Frozen
The Dragon Princess
Chapter 9
How to Train Your Dragon Princess
Part IV
Sorry for not updating in a while. Creativity slowed down, and I don't like putting out sub standard work. Also schools starting so I will have less time. Thirdly I read an article recently that called Anna the "most self absorbed princess" the Author had seen in a while. While I don't believe that, In this chapter I tried to highlight how her impulsiveness can cause as many problems as it solves, and that while it's endearing to us, it's not so endearing to those who are caught up in the storm she can bring down (in this chapter quite literally). Finally sorry for lifting the riddle from the Hobbit, but I wanted a good riddle that dealt with air. Remember to review. Your praise and comments help me to keep going and find out where to go next with the story.
"So let me get this straight. An all powerful dragon has descended on Berk, and if we aren't able to pass its test, it will scour us from the face of Berk?" Stoic the vast asked.
"That's about the size of it" His son Hiccup said. The large man turned and leveled his darkest glare at the small girl sitting on the stool in the great hall. Anna blinked and gave a shaky smile.
"So, what is this test?" He asked.
"I think it's a riddle" Anna said opening her book.
"Oh, a riddle, is that all?" Gobber asked.
"Stoic, big trouble" a portly Viking with a hook and peg leg said running in.
"What is it mulch?" Stoic asked sighing.
"Outcast ships" He said. Stoic was out the door, Gobber behind, Hiccup behind him, and Anna behind them. Anna looked up and saw that Borealis was still hovering high above Berk. He hadn't done anything yet. It was like he was waiting. They arrived at the docks to see that a group of men were standing next to a nasty looking ship. In the front was the mean large man Anna had tracked to the heart of wind too. She squeaked and hid behind Hiccup as they neared the men.
"Alvin, what are you doing here?" Stoic asked glaring.
"I'm here to reclaim my property" He said.
"What property?" Stoic asked.
"The heart of wind" Some little urchin stole it from me and I saw her fly away with that fat rider" Alvin said.
"Hey, I'm not an urchin!" Anna said jumping out from behind Hiccup.
"Um…Hiccup what's an urchin?" She asked. The boy slapped his face with his hand.
"Where's the heart you little brat?" Alvin demanded advancing on her. Panicking Anna transformed and roared right in the man's face to try to scare him away. The grizzled giant just stood there, eyes barely squinting, then last out with one huge fist. Anna felt a dull pain and the world tilted as she was knocked off her feet. She found herself on the ground, shocked to her bones.
"He hit me. He really actually hit me" she thought. She had never, in all her life been hit. Her parents and nannies had never hit her, and even when they were at their most angry she and Elsa had never hit each other.
"Stand down Alvin" Hiccup said. He and toothless stood in front of her, defending her.
"As soon as I get that heart Hiccup" Alvin said.
"The girl doesn't have it Alvin. We locked it up in the Great Hall after that appeared" Stoic said pointing at the floating dragon.
"Ah, the legendary guardian. I heard that if you don't pass its test it'll scour Berk from the face of Midgard" Alvin said.
"And where did you hear that?" Stoic asked.
"In this map I, liberated from a trader" Alvin said holding out an old weathered map.
"It doesn't matter does it? Alvin I know you want berk for yourself. You don't want it destroyed anymore than we do. Let us handle the guardian, then we can talk about what to do with the heart" Hiccup said.
"Wait the hearts mine" Anna protested as she transformed back to a human.
"Considering the trouble you've brought to our shores lass, I think you should be silent" Stoic said giving her the same glare her father had given her when she had kept pushing about Elsa. She knew that she was in major trouble, so she swallowed what she was going to say and dropped her eyes.
"That's better" the man said.
"Now let's talk about how we're going to deal with that dragon" He said gesturing to Borealis. On the other side of the village, a slender yet well built young man was stalking through the village. He was wearing spiked armor and had a spiked helmet. He had a black tattoo circling one eye, three streaks like tears running down the side. The boy ducked behind a building and looked up at the giant dragon.
"So, the legends true. The heart of wind that controls all the winds of Midgard. If I get my hands on that heart, I can take back my berserkers and the outcasts, as well as get my revenge on Alvin, Stoic, and Hiccup, and finally, finally toothless will be mine" He cackled to himself insanely, but stopped and hid when his razor sharp ears heard someone coming. He looked and saw Snotlout creeping around, when everyone else had retreated to their homes. Dagger crept along behind the boy as Snotlout snuck toward the great hall.
