Chapter Seven

Elsa paused, staring at the darkness beyond her bedroom. Staring at something. The shadows in her writing nook had moved. Tilted slightly. Hairs rose on the back of her neck. The air grew colder. She tensed, expecting something to burst out, a dragon or that barbarian woman. Something. Anything.

But nothing did.

So Elsa turned away. She was just being silly, too wound up from the day to think straight. There was nothing in her room, nothing in her writing nook, nothing nearby that could harm her. The barbarian was in her cell. The blue-white dragon in its cage outside. The little white dragon slept with Anna. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The air lost its bite.

Elsa pulled her white robe tighter and sat down on her bed. It creaked and she rolled her eyes. Surely someone could fix that. The light spilling from her lamp fell onto a leather-bound journal. She plucked the quill from her bedside table, opened the journal on her lap, and began to write.

Astrid could run away. The ice woman hadn't seen her. Had turned away. Had decided to write in some old book. Astrid should run away. Yet something held her there. Motionless. When Elsa's eyes had flicked over her form, a shudder rippled through Astrid's body. Even though Elsa didn't see Astrid, it still felt like the woman pierced her soul. Her hands twitched.

She should've kept on her armor.

But the once cold air had warmed. And Elsa had turned away. Distracted herself. Astrid could run away. She should.

But she made the worst decision in her life instead. Astrid rushed into the lighted room. She took four quick, quiet strides to Elsa's side and wrapped an arm around the woman's waist, pinning her arms. With her other, she covered Elsa's mouth, smothering a scream.

Elsa thrashed, stood, tried to throw Astrid off, but Astrid kept her hold. Years of dragon training had strengthened her arms. The book clattered to the floor.

"Stop moving," Astrid whispered.

So close, the Elsa filled Astrid's senses. She smelled clean, fresh like snow, her back cold against Astrid's chest, her hair soft against Astrid's cheek. Astrid had a wild impulse to spin Elsa around and kiss her. She pushed that idiotic thought down.

Elsa still struggled.

"Stop moving," Astrid said. Then it dawned on her. Grabbing a Queen? One that could create ice nonetheless. One that could probably kill Stormfly with a flick of her wrist. Kill her, too. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Hiccup would balk. All of Burk could be put in danger for her stupidity. "Please."

Elsa stilled. For now. Her ice blue eyes locked onto Astrid's. They widened. In fear? In recognition? Astrid couldn't tell. It felt like her entire body had been dipped in cold water. Maybe she should have walked in and spoke in soft tones with her hands raised. Maybe she should have stayed in her cell and waited for Elsa to come interrogate her. That's what Hiccup would've done. Either way, this wasn't the best way to start a conversation. She just wanted to make sure Elsa wouldn't harm Stormfly. To make sure her dragon was okay.

"I just want to talk," Astrid whispered.

Elsa bit her finger. Astrid cursed and loosened her grip.

"Then let me free," Elsa mumbled, her lips pressing against Astrid's palm.

Maybe this would work after all. Astrid tensed, but removed her hand. "If I do that, you can't freeze me."

"I won't."

That was too easy. Much too easy. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Elsa craned her neck and stared at Astrid. "Because I know you're telling the truth that you just want to talk. If you had wanted to kill me, you would've done so already."

Astrid nodded. She let go, stepped back. Her mind screamed for her to run away before this woman attacked her, froze her from the neck down again, encase her in ice. But Elsa didn't. Elsa merely turned around and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She swallowed, visibly. Her hands tensed. A chill still lingered in the air. But somehow, Astrid knew Elsa wouldn't attack. Not just yet anyway.

Elsa nodded to the chair beside her bedside table. Then, elegantly as only royalty could, she sat down on her bed and clasped her hands in her lap. Even though she should attack. Even though she should be scared. Even though Astrid was a stranger who had attacked her kingdom, Elsa still treated her with some measure of respect.

Astrid nodded and sat down.

Elsa's hands trembled, even with them pressed into her lap. Her heart thudded against her chest. The barbarian woman was in her bedroom. Somehow she had escaped her cell. Somehow she had managed to find her way to Elsa's bedroom. And yet somehow, being pressed against this woman had excited Elsa. Her back burned from their brief contact.

But the barbarian could've killed her. Snapped her neck before Elsa could call up her powers to defend herself. Instead, the woman let her go. Why? Her curiosity spiked. And now the woman stared at her. And even with the cold surrounding her, Elsa still felt powerless, captured in the woman's gaze.

Elsa eyed the stranger. The barbarian had taken off her armor and she didn't have weapons, any that Elsa could see anyway. And with the tightness of this woman's shirt and pants, there left little room to hide any. Her eyes strayed to the curve of the barbarian's chest, how her shirt wrinkled by her pants. How the soft yellow light seemed to caress her cheek. Elsa blinked. Heat crept up the back of her neck.

