Chapter 8

The search was on. Somewhere out there was a fleet of ships that were wreaking havoc on the North Sea trade industry. And the Dragon Riders were going to find it. Each had gone off in his own direction, except Hiccup and Astrid. They had chosen to stay together owing to the VIP passengers that accompanied them. They certainly didn't want to report back to Arendelle without its queen and princess. Hiccup had objected to Elsa and Anna being part of this operation, but Elsa overruled him. Still he had to admit that they were taking to viking life surprisingly well, especially for royals.

Elsa had been holding tight to Hiccup at the start of the flight. Now that she was comfortable, she wasn't crushing him anymore. Instead she was watching the sea below for any signs of what they were looking for. Still, her mind wandered a little. She had noticed that they had left Arendelle with no provisions, except for a few canteens of water. They would be out for maybe 5 days. What were they supposed to eat? Hiccup had assured her that they knew what they were doing, so she resided herself to trusting him completely.

After being airborne all day, with the sun setting, the Riders guided their dragons down to a small island. Hiccup asked Elsa and Anna to stay with Toothless and Stormfly while he and Astrid hunted for dinner, which they had no problem with given they had no hunting skills.

"These certainly are amazing creatures, eh Anna?" Elsa commented, as she pat Toothless' head.

"Very." Anna replied happily as she scratched under Stormflys chin. "And to think, if not for this Dagur person, we'd probably have never met the Riders or their dragons."

Elsas smile faded. "Yeah."

Just then Astrid came back, with a few handfuls of plants. "I got the salad!"

Anna asked her, "Where's Hiccup? Still hunting?"

"Nope. He scored a wild pig 10 minutes after we left. He's cooking it up now."

"Wild PIG?" Anna questioned.

Elsa replied, "I'm sure it's no different than the pork chops or ham steaks chef makes for us."

Anna nodded in agreement. Astrid snickered.

"Who's hungry?!"Hiccup cheered. Anna and Elsas eyes lit up as Hiccup served out dinner.

Anna questioned, "What exactly is this?"

"Viking dinner out." Hiccup answered. "Fire roasted wild pork and my specialty, Woodland Tidbits."

Elsa eyed the serving. Appearance clearly didn't mean much with viking meals, but it would be an insult if she didn't at least try it. She tried a small piece of meat. It had a bit of a gamey taste but it was still edible.

"This isn't bad." She stated surprisedly, digging in.

Anna tried a meat strip, and also found it palatable. She started stuffing her face. Now everyone was eating their fill. All was going well until Elsa asked Hiccup, "Forgive me, but what exactly are Woodland Tidbits?"

But Astrid answered, "Forest insects."

"Yep. Whatever bugs we can find. Flame broiled." Hiccup added, popping something that now looked like a beetle in his mouth.

Elsa suddenly jumped up and ran into the woods. The sound she made clearly indicated that the bug meal concept did not sit well with her.

"Wow." Anna said. "Glad I stuck with the meat strips."

Hiccup and Astrid giggled.

"Um...these are meat strips, right?" Anna asked fearfully.

Astrid popped another in her mouth. "Roasted caterpillar"

Anna joined her sister in the woods.

Later in the evening, after Elsa and Annas stomachs had settled, the four sat around a campfire sharing stories. Elsa and Anna told Hiccup and Astrid of how life was growing up in Arendelle. Hiccup and Astrid shared tales of their lives on Berk. Both sides were enthralled by how different the others lives were.

"And yet here we are," Elsa stated, "people from two very different cultures working together toward a mutually beneficial goal."

Astrid commented, "I gotta admit, Elsa. When you made the call to come out here with us I didn't think either of you would last the day. I mean, royals in the wild? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right?"

Elsa and Anna cast her dirty looks.

"But you two are really pulling it off. It's almost like you two are vikings in spirit. You just needed a chance to let it out. For what it's worth, I'm really impressed."

Hiccup added, "I'll second that." holding up his canteen.

"Thanks," Anna smiled, "and I have to admit this has been one heck of an adventure so far. You guys really know how to live life to the most."

"You only live once!" Astrid commented, "Might as well make the best of it while you can, right?"

Anna agreed. But Elsa remained silent, her face showing serious contemplation.

"Well," Hiccup said, "we gotta be up at first light. We still have a lot of ocean to cover. Probably a good time to call it a night."

"Agreed!" everyone replied. And with that, each found a comfy spot in the grass and hunkered down for the night.

But for Elsa and Anna, sleep didn't come easy. Anna was lost in the stars above. But Elsa was lost in thought.

"Look Elsa! The sky's awake!" Anna stated cheerfully.

Elsa mumbled indifferently. This caught Annas attention.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"About what, Anna?"

"About what's eating you? Besides that lizard."

Elsa jumped up, making Anna laugh. "Kidding!" she giggled

"Very funny Anna." Elsa growled. But it got her talking.

"Anna. Have you ever wondered what life could have been like if we weren't born into royalty?"

"Hmm. Interesting thought. I guess it would have been quite different. My powers would have come out normally, like yours. We'd probably still be hidden from everyone but at least we'd have been together. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking. Ever since I was little, Papa trained me to become queen one day. Everything was about preparing for the future. How to eat. How to speak. How to dress. Nothing was ever fun. I used to watch you and Mama playing in the garden. Oh how I wanted to be down there with you. But with Papa, it was always learn, learn, learn. If I asked to go out and play, he'd tell me playing was a waste of time, that I still had lots to learn if I was going to be queen. But..." she trailed off.

"But what?"

"But he never asked me if I even wanted to be queen."

Anna was taken aback by Elsa's statement.

"But you're the oldest." she stated. "It's automatically assumed that you would be next in line to rule."

"That's my point, Anna. Everyone assumes I'll just do what they think I'm supposed to. Be the good girl. I've only been truely free twice in my life. That day on the North Mountain, and now. I let go of that freedom the last time for the good of Arendelle, but it wasn't what I really wanted for myself." She paused a moment. "And now I'm thinking I won't let go of my freedom this time."

"WHOA ELSA! You mean advocate the throne? Renounce your royal birthright? What would you do? Where would you go?"

"Actually I was thinking of joining the Hooligan tribe. If they'll have me."

"You? A VIKING? Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

Elsa thought a moment. "Yes it does sound bizarre. But the truth is I like this lifestyle. This adventure has been total freedom for me. True I'd have a lot to adapt to, but I'm willing. Not because I have to, but because I WANT to."

Anna thought about what her sister said. "Ok. You make a good point. So who'll take over rule in Arendelle?"

"Logically you would. As my sister you're next to be queen."

"Um..That's not gonna happen." Anna stated.

"What do you mean, Anna?"

"If you're going viking, then so am I. We worked too hard to rebuild what was lost between us, and I'm not letting that go. And I have to admit, this life is a lot more fun than the royal life."

Elsa started to object, but Anna cut her off.

"Sorry Elsa. But we're a matched set. Where you go, I go." She held up her hand. "Fire and ice?"

Elsa smiled and Took Annas hand. "Fire and ice!"

Then Elsa added, "I haven't set my mind on this yet. So it's probably best if we don't tell anyone. Especially the Riders. I don't want them thinking they're somehow at fault for my, I mean, OUR decision."

Anna smiled. "Agreed. Now let's get some rest."

Anna cuddled up beside her sister, and both drifted off to sleep easily.

But their secret was already out. Astrid had had problems falling asleep as well. And had heard every word of Elsa and Annas conversation. Now, no matter how hard she tried, one though kept running through her mind...

'What have we done!?'