CHAPTER 13 – The Roommates

Two pairs of bright blue eyes peered out at them.

Rapunzel and Astrid stared back. One of the girls leapt off the couch and opened her arms. Rapunzel ran forward, and embraced her.

"Rapunzel! It's so good to see you again!" the young woman laughed, grinning, twirling one of her two long braids. Rapunzel grinned back easily. "This is my cousin, Anna," she announced, turning to Astrid. The girl named Anna gestured to the other blue-eyed girl to introduce herself. The young woman sighed, and walked over. "The name's Merida," she declared with a strong Scottish accent, brushing a lock of her wild curly red hair from her eyes. Astrid looked her up and down. This seemed like a girl who was a close relative to some Vikings.

"Astrid," the dragon trainer replied decisively, sticking out her hand. Merida scrutinized her, before shaking it firmly. After the group of four had been acquainted, Anna invited them in to sit in the living room. "So, let's start with a few questions," Rapunzel began, shifting to settle into her armchair, "Where are you all from? Let's start with you Anna, then Merida, then Astrid."

"I'm from a beautiful kingdom called Arendelle, in Norway," said Anna.

"DunBroch, on the Scottish Highlands," Merida revealed.

"I live on the Isle of Berk," finished Astrid.

"And obviously, I am from here, Corona," Rapunzel giggled. "Okay," she continued, "Now, how are you a royal?"

"My parents died many years ago," sighed Anna sadly, "But my father was King Agdar and my mother was Queen Idun of Arendelle."

Rapunzel squeezed Anna's shoulder comfortingly, and then whispered in Astrid's ear, "Their ship sank on the way to my wedding. It was a horrible tragedy."

"My parents are still alive," Merida piped up a bit insensitively, "They're names are Fergus and Elinor. They're the King and Queen of DunBroch."

"As you know, my parents are Queen Primrose and King Thomas," Rapunzel added quickly. Astrid cleared her throat. "Well, my parents aren't royal or anything," she said, "so the only reason I'm even here is because of my recent marriage to the Chief of Berk." Anna gasped in excitement. "You're married?" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. Astrid nodded.

"I'm not married," Merida proclaimed proudly. Anna frowned at her, but did not ask any questions.

"Do you have anyone special?" Rapunzel asked Anna, smiling. The young woman blushed. "Well, I don't think we're getting married anytime soon, but there's this guy, Kristoff, he's twenty-two, and we're, well, together, I guess you could say..." she babbled. "That's wonderful," Rapunzel said, smiling at her cousin.

Rapunzel cleared her throat. "Alright, well, I asked the basic questions…would anyone like to share anything else?" There was an awkward silence. Anna coughed quietly. "Um," she began, "how about how old we are?" Rapunzel nodded in approval. "Right," she said, "um, I'm twenty-three."

"I am nineteen years old," Anna said, smiling.

"Twenty-two," said Merida.

"I'm twenty-one," Astrid finished. "Any siblings?" the dragon trainer asked. "I have one sister," Anna stated, "her name is Elsa, and she's been the queen of Arendelle for a whole year! She's twenty-two, like Merida."

"I've three nine-year-old brothers: Harris, Hubert, and Hamish," Merida chuckled. "I don't have any brothers or sisters," Rapunzel sighed. "I don't either," Astrid said, "although most of my friends are my relatives, if that counts." The three other girls laughed. "Well, I guess that's it!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "Yeah, all that's left is exploring the school!" Anna cried. "And unpacking," Astrid added. Merida groaned. They all stared at the huge pile of luggage in the corner of the room.

"We can save that for later," Rapunzel said, smirking. The three other girls nodded in agreement. "Well, what should we discover first? Astrid and I haven't seen the whole room yet, really," Rapunzel suggested. At this, Astrid instinctively glanced at her surroundings. Currently, they were in the living room, which had welcomed them when they had first entered the room. It consisted of two armchairs (one of which she was sitting in) and a large couch, all encircling a round coffee table. In the wall behind the couch was a large window, which had an excellent aerial view of the forest outside. To the left and right of the living room were four doors, two on each side. These, presumably, led to the four bedrooms.

