as she beat the ice, to herself, to the world, she didn't care. "NOT WHILE I CAN PROTECT THEM!"
The dragon lunged, it was over.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Hiccup POV
GROWL!
She turned to gaze upon the white dragon who had exited the tunnel and was now approaching at its leisure. It wasn't stupid, even if Astrid and Hiccup had more bombs, it wouldn't be half as effective as they were in the tunnel, so it took its time. The dragon even shot off a couple of blasts of ice to either side of her. It's way of making sure they didn't go anywhere. Hiccup did the math and he could only see one option.
"Astrid," Hiccup pleaded, "you have to let go."
"Shut up Hiccup!" Astrid snarled, "I'll have none of that talk. When this is over, I'm going to slug you for saying such things." She wasn't going to let them die like this. Not over something as stupid as this. The Wraith was getting restless as it slinked closer, occasionally darting left to right to keep its prey from getting any ideas
Hiccup protested "Astrid!"
"Shut up." Astrid snapped. "You just be ready to fight." She glanced down at Hiccup who in return, showed his resolve, nodded and got his sword ready. She turned back to the Wraith who was now only a few meters away. No longer content to play with the intruders who had made the last few minutes an agonizing existence, it was preparing to lunge. Astrid could see it's body preparing. In those moments, she also prepared. She let her right hand, ax in hand, trail behind her extended, while her left hand held onto Hiccup.
In her mind, she was going to strike the Snow wraith, turn her back to it and use the momentum to hoist Hiccup out of the pit. It was a stupid plan: too many things could go wrong. She had one shot at this, and there would be no retries. As she thought about it, Astrid realized it was a game of chicken. The trick was knowing when to flinch.
Quick as a whip the Wraith leaped across the distance with the intent of biting Astrid in two.
I promise I will make choke on every part!
Years of training and timing kicked in as she brought up the ax that would deal a grave wound into the creature. Even as she brought it around, she knew that even if her plan didn't work, that dragon was going to feel the bite of her ax.
SHOOM!
SLAM!
Apparently, the dragon was not going to feel her ax, nor was Astrid going to get bitten in half. The Fates seemed to be amusing themselves with all these close calls. It all happened so fast; Hiccup practically missed it. One moment, the Snow Wraith was attacking, and in the next moment, there was a massive wave of ice between the Wraith and Astrid. On impact, the wall cracked fell apart and trapped the now unconscious Snow Wraith under a pile of ice.
Astrid couldn't find the words "Wha-?"
"Wow," Hiccup observed in his sarcastic fashion, "That was a good plan."
Not even bothering to roll her eyes, Astrid pulled him up. As soon as he was secure, the first thing he did was embrace Astrid tightly.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah." Astrid nodded, but she wasn't entirely paying attention to him. He didn't need to ask what or rather whom Astrid was looking at. The wall of ice was a bit of a giveaway. He turned around to confirm what he already knew. Elsa was standing in a little-shattered dome of ice with the wave of ice extending from her outstretched hand. He looked at Astrid and nodded. It was one of the few times that they were thinking the same thing. Carefully, the two of them made their way through the icy rubble. Once they were clear of the ice, they ran over to Elsa who hadn't moved since they spotted her. She was having trouble breathing, evident by her wheezing and tears were running down her face.
"Elsa!" Astrid exclaimed. She reached for Elsa to hug her but Elsa stepped back, or she would have if it weren't for the remains of the ice dome. Elsa tripped and fell onto the other side of the dome. She recovered and started crawling backward away from them until she hit the wall of a small snow shelter.
Hiccup grabbed Astrid's shoulder, "Let me try." Astrid didn't want to, her face said as much, but she walked off a few feet to give them some privacy. He didn't know why he did it, but he turned to Elsa and asked. "I don't suppose you could whip up a chair or something? My leg is killing me."
Elsa silently nodded, and she brought both hands together, rotating them slowly. As Hiccup watched, he saw a light blue shimmering appear in between her hands. He saw a stream of blue leave her hands and land on the ground beside Hiccup. From the spot grew a structure of ice that soon resembled a chair with a back and arms.
"I don't care what anyone says: That's pretty cool." Hiccup hesitated as he realized what he just said, "Pun not intended."
Elsa sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah, I'm way more intelligent at making puns." Hiccup quipped.