"Take my gem from me will they? I'll show them" He muttered to himself. Dagur kept with the oblivious boy as he entered the great hall. Dagur leap behind a chair to hide as he saw Snotlout walk up to ruffnut and Tuffnut.
"Let me in" Snotlout said.
"No can do. Hiccup told us we had to guard the treasure" Ruffnut said.
"Really, because I just talked to Hiccup, and he said he wants you to fly to dragon Island" Snotlout said.
"Dragon Island? Why?" Ruffnut asked.
"I don't know what do I care why Hiccup wants you to do stuff" Snotlout said.
"Well, he does have a point" Ruffnut said.
"Um…okay" Tuffnut said and the two left snickering.
"Muttonheads" Snotlout snickered as he tried to open the door, only to find it locked.
"Oh yeah. If you want to open that you'll need the key, and Hiccup has it" Tuffnut shot backward as they left. Snotlout snarled and bashed himself against the door as hard as he could, the third time busting the doors open and sending him crashing to the floor.
"Yes" Snotlout said pushing himself up. He saw the placed on a small pedestal among the bushels of food and supplies.
"Come to papa" Snotlout said walking toward the gem, not noticing Dagur sneaking up on him, until Dagur brought a hammer blow down on the boys head. Snotlout dropped to the floor unconscious. Dagur stalked forward, took the gem and fled. What he didn't realize was that Anna had slipped away invisibly after Stoic had scolded her and had come back to the vault to get the gem herself. Seeing the boy grab the gen and run, she followed him.
"Now we need to find out how to control the heart of wind. If we can master its power we can use it to bring down that great beast" Alvin said. He, Gobber, Hiccup, Astrid, fishlegs and Alvin were walking back to the vault.
"Ah, so that's your plan? Use the dangerously powerful magical item that a god like dragon is guardian to try to defeat said god like dragon. Very…inspired" Gobber said snidely.
"You got any better ideas?" The grizzled man asked.
"Yes, we answer that things riddle" Hiccup said.
"Bah, legend says that the riddle is so clever, so devious, so mind bendingly complex no one's ever been able to answer it, and if you answer wrong" Alvin left off.
"We get blown off the face of Midgard, I know, I know, but it's a better idea than using it to fight it" Hiccup said as they walked through the doors of the great hall.
"I don't think that's going to be a problem" Astrid said deadpan as they saw the open vault door.
"What in Thor's name?" Stoic asked and stalked forward into the open vault, the others behind him.
"Well, Stoic, a fine job you done guardin the heart" Alvin mocked as they saw the empty pedestal and unconscious Snotlout. Astrid bent down and rolled him over.
"Snotlout….Snotlout" She whispered softly and sweetly before punching him across the face.
"WAKE UP!" she shouted and the boy sat up with a yelp.
"What happened?" She asked. The boy looked around seeing the group glaring down at him and his face grew stubborn.
"What, that gem is mine!" He said.
"Technically it's Anna's fishlegs said"
"Speaking of which, where'd the little devil get off too" Gobber asked. They all looked around to see the little girl had vanished. Hiccup gave a frustrated sigh and Stoic groaned.
Anna ran after the Viking as he fled the village, but as a human, even though she was a good runner, she was still small, with short legs, while the boy was almost fully grown and athletic to boot. Anna struggled to keep up, but didn't want to risk transforming as he climbed the rock wall behind the village. Backing up slightly, Anna transformed and flew quietly up the hill and waited as a dragon until Dagur reached the top. She kept completely still as he looked up at the giant dragon and raised the Heart over his head.
"Ancient one, I possess the heart of wind. I demand the riddle to be worthy of its power" Dagur called. The pulsed and a voice came from everywhere.
"Very well, but if you should fail to answer correctly, I will scour this place from the face of the world" The dragon bellowed.
"Win win for me either way" The boy cackled madly. Anna's heart beat and her mind raced a mile minute in panic. She was about to lose the heart of air. After all her preparation, all her effort, she was going to fail before she even began. Suddenly the sad face of her sister filled her mind, prim and proper. Gloved hands clasped together, cold and rigid.