Astrid was itching to investigate. Anna spoke up. "Merida and I already chose our rooms," she said. She pointed to the room to right of the window, in the back right corner of the room, "That room is mine." Anna then turned to point at the room diagonal to hers, the room in the front left corner of the room, directly to the left of where someone would walk in the front door. "That's Merida's room," she said. Astrid shrugged. "They're all the same, right?" she asked, "I guess I'll go next to Merida." Astrid rose from her seat in the armchair beside Rapunzel and headed for the back corner room to the left of the window. Rapunzel smiled, and said, "I guess that leaves the last room for me!" She stood, and walked over to the room in the front right corner.

Astrid opened her door slowly. Her chamber was relatively small. The bed was neatly made and against the wall directly across from the entrance. To her right was a dresser, over-which was a window. The walls were painted a delicate cream color, and were sadly barren. Astrid thought of Hiccup's workshop at Gobber's forge, its walls covered in drawings of inventions. She had half a mind to send him a letter, asking for some wall-décor. Astrid glanced to her left. There was another door. She opened it. It appeared to be a little lavatory that connected her room to Merida's. Astrid grimaced. She had to split a bathroom with the Scottish one.

The other door opened. Merida peered out. "Well," she said, "Guess we'll be sharing the pot, now won't we?"

Meanwhile…

Rapunzel really liked her bedroom. She could already see the amazing potential for wall murals! Unfortunately, her room did not have a window, because her dresser wall backed the outside corridor. Nonetheless, she knew she would be very happy here, in her cozy little chamber. Moreover, sharing a lavatory with her cousin Anna would be fun! She had the distinct feeling this year would be an incredible one. Rapunzel heard a soft knock from her bathroom door. "Yes?" she called out. Anna cracked open the door, and peeped in. "Hi," she said, giggling. Rapunzel smiled, and patted her bed, where she happened to be sitting. Anna tiptoed over and plopped down. "I just wanted to see if your room was the same as mine," she said, looking around. "Yes, they're basically all the same," Rapunzel confirmed.

Anna smiled at her. "Do you know when we're going to see the other girls again and start our classes?" she asked. "Not right now, obviously," Rapunzel laughed, "Tomorrow if when our classes begin. However, tonight my mother has called a meeting in the banquet hall, to discuss the rules and the schedule. So you'll meet the other students then."

Anna grinned. "Cool!" she said. There was a delicate pause. "Well, I guess I should go unpack," she said, standing and bobbing slightly before turning to go.

"Yeah, me too," Rapunzel said, standing. Once Anna left, the princess exited her room to retrieve her bags from the living room. There, she met Astrid.

"What do you think of your room?" Rapunzel asked. Astrid glanced up from her luggage. "It's nice," the Viking said, brushing her blonde bangs from her eyes. "Needs some décor, right?" Rapunzel laughed. Astrid shrugged, smiling.

"Do you want help with that?" the princess asked good-naturedly, gesturing at the bags. "No, I'm good, thanks," the dragon trainer replied hurriedly, hoisting her luggage over her shoulder. Astrid gave Rapunzel a short nod, and then disappeared into her bedroom. The princess raised her eyebrows. "I guess she wants to be on her own, now," Rapunzel muttered. She picked up her own bags and brought them to her chamber.

Meanwhile…

After they all unpacked, Rapunzel led the tour of the University. It was fairly uneventful. The princess showed them a few secret passages she had the workers construct. "They're not really secret now you know about them, but I really wanted someone to see them," Rapunzel said, laughing. They saw the banquet hall, the other dormitory corridors, and most of the classrooms. They even snuck into the kitchens, before being caught and evicted.

This whole ordeal took the entire day. By the time the quartet stumbled, hysterically laughing, back into their suite, it was time for Queen Primrose's meeting. "What should I wear?" Anna cried, rushing to her room in the right corner. "Nothing too fancy, just something suitable for dinner," Rapunzel replied, entering her room and closing the door. Ten minutes later, the four young women appeared at their bedroom doors. Merida was wearing a dark emerald green wool dress, with the long sleeves just slightly off the shoulders. Astrid had slipped into an old favorite: a calf-length boat-necked light blue gown with quarter sleeves. The hue went perfectly with her sparkly wedding ring.

Rapunzel decided to go for a simple look, and went in a short pink frock. Anna came out of her bedroom a little later than her comrades, donning an adorable light olive green dress with delicate patterns on the skirt and bodice. Her braids had been pinned up in a sophisticated-looking hairstyle. "Okay," said Rapunzel, going to the front door of the suite, "let's go."