"No, I mean…" Elsa paused before finishing, "You actually like it?"
"What's not to like?" Hiccup countered as he took a seat. When he sat down Hiccup groaned, "Oh man, what a day."
He knelt forward in the chair, rubbed his hands together and then looked at Elsa. "We have a lot to talk about." Elsa nodded at the statement. Hiccup figured the best way to start was from the beginning. "How long have you had… this?" He asked, gesturing to her.
"Ever since I was born, according to my parents," Elsa answered with a definite hint of bitterness.
Hiccup sighed, "Your sister's accident, the shipwreck, that was you?"
Elsa pursed her lips together and nodded. "I was just trying to help."
"May I hear what happened?" Hiccup asked gently. "Please?"
Elsa hesitated and looked down at her feet, but she told her tale: How she and her sister had been playing, the snow piles had gotten bigger, and her sister Anna was going too fast and got ahead of Elsa. How Elsa slipped and out of desperation flung her magic out wildly and struck her sister. How her parents took them to the trolls. He had to stop her and have her repeat that part. To be fair, when one lives in a world of dragons and girls with magic, why should trolls be the odd one out. He was really, really tempted to ask for more details on the trolls, particularly on whether or not they actually stole only the left socks. She told him about Anna's altered memories, Elsa being too dangerous, and the forced separation, about how her sister would come up to her door, begging her to play. He knew that Astrid was listening in and that her heart was breaking, he knew because his own heart was breaking.
She told him about the gloves and how her parents looked for ways to her to control or remove her magic. She explained the purpose of the gloves that she had held onto for so long. She described the origin of her verse: Conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show. At that moment, Hiccup made a promise to himself that if he ever met this King Agdar, he was going to slap him. If for nothing else but the principle of the matter. She told him how she was required to go to DunBroch. How the storm blew them off course. How she tried to help and inadvertently caused the demise of the ship.
"I ran to my cabin and locked the door. I expected the ship to sink, but it never did." Elsa continued her tale, "Days later, the ship or what was left of it came to rest on an island. Astrid found me there, and you know the rest." Tears flowed once again, and Elsa buried her face in her knees. At this point, Astrid had joined his side, and he wasn't going to object.
Well… Shit!
This kid may not have had the most physical journey, but she had one hell of an emotional journey. The weird part of it was Hiccup could see a part of him in that little girl. When he was the boy, who made a mess of everything and would have given anything for his father's approval.
Hiccup would have left it at that except he needed to know something.
Eret POV
Eret was like the wolf in that story of the three pigs. He was huffing and puffing, but he wasn't going to be blowing any houses down. He and Heather were delayed when they had to crawl through the rubble the Snow Wraith left behind when it broke through the tunnel. Then the bleeding torches had to go out, to top everything off. They had to grope their way around in the dark. Eventually, light finally started seeping into the tunnel, and Eret could carry Heather, much to her chagrin to the mouth of the tunnel. Now, of course, the dragons were all huddled together in a cocoon to preserve heat. Good for them, but not so good for Eret and Heather, since the wind and snow were still blowing strong and the cold seeped into their bones. He imagined it was comfy in there, but there was no time for that.
"Toothless!" Eret called out. He was worried the howling wind would drown out his voice. Thankfully the black dragon heard him and broke away from the cocoon. "We got trouble down below." Even as he spoke, Eret saw Toothless realize that Hiccup wasn't there and soon stood still for Eret and Heather could get on him. Before they could mount him though, Toothless freaked out, so did the other dragons.
"Woah! Woah!" Eret yelled at the dragons. "What's the matter with you?"
"Eret?" Heather yelled.
"What?"
"Look!" Eret's eyes looked to where her hand was gesturing, outside.
"Whoa!"
Elsa POV
"So why run?" She heard Hiccup ask.
Elsa lifted her head, "What?"
"Why run?" He repeated, "You knew we were trying to get you home, we even had a way to get you home. So, why run?" during this time Hiccup and Astrid had closed the distance and were only an arms length away.
Elsa sniffled bitterly. What should she say? Some spirit told her that she was going to destroy the village? She didn't want to hurt anyone?
Elsa stood up like she was taught to do when addressing someone. "I was… I was scared." Elsa admitted through the sniffles, not just to Hiccup and Astrid but herself as well. "I'm afraid of… everything. I'm sorry about the storm I made and for hurting Astrid. Please don't be mad."
