Chapter Fourteen
Astrid dipped Stormfly lower, so that she could fly beneath the clouds. The white vapor tickled on the way through and left water droplets on Astrid's skin. She shook them off. Hiccup and Toothless followed. Astrid glanced down. Arendelle loomed below them. People milled out, going from shop to shop, buying breads and clothe. A few of them happened to look up. One of them opened their mouth, but Astrid was too high up to hear if the man screamed or not. She pushed Stormfly up again. Stormfly flicked her head and groaned.
"I know, girl." Astrid patted her dragon. "I don't want them to think this is an assault or something."
"So you think dipping below the clouds and then zooming back up is a good technique? It'll look like we're spying on them." Behind her, Hiccup laughed. "Besides if they're so touchy we should've walked in."
Astrid eyed him, her anger spiking. "They're not like Berk." Her voice pitched higher than usual. She was getting anxious.
Hiccup leaned back on Toothless and arched an eyebrow at her sudden change of mood. "I know. But they did want to trade with us, remember?"
Astrid nodded. "Their Queen and her Council wanted to trade. The last time I flew into this place I attacked their Queen and made the rest of them run for cover, and I don't know if she made an announcement that we're coming back. I want her people to like us, too."
"What's not to like?" Hiccup spread his arms and grinned. Toothless flicked his ear.
In spite of her worries, Astrid smiled. This is what he's good at. She had to remind herself about it every few minutes. Hiccup was good with the talking and the impression making. He was good at negotiation. He was a good chief.
Everything would go smoothly, trading wise, now that Hiccup was with her.
She hoped everything would go smoothly with Elsa, too.
Elsa sat on the steps. Probably not the best place for a Queen but right now she hardly cared. Nerves pinged through her, twitching her arms and legs, making her get up and pace every few minutes. She hoped this day would go well, that her and Hiccup would start off on the right foot and the negotiations for trading would be successful.
She also hoped she would get to know Astrid more during this visit.
But she pushed that thought away. Yes Astrid was attractive. Yes something could be there. But she had to be Queen of Arendelle first and foremost. And first and foremost was this trade agreement.
Afterwards she could see where this thing with Astrid went.
She was supposed to be eating lunch, supposed to be getting ready for her company, supposed to be preparing herself. But a few minutes earlier someone outside her gates yelled. A man. She sent her guards out to investigate.
Her guards had yet to return.
Just another thing to add to her plate of worries.
A crash came just outside the doors. She went to them, ignoring the guards as they fluttered around her. The doors swung open before she reached them and her two guards dragged a man inside then slammed the doors shut again.
Elsa stopped short. Lovely. Just what she needed today. Some unruly citizen causing a scene.
"What's the meaning of this?"
One of her guards answered, "He was making a ruckus in the main square. Causing a panic."
"My Queen!" The man detached himself from the guards and flung himself forward to kneel in front of her. "I had to warn everyone. I had to warn you!"
Elsa folded her arms. "Warn me of what?"
"Dragons," the man gasped. He pointed to the sky "Above us. There were two. The same one from before and then another one. A bigger one! Dragons!"
"Ah. Yes." Heat crept up her neck. Should she have made some sort of decree to her people? Realization struck her. Her father would have. Of course she should have. It was a rookie mistake.
One not meant for the Queen.
"I—" she began, not really sure of what to say to this man. He trembled. He actually trembled on the ground before her.
Someone stepped up next to her. "The Queen is in negotiations with Berk, the dragon village," Councilman Itemas said. "If a trade agreement is reached, the Queen will make an official decree to Arendelle. You have nothing to fear."
Itemas titled his head at her out of respect, as if the words had come from her. The man looked from the councilman to Elsa, stood, and backed away a step.
"Yes, my Queen. Sorry to disturb." He bowed, his ears turning a deep crimson.
Elsa gave him a soft smile. "Not to worry." She moved forward and put a hand on his arm, a gesture her father would have made in her situation. "There is nothing to fear from these people. Please, treat them as I treat you."