Elsa pursed her lips. She had been silent for far too long. "So I take it you were in one in the shadows a few moments ago."

The barbarian – Astrid – nodded. She coughed, then said, "Yes. I was surprised you didn't see me."

"I felt you, your presence, but thought my imagination was playing tricks." Elsa faltered. The cold comforted her, but, from the way Astrid shifted in her chair, it would be uncomfortable for her. And Elsa had made a deal. The cold vanished.

Astrid relaxed. "Thank you. For holding up your end of the bargain."

Elsa nodded, relaxing as well. "Now, what did you want to talk about?"

Astrid glanced away. "I didn't kill the guards. The one's watching me. They're unconscious, but not dead."

The way she said it, it seemed she was not only conveying information but also trying to reassure herself. "I'm glad to hear that. But surely you didn't sneak into my bedchambers to tell me that."

If anything, the woman should've run. Should've crept outside and ran away. If she was so deft at passing the guards surely she could have snuck past the few others posted outside. But then it dawned on her. "Your dragon is still safe."

Astrid looked back at her. "I wanted to be sure that you didn't hurt her."

Elsa frowned. "I didn't. And I won't."

Astrid leaned forward, arms on her knees. "But you tortured the little dragon."

Elsa leaned back, deeper into her chair. "I did not torture it. I healed it. And I will not harm your dragon. It – she – is safe. Locked securely on the grounds, but safe. I even constructed a roof over her head and made sure the guards put some grass for her to sleep on."

The council had not liked her decision, but with the little dragon on her mind, Elsa had ordered it to be so. It was someone's pet after all. She would want the same for Anna's ice dragon.

"You did?"

Such shock dripped from Astrid's voice that Elsa went on the defensive. Even here, even now, even with a stranger to her lands, the woman still judged her as someone threatening. Her entire kingdom judged her for her past actions, now this woman judged her for something she did not do. Of course she would make sure the dragon was comfortable. "I am not mean."

Astrid's eyes widened. "I never called you—"

Elsa did not hear the rest of the woman's sentence. Her thoughts pounded too loudly in her ears. Of course. Of course? Her stomach twisted. She had sided with this stranger so easily. Too easily. Why? Because she found the barbarian pretty? Because she had created one little ice dragon so all the dragons had to be like it? Defenseless, innocent. No, the council had been right to question this woman, to wonder what to do with an enemy.

Elsa gasped. An enemy. This woman had put her entire kingdom at risk. What was she doing, talking to her like this? Admiring her beauty. The barbarian attacked her, for heavens sake. She could attack right now. She could hurt Anna.

Elsa rose, the chill returning to the air. "You must go back to your cell. I will call the guards."

"But I—"

"You must go back to your cell." Elsa walked to the door connecting her bedroom to the hallway. Now was not the time for curiosity or idle, wandering thoughts. She was Queen, she had to act like it. She had to protect her kingdom.

Astrid stood and rushed after Elsa, grabbing her wrist and spinning her around. "Not until I see Stormfly."

Elsa shook her head. "That was not part of the deal. Let me go."

Astrid could see the fear painted on her face, in her shimmering eyes. "Please, I won't hurt you. I just have to – I just have to see Stormfly. Please."

Elsa had been fine talking before. Well, not this worried at least. What changed? But Astrid's breaths came out like fog, and each lungful hurt more than the last. Her skin prickled from the cold.

Elsa stared at Astrid's hand, still grabbing her wrist. "Let me go. Now."

Astrid, too, glanced down. A shard of ice grew from between Elsa's fingers. Astrid released her and backed away. "Please. I just want to be sure she's safe."

Elsa tensed, still gripping the shard in her hand. Even her eyes seemed to harden. "You are a prisoner here. You are not in the position to make demands. I will decide when… if… to show you your dragon. Just—just know that she is safe." Elsa's lip trembled for a moment, but she controlled it. "For now."

Astrid nodded. Then Elsa turned, opened the door, and called for her guards. Three came charging into the room. They cuffed Astrid and shoved her out into the hallway. But not before Astrid took one more look back at the Queen. Elsa stared back at her, look of longing crossed her features, but Astrid blinked and Elsa's expression had hardened once more.

SQ: IT'S BEEN FOREVER! I know, and I apologize. Grad school takes up a bunch of time, though, so try not to be so angry. Burn me or freeze me, but at least I posted the chapter, right? Right?

Thanks for all the favorites, followers, and comments thus far! And thank you for the ice dragon names you came up with, too, I'll pick one and insert it into the next chapter. Don't forget to comment on the way out!

Until next time! (Which will be, hopefully, sooner than this one. No promises though, apparently after Week Five it's supposed to get 'really tough'... I shudder to think what that's going to be like.)