Chapter Thirteen

Astrid and Hiccup started their dragon ride early, even before the sun hinted at the horizon. They had to make it to Arendelle before sundown to meet the return deadline. Astrid almost wished they started sooner. Almost wished they started yesterday. She glanced at Hiccup. He rode with a frown, determination creasing his face, wrinkling his features. She almost wished she rode alone, just her and Stormfly. But no, of course not, they had to get back to reach a trade agreement and the only way to do that was with the clan leader's approval. Hiccup's approval. Toothless let out a puff of fire and dove through it, probably letting off some steam. Hiccup whooped and laughed as they dove.

Astrid smiled. It was good to do that every once in a while. They had been flying for hours and still had hours to go. She kneed Stormfly down into a spiral and her dragon gratefully sank into it, hurtling to the sea. She pulled up at the last moment and glided across the water, titling to dip her wingtips in the salty sea. Astrid, too, laughed.

Yes. This was good.

She eyed the horizon. She could just make out the giant mountain peak from this distance. Beside that mountain, Arendelle sat. Beside that mountain, Queen Elsa awaited their return. "We're nearly there. We should reach the city in a few hours."

Toothless dipped beside her and Hiccup groaned. "A few hours? No wonder we never found this place before."

Astrid nodded. "I doubt even the fastest or strongest Viking ships made it this far."

"Just another reason why dragons are amazing." Hiccup patted Toothless, who grunted in return.

Astrid didn't answer, but she, too, rubbed her hand over Stormfly's scales, enjoying the smoothness there. Stormfly answered with a snort. "Good girl," she murmured.

Hiccup and Toothless flew up into the clouds but Astrid motioned Stormfy to keep flying by the water. It was cooler here, the sea splashing salt up onto her legs and arms, the water sucking heat from her. The heat that began almost immediately after she awoke this morning. Even after last night's relief.

She needed Elsa.

She hoped seeing Elsa would squelch this feeling. If only a little.

Staring at the mountain growing ever closer, a new thought entered her mind. She hoped they would receive a warm welcome upon their return. Queen Elsa and her Councilmembers might be cordial. But what of her townspeople? Having one dragon come upon their fair city seemed much for the community, but having two? After their first fiery glimpse at a dragon, what could they possibly think of two?

But the townspeople had seen Icicle. And seemed okay with him. If only for now.

A splash of water dotted her cheek, chilling her skin. Icicle had been created. Created by their Queen. Perhaps that was why the tiny dragon had been well received.

That, or perhaps his diminutive size carried the love of the fair town.

Astrid threw her cloak aside and patted Stormfly, then glanced up at Toothless soaring gracefully above.

It would be very different this time around. Stormfly would not be in a cage, nor would Toothless. The dragons would not be allowed to roam, of course, but the townspeople might still be afraid. And their fear might sway the Council. Two large dragons loose in the gardens might sway Elsa, too. After all, the Queen hadn't interacted with Stormfly much, hadn't seen her good side, her kindness or gentleness, her spunk. All the Queen knew was that Stormfly might not kill Anna and could understand human speech, to a degree. Astrid hoped there would be time to familiarize the two.

She glanced up from the sea and hoped, for all their sakes, their dragons would be well received by all.

Elsa stood at the edge of her garden, erecting four large pillars and an ice roof. It wasn't a cage, merely a structure for the dragons to take cover in in case of rain.

Or snow.

She eyed her handiwork. The structure loomed over her, blue ice curving up and out at the base and top and forming spiraled pillars holding up the transparent ice roof. She figured, maybe, the dragons would like to see the stars at night. Or the moon.

She motioned her guards forward. "Put that water barrel in the corner, the meat next to it, and lay at least two layers of straw on the ground. I want these dragons to be comfortable."

The guards did as they were told. Another came from behind her, puffing slightly. "Queen, the guest bedrooms are ready for our guests. By dusk, we will have a bath ready for each and dinner will be served by nightfall."