The man bowed deeper. "I will, Queen Elsa."
"You are free to go," Elsa replied.
The man turned and walked out of her courtyard, leaving the doors open as he left. A mob had gathered at her doors. Elsa sighed and rubbed her temple. A warm hand rested on her shoulder.
"I will deal with them," Councilman Itemas said.
"Thank you, Itemas," Elsa murmured.
"My pleasure, Queen Elsa." He shooed some folks milling just inside the doors and started to close them, nodding to the gardens. "Your guests have arrived."
Elsa turned just in time to see Stormfly land. Even in the short amount of time Astrid had been gone, it shocked Elsa to see how huge the dragon really was. Suddenly her massive sculpture didn't seem big at all.
Astrid slid off Stormfly's back. She eyed the blue-white sculpture by the gardens, tucked neatly against the wall. It was obviously a space designated for their dragons. A water barrel and bucket of food sat by one column. The grass was covered by a thick layer of hay.
Hay? Stormfly probably would've preferred sleeping on the grass. Still. Astrid smiled. It was a welcoming gesture. She hoped Hiccup wouldn't laugh.
Toothless landed with a thump next to Stormfly and nudged her with his snout. She chuffed and nudged back. Hiccup swung off his dragon. He took in Elsa's home with wide eyes, craning his neck to see the top of the uppermost spires.
"Impressive," he whispered.
Elsa walked toward them, a purple dress hugging her curves and swishing around her legs. Heat rose up Astrid's neck. "Yes. Impressive."
"Welcome, Astrid," Elsa said, stopping in front of her. "I trust your travels went well?"
Astrid's smile grew wider. "Yes. It did. Thank you." She gestured to the ice structure. "Thank you for the dragon enclosure. I think Stormfly and Toothless will like it."
Elsa titled her head, her gaze flitting between Astrid and the dragons. "I had hoped so. Though they should be careful. Icicle seems to have taken residence there."
Was she blushing, too? Yes. Astrid noticed a faint blush on her cheeks. Astrid chuckled. "I'll let them know."
Elsa's gaze finally settled on the chief of Berk. "Welcome, Hiccup."
Hiccup stared at her. Just stared at her. His lips parted but he didn't say a word. Had he heard her? The silence stretched a little too long. Elsa's smile faltered, and she glanced at Astrid.
Astrid nudged Hiccup. He seemed to snap out of the trance and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Queen Elsa."
Elsa shook the offered hand. "Lovely to meet you, too. Chief Hiccup, is it?"
Hiccup laughed. It was a squeak of his usual voice. Astrid stared at him. What was wrong with him?
"Just Hiccup would be fine," he said.
Nodding, Elsa replied, "Just Elsa would be preferable, too. Shall we go inside?"
Hiccup shook his head and rolled his shoulders back. He gave a sideways glance at Astrid, motioning her aside. "We will. Just a second, okay?"
Astrid followed Hiccup over to the other side of the dragons. She glanced back at Elsa, who mouthed "everything okay?" at her. Astrid shrugged.
Hiccup stopped by Toothless and motioned her closer. She moved closer, now standing toe to toe with her former lover. When he breathed, she breathed in it. He smelled like dried fish, their last meal. "What?"
Hiccup shifted his eyes down to the space between them. "I don't want you in the conversation about the trade agreement."
Astrid titled her head. She didn't expect that. "Why?"
Hiccup's eyes darkened. "Because you'll mess it up like last time."
Elsa rubbed her arm and glanced over at the dragons. The talk between Astrid and Hiccup just got louder. She couldn't make out the words, but the conversation definitely escalated to an argument.
What should she do now?
She wanted to make a good impression, but, after meeting her, they go off and fight? She reviewed the conversation in her mind, going over each and every word. They hadn't said anything strange.
Trying hard not to listen as the conversation pitched louder, Elsa stared at the dragons instead. Stormfly seemed okay. She nudged the other dragon—Toothless, Astrid called him—but the dark dragon kept shoving her away. Toothless seemed… anxious. He stared at the walls, at the gardens, at her home, at the dragon enclosure. He stayed close to the ground, tail lowered, wings tucked close to his body. He looked… scared in a way.