She saw the two Vikings share a glance before turning to her. Hiccup was the first to speak. "Oh sweetie."
Astrid cut him off gently, "We're not mad." Astrid assured her before saying something Elsa didn't expect, "You know, I get scared too."
"You do?"
Astrid nodded, "I'm afraid of the water. I'm scared of drowning. I wouldn't go swimming in the summer when I was your age."
"But you are so brave and fearless." Elsa protested, "And I've seen you swim."
Astrid nodded, "And yet I was afraid. I eventually got to where I could swim without freaking out, but it wasn't until I was thirteen that I could do that.
"How?" Elsa pleaded, "How did you beat your fear?"
She didn't like Astrid's answer, "I faced my fear." Elsa's head dropped, she should have known it wouldn't be that easy. "But I didn't face it alone." Elsa lifted her head again and looked at Hiccup and Astrid.
She shook her head. "I can't."
Hiccup was the one to ask, "Why not?"
"Because I don't want to hurt you," Elsa answered, even as she said it, it felt inadequate.
"Then you won't." Hiccup said.
Elsa was confused. "What?"
"Trust in your feelings." Hiccup urged, "Trust yourself. If you don't want to hurt us, then you won't hurt us. It's your magic."
"It doesn't work that way!" Elsa argued.
"I beg to differ to differ. And I'm willing to find out." Hiccup countered as he held out his, "Are you?"
Elsa put her arms behind her back with no intention of finding out. Elsa looked his hand; it was gnarled and tough and yet it was gentle and welcoming. She wanted to touch it, to feel its warmth. Slowly, she brought her hand out from behind her back and held it out for them to see. Hiccup held his hand close to hers, but he wouldn't touch her. He was essentially forcing Elsa to make the choice. Her choice.
She closed her eyes and closed the distance, touched the hand and quickly withdrew. She didn't hear any screaming. She peeked out of her right eye, his hand looked okay, so she closed hers and let her hand fall into Hiccup's. No screams came, no yelling began, and his hand didn't turn cold. If anything, her hand felt warmer. She opened her eyes to see Hiccup smirking.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced." He spoke cheekily, "My name is Hiccup Haddock, what's yours?"
Elsa felt tears, good tears, come down her cheeks, "Elsa. I have the magic of ice and snow." She choked out, "and I won't hurt you."
Hiccup's smirk morphed into a soft smile as he held out his arms, "Come here." And Elsa fell into Hiccup and Astrid's arms. Everything broke, and she just cried into their shoulders until she literally had no tears left to cry.
A question popped into her head, and she felt the need to ask it. "Why did you come after me?"
The answer came from Hiccup, "Much to my surprise, the answer's simple." He chuckled, "We love you."
Elsa's breath shuddered, "I love you too." She whispered, loud enough for them to hear. Other than a tight squeeze, Elsa received no other response. She didn't need it, what she had was enough.
The three of them just sat there. No words needed to be spoken. No thoughts of tomorrow were needed. Nothing else was wanted or needed; just this.
Hiccup was the one to break the silence, but it did so with such awe and reverence, that the spell they were under was not broken.
"Look."
Elsa followed his gaze to see her little shelter was dissipating. The particles of snow were rising and disappearing. She looked over Astrid's shoulder to see the same thing happening to the ice wall. It reminded her of what the Grandpabbi told her. Only love will thaw a frozen heart.
"Love will thaw." She whispered.
"Hmm." Astrid looked at her puzzled.
Elsa held her hand out, "I want to try something." She stepped away from Hiccup and Astrid and looked at the wall of ice, her shelter, the chair and the remains of the little dome. She then looked at Hiccup and Astrid and thought of the love that they gave her and the love she felt for them. She dug into that feeling, latched onto it and held tight to that feeling. She raised her arms and willed her magic to do what needed to be done.
The effect was immediate. First, the shelter, the wall, the dome's remains and then the chair dissolved into nothing. Being careful not to dissolve the island, she raised her arms, and a void appeared in the dome. Elsa reached down deep, not just into herself, but into the earth itself as she placed her hands on the ground. She felt her way to the edge of the storm when she reached it Elsa lifted her arms to the heavens and called the storm back.