"Has the cook prepared everything I requested?" Elsa specifically asked the cook to prepare a vegetable dish in case Astrid or Hiccup did not eat meat. Worry gnawed at her stomach. She should've asked Astrid before she left. Should have been more prepared.

"Yes, my Queen. Everything is as you requested," the guard replied.

"Thank you." Elsa started to motion her away, then stopped as another thought hit her. "Please gather more firewood for the guestrooms. I don't want them to be cold."

The guard bowed her head. "Yes, Queen Elsa."

After watching the guard scurry away, Elsa sighed and turned back to her creation. It seemed too big to her, but, then again, it was for two dragons. Elsa knew how big one of the dragons was—Stormfly—but she had no way of knowing how big Hiccup's dragon would be.

She gulped, remembering the flames and fear of their first meeting. It wouldn't happen again. No, it wouldn't. She wouldn't let it. They had an agreement, after all. A peace offering.

And her and Astrid… well… they seemed to be developing something. Surely she had made the correct decision backing her new ally up.

She had to have.

Still, her creation seemed huge. Straw littered the ground, making a simple bedding for the beasts. She called her magic up to keep the water and meats cold until nightfall and sighed.

Without warning, a weight landed on her shoulder. Her neck cooled. Icicle. The miniature dragon cooed in her ear and nuzzled her hair.

"What do you think of it, little one?" she asked.

Icicle leapt off her shoulder and flapped a bit, landing gently in the middle of the straw pile. He circled around and around, making a small but noticeable dent in the straw, and settled down. He cooed again, closing his eyes and curling his tail around to reach the tip of his nose.

Elsa smiled.

"I guess he thinks it's good," Anna said from behind her.

Elsa yelped and looked around. Thankfully the guards were busy. "You should be thankful no guards heard that," she muttered to her little sister.

Anna grinned. "Oh, stop being so noble. The guards wouldn't care." She shrugged. "I like it, too, by the way. And I think our guests will feel comfortable here."

Elsa turned away from her sister and glanced at the structure once more, and at the little dragon sleeping inside it. Her gaze wandered from the dragon, to the doors leading out to her kingdom. What would her people think of having two dragons come here?

Anna took hold of Elsa's hand. "And I think your people will be grateful for the new goods that will come from this arrangement."

Somehow, Anna always knew what to say to make Elsa feel better. She turned to her little sister and cupped her cheek. "Hopefully, yes. Nothing is set until we make the final agreements and pen both our names on the Trade Agreement."

Still Anna smiled. "I'm sure you'll sweep the Berk king off his feet."

Technically, their chief. Still Elsa titled her head. "And what makes you think that, dear sister?"

She leaned close and whispered, "Because you did something similar with Astrid."

Then, in a flash of movement, Anna laughed and darted away. Heat blazed up Elsa's cheeks. Think you can get away with that, sister? She formed a snowball in the cup of her hand. Patting it down, she threw it with all her might at Anna. The snowball hit her squarely in the back, bursting across her shoulders and over her head. Anna squealed, glanced over her shoulder, and winked, then continued into the castle.

Elsa shook her head and grinned, stupidly. Even just the sound of Astrid's name made her blush. Her heart beat frantically, and she rested her palm against her chest to calm it.

She could only hope, for her sake and her kingdom's, that Anna was right.

SQ: Short, I know, but I wanted there to be another transitional chapter between Astrid leaving and then returning to Elsa. During my vacation I figured out how I'm going to continue this story and how I'm going to end it! (Though that's still a few chapters away.)

I also decided which universe I'm going to play in next: Korrasami! (Also known as The Legend of Korra.) Thanks to everyone who voted! I'm probably going to finish this story first and then move onto my new one, but that's good, because it'll give me time to really sink my teeth into the new plotline and such. Check back for more updates later!

Thanks to everyone who favorited and followed my story thus far! I hope to hear from you in my comments; I do love reading them. Also, if anyone out there has an artistic flair, I'd love to see some fanart! Post them on Tumblr, tag me snowedinscribe, and I'll share them around!

Until next time!