"No" She though fiercely and lunged at the boy, snatching the gem from his upraised palm. As she flew up the dragon spoke.
"Voiceless it cries,
Wingless it flutters
Toothless it bites,
Mouthless it mutters."
The dragon intoned. Anna flew high, until she was staring it in the eyes. Her mind raced trying to come up with an answer, when once again a memory came to her, of the night with the women, before the snow storm. She remembered the wind beginning to keen, whispering and flying around her, nipping at her hears and nose and seeming to talk. Even as a dragon she felt the same sensations, though her scales dulled them. She had her answer.
"Wind" She cried. There was a crash of thunder, and a howling whirlwind surrounded her without touching her.
"You have passed the test. The heart of wind is now yours bound to you and you alone" The dragon said and the wind and dragon retreated back into the sky, and with another crash the sky cleared, becoming a clear beautiful blue. Anna sighed with relief when she heard a roaring voice. Looking down she saw Dagur railing at her and making rude gestures, before he was surrounded by dragons, each holding a rider. Anna returned to earth and stood on her hind legs, holding the heart of wind in her hand. Dagur broke past the dragons and rushed at her, a doubled bladed ax held in his hand. Anna held out the heart in front of her and a whirlwind lifted the boy up, spinning him around, before vanishing, sending him crashing back to earth. He tried to push himself up when another tornado pressed down into the earth. When it vanished the boy lay there prone gasping. Toothless walked up to him warily and Hiccup dismounted and examined the boy.
"Now that's getting the wind knocked out of you" Hiccup said smiling at Anna who dragon grinned back. Dagur was locked away, but there was still the issue with Alvin.
"I'm tellin ya stoic, that gem is min" He growled as Anna once again perched on a stool, the heart in her bag.
"I'm sorry Alvin, but the gem won't work for anyone but Anna. To anyone else it's just a pretty stone" Hiccup said.
"I'll be the judge of that" Alvin said. Anna handed the man the heart and he held it out in front of him. Though it glowed brightly in Anna's hands, in his it went completely dull. After five minutes of examining it and trying to get it to work, the grizzled Viking tossed it back to the girl, who deftly caught it and put it into her bag. He growled and stalked out the door.
'Does that mean you're not going to attack us?" Hiccup shot at him.
"Maybe some other time, when I'm in the mood" Alvin said, and was gone.
"Now, about you" Stoic said turning to Anna, who gulped and heavily considered transforming.
"Dad, wait, I'll admit that Anna caused a little trouble, but come on, she's just a little kid, and besides, it's really nothing worse than what Snotlout and the twins get up too" Hiccup defended.
"And to be fair, she did manage to answer the riddle and clean up her mess" Fishlegs added. Stoic glared at her before turning to his son.
"Just make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble before she's gone" Stoic said and left. Once he was out the door, both Hiccup and Anna sighed in the exact same manner.
"Don't think you're off the hook. What I told my dad was true, but he was right too." He said bending down on one knee to look her in the eye. Anna glared back, and Hiccup chuckled.
"You know, I was a lot like you not too long ago" Hiccup said.
"Really?" Anna asked.
"Oh yeah" Astrid said form the doorframe she was leaning against.
"Hiccup used to run around doing everything he could to try to make himself look good to the whole village, but usually it just ended up in disaster" Astrid said, causing Hiccup to stare at her in a dead pan.
"What, it's true" She said punching him in the arm.
"The point is, I was so worried about achieving my goal, I didn't stop to think about the damage it caused" Hiccup said.
"What happened?" Anna asked, trying to merge the image of the hiccup they were telling her about with the boy that was standing in front of her.
"I met toothless" He said and the dragon put his head under the boys hand and gurgled.
"Listen to him. He's very wise…for a human" She "heard" the dragon say.
"I know your young, and it took a lot of courage to come here and do what you did, especially as young as you are. But you have to understand that your actions have consequences. If you hadn't answered the riddle, Me, Astrid, Toothless, my dad, all of Berk would be gone" Hiccup explained. Anna bowed her head in shame.
"Hey" Hiccup said tilting her head back up.
"Mistakes are how we learn. Just remember what you did wrong so you don't do it next time" He said kindly smiling. Smiling as brightly as the sun, Anna lunged at him and latching her arms around his neck gave him a kiss on the cheek.