Gobber POV
Gobber and Valka were sitting around a hearth in Gobber's house. All the work that could be done had been done; now they just had to weather the storm. Snotlout was quite efficient in getting the work done, much to Gobber's surprise. As a boy, Snotlout may not have been as disruptive as Hiccup, but he wasn't all that helpful either. Gobber smirked inwardly; the times were changing, soon the day would come when he would have to give up his shop and leave it in the hands of a proper apprentice. Hiccup was a great smith, but it wouldn't be long before Hiccup had to focus his energies on more familial matters. As well as chiefing duties. Pragmatic the people of Berk may be, they still needed their leader. Valka's shivering shook Gobber from his thoughts.
"You alright?" Gobber asked.
Valka nodded, "Wasn't prepared for this. I was quite ready for a nice spring." Gobber chuckled mirthlessly. This storm wasn't expected and certainly not needed. He heard Johann babbling about magic and whatnot, and Snotlout was saying something about how the girl Elsa had something to do with it. Meanwhile, Hiccup and Astrid had flogged off for whatever reason. Whatever was going on, this storm could have a crippling effect on the village.
"Gobber." His thoughts were interrupted by Valka.
"Hmmm." Gobber acknowledged.
"A couple of days ago in the dragon pens, you wanted to speak with me." Valka explained, "We never did have that talk."
Gobber could already feel his cheeks getting warm, and they weren't from the flames. "Ah well, you know it was nothing important. I just wanted to ask you something."
"Gobber. Even a child could tell that you're lying." Valka scolded, her eyes narrowing. Gobber chuckled sheepishly.
Never being one for subtlety and a Viking no less, Gobber bit the ax head, "Was there ever anything between us?"
Valka's eyes widened at his statement, and he felt like a complete jackass. "I'm sorry I should have-"
"No." Valka interrupted, "I should apologize. I didn't realize you felt that way."
Gobber rubbed his forehead before replying, "I remember those walks we used to go on. Do you remember?" When she nodded, he continued. "I don't know if I expected to have a chance then or even if I have a chance now. I just need to know if it was something or if it was all in my head."
The two of them sat in silence as they contemplated the words that were said. The wind whistled through the air outside, and the fire crackled inside.
It felt like an eternity before Valka spoke. "I wish I could say I had feelings for you Gobber but I didn't then, and I'm not looking for love now."
Gobber digested those words in silence. As he came to terms with the truth, he felt as though a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. A weight of guilt and regret. "Thank you." He surprised himself at how easily the words came out his mouth and was relieved at that ease.
"I'm too old for that sort of nonsense anyway." Valka chuckled, "But you know what I am looking for?" Gobber spied a mischievous glint in her eye.
"And what would that be?" Gobber asked nonchalantly.
"I need a drinking buddy so that when I'm an old and cranky grandmother, I'll have someone to trade stories with. Stories about the bad old days."
Gobber howled with laughter, "Well, I think I know someone who could fill that position. Speaking of which," He snuck over to his stash and pulled out a bottle of ale, "no time like the present to get started."
"Now you're talking!" Valka declared, both bursting out in laughter. Which was interrupted by a massive gale of wind that not only demanded their attention but also threatened to tear off the roof. Gobber moved to the window and was shocked to see what he saw.
"What is it Gobber?" Valka asked.
Gobber tried to speak, but all that came out was, "Uh. Uh. Um."
"Gobber?"
"I…uh. Ach. Valka, you just need to come see this." Gobber gabbed out. He heard Valka step up beside him and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her jaw drop. He couldn't blame her, after all, it wasn't every day that an entire snowstorm, ocean ice and snow banks fly up into the air.
Astrid POV
Through the void in the dome, Astrid could see a giant snowflake form what she could only assume was the snow and ice from the rest of the area. Even in the cavern of ice, it already felt warmer. Hiccup and Astrid were standing behind Elsa on her flanks, watching her magic work. At Astrid's feet was some loose, packable, snow. She let a smile appear on her face as she bent down and made a snowball. Hiccup was too busy looking at the sky to notice. When she was ready, she waited for the opportune moment. She didn't have to wait long.
Soon the snowflake disappeared altogether in a burst of light. Of course, Hiccup had to comment. "Now that was awe-"
PAWF!
Smack dab between the eyes. Hiccup stagger back from the unexpected projectile. Meanwhile, Astrid was laughing herself silly, and Elsa looked at the two of them like they were crazy.