And Elsa wanted to go comfort the beast.
Just when she gathered enough courage to walk over to the dragons, the fighting stopped. Or, at least the yelling quieted down.
Hiccup and Astrid walked around Stormfly. Hiccup had a smile, but Astrid's face was redder than a cherry pie. She hung back and scuffed her boot against the grass while Hiccup sauntered up to Elsa. "So, should we go inside and talk?"
Elsa made a point of looking at Astrid. "Yes, we should all go inside."
Hiccup shook his head. "Astrid won't be in the conversations. Is there a place she can stay?"
What? Elsa tried to contain her shock. Why wouldn't she be involved? It didn't make any sense since Astrid opened the conversation between the two peoples. Still, that was Hiccup's decision. As chief he had the final say in who sat in on negotiations representing Berk.
"As you wish," Elsa replied. She didn't know him very well, so perhaps it was bold of her to assume what his facial expressions meant, but the lines creasing his forehead and the tense look in his eyes seemed to suggest he looked… stung. Hurt by something, perhaps.
Elsa snuck a glance at Astrid, who glared at the ground, her blush, if possible, getting deeper. She wanted to comfort Astrid. But this wasn't the time.
The doors leading into her kingdom opened and Councilman Itemas walked in. It gave her the perfect excuse.
"Councilman Itemas." Elsa took his arm and led him over to Hiccup. "Please lead Hiccup to the council hall where we can discuss trade options."
"Yes, my Queen," Itemas said, bowing his head. He took Hiccup by the arm, gently, and led him away. Elsa watched for a moment, then turned her attention to Astrid.
"Are…" Elsa walked over to the other woman. "Are you all right?"
Astrid lifted her gaze. She scanned anywhere but at Elsa, finally landing on the now open doors. "I'm fine."
"You can visit Arendelle, if you'd like. Walk around the square. Look at the shops." Elsa tried for smile, but it was like she was banishing Astrid from the grounds like an insolent child while the adults spoke of important things. Certainly not the impression she wanted to leave on this… interesting… woman.
Astrid shook her head and rubbed a hand over the back of her neck. "Sure. That sounds like fun." She gave Toothless and Stormfly a pat and started for the doors. Then she turned and grinned. "You have fun, too, in there. Okay?"
Elsa's insides gave a little kick at that smile. She returned it. "I'll try."
Then, Astrid went out the doors and vanished from Elsa's sight. She gave the guards orders to make sure the dragons were comfortable, but the guards shrugged. Once their humans left, the beasts had gone straight for their enclosure and flopped over. Elsa smiled. It seemed that job was done. She told her guards to keep an eye on the beasts and, satisfied the dragons were happy, Elsa headed inside.
Though she was grateful to start negotiations with the Berk chief, she longed to be out in her fair kingdom walking around with Astrid instead.
SQ: What happened between Hiccup and Astrid? You may never know... kidding!
I'm super happy to have more followers and favorites *waves* and will post the next chapter soon. I took the vacation to really plan everything out, so I know what's going to happen all the way until the end.
I do have some wiggle room, though, and wanted to kind of co-author the next few sections with you guys by asking a series of questions that will help guide my pen...er...typing.
You've probably noticed I haven't really put in Olaf, Sven, or Bulda in this story. (And that's just on Frozen's end, I also haven't toyed around with any of the secondary characters from HTTYD.) I like them as characters. I just don't feel like they really "fit" here, you know? But I could make them fit.
My questions:
1) Do you want me to add in more Frozen characters?
2) Do you want me to add in more Dragon characters?
3) People are bound to notice the little tiff Astrid and Hiccup had. Would you like it better if Anna or Elsa talked it over with Astrid first?
4) Do you have any comments on Hiccup's character? I feel like I have more freedom with these characters, since this is a crossover fic, but I also don't want to break him too much out of his mold.
Until next time!