"Oh! Ho! Ho! Ho! Is that how you want to play it?" Hiccup chortled, dipping down to get his own snowball, Astrid didn't wait for him. "Try this." He threw his snowball which went wide while Astrid returned fire hitting him in the chest, starting a snowball fight. Before Hiccup could get another one off, He got a pile of snow dumped on him. Astrid turned to see Elsa giggling.
"That's a way, Elsa!"
"HEY! That's cheating!" Hiccup complained.
"Says who?" You big baby." Astrid jeered as she hit him with another snowball, "You're just jealous because Elsa's on my side."
"I am not." Hiccup protested. "I just Wah!" His words muffled by another dumping of snow, leaving the two girls giggling. Hiccup started charging them to try and catch them off guard when they heard the Snow Wraith stir.
Fun and games were over as Astrid retrieved her ax. However, the dragon was in no mood to fight anymore. Not that Astrid could blame it. Instead of attacking them, it roared out loud, almost like it calling someone.
Before Astrid could say 'Great Odin's Ghost,' there was half a dozen Snow Wraiths in the caverns; silently entering from either the tunnels or the pit itself. Despite the situation, Astrid couldn't help but marvel at the wondrous sight. As well as shudder in fear at the fact that like all Strike class dragons, Snow Wraiths could be very quiet when they moved around.
Elsa POV
The white dragons took various positions around the three of them. They didn't seem to be in a threatening mood this time. The largest dragon, the one chasing Hiccup and Astrid, started doing a sort of bark or a cough. In response, a smaller dragon walked into the makeshift circle the dragons made and approached Elsa directly. Elsa didn't have to be a genius to figure out that this was the dragon she had encountered before. Nothing seemed to be happening; the dragon just sat there not doing anything, then Elsa realized she was within arms length distance of the dragon.
"M-Me?" Elsa asked in shock. The dragon lifted its head to look at her and then looked back at the larger Dragon who bobbed its head up and down. The dragon in front of her lowered its head once more. Blinking with disbelief, Elsa extended her hand towards the dragon. She paused a few inches away from the dragon's nose, took a breath and placed her hand on the dragon's snout, below the nostrils. In return, the dragon leaned into her closing its eyes and started purring.
Elsa giggled, "It tickles." She turned her head to see Hiccup and Astrid in absolute awe. "Is everything okay?"
Hiccup broke out his stupor first. "I would imagine so since you are the first person to be allowed to train a Snow Wraith." Elsa didn't know what that meant, but she wasn't in trouble, so she didn't press. When she looked beyond her new 'friend', she found that the other dragons left.
"What happened," Elsa asked.
Hiccup shrugged, "Best guess. They know that you bested their mother/alpha and that you brought back the spring. Maybe it's a gesture of gratitude." Before he could continue, they heard wingbeats from up above. Elsa looked up to see Toothless, Stormfly and two other dragons lowering into the cavern through the void.
"Hey, Eret!" Astrid shouted. "What took you so long."
"Hey don't judge!" Eret shouted back, "You try groping around in the dark with a berserker on your back."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elsa could hear Heather retort.
"Exactly what it means!" Eret countered before turning to Hiccup, "Whatever you guys did, it worked! The spring has returned!"
"Good." Hiccup replied before turning to Elsa, winking. "You coming with us?"
Elsa took one look around the cavern and came to a realization. Living here would suck. "Can Frosti come with us?"
Astrid looked at her like she was crazy, "Frosti? What kind of name is Frosti?"
"What kind of a name is Stormfly?" Heather catcalled.
Astrid turned to Heather. "I'll have you know that my dragon is…." She left Hiccup and Elsa to laugh at her before they turned to look at each other.
"Yes, she can come along." Hiccup answered, revealing the fact that Frosti was a girl. "On one condition."
Elsa raised her eyebrows, "What is this condition?"
Hiccup smirked, "You have to ride with Toothless and me." Elsa looked at Toothless who had just landed give a big dopey smile. How could she resist that face?
"Deal." She answered definitively.
"Good." Hiccup sighed and then turned his head to the sky and then gave her a sideways glance. "Let's go home." Then he walked towards Toothless.
Elsa could feel the exhaustion seep in, but it was a good exhaustion as she now felt peace within herself. She enjoyed saying the next three words before joining Hiccup, "Let's go home."