Anna's POV

Therondia.

They were the reason behind me postponing my office work. Not that they had to pay me back for it, but I truly wished they had chosen another day to visit us. At least, that was what my selfish side told me. I knew that they could not simply postpone stocking up on supplies for a day later when they needed them most.

What was going to be a normal afternoon tea turned into an entire trip around the kingdom. Lieutenant Xavier was a gentleman, but I wish he knew that I had office work to do.

"Oh no no, I'm free at the moment!" Was what I said when Xavier asked whether or not I had errands to do. Stupid me.

But now, it was a good thing that the foreign party had left. It was going dark soon and my stomach demanded food to digest. However, my brain proposed that I get back to my office right away.

"Eating while reading, I guess," I proposed to myself. Elsa turned to me while walking next to me to the castle entrance.

"Huh?"

I crossed my arms. "I will have dinner while looking back at the papers we'd left this afternoon."

"Why don't we just resume tomorrow?" She proposed.

I shook my head. "I'll take care of some. Tomorrow, there will be a new batch."

My sister sighed. "I guess… I'll help. Let me just get changed."

We made our way to our chambers to get changed. Since it was night, I changed into my sleeping gown. When done, I made my way to the office with a candle unwillingly. On my way, I yawned at least three times before reaching the room. That was how sleepy I was.

Once in the office, I found Gerda preparing my dinner on my desk. To think that she prepared dinner for me without my instruction!

"Gerda, I haven't even–"

She waved her index at me. "Call it motherly instinct."

I chuckled. "Oh you."

"And this one," Gerda approached another desk with a different plate, "Is for your sister. There are more on the cart, just choose as you please."

"Thank you, Gerda."

My motherly servant merely smiled in response and left the room. I was truly blessed to have someone like her in the castle. I would not survive without her.

"What did she prepare for me, I wonder…" I asked myself while approaching my desk. It was a carnivorous plate of steak and fries and broccoli as the side dishes. I took one of the fries and walked around aimlessly.

My aimless direction took me to the paintings on the wall. There were mostly portraits of my family and relatives. However, there was one that displayed someone not blood related. The Berkians.

"Hiccup…"

We had two group shots photographed and displayed. In the first, there was myself, Elsa, Hiccup, Stoick the Vast, Stoick's dragon, and Toothless. Elsa was nervous around the dragons but I was the opposite, since Hiccup took me for a flight before.

In the second photograph, there was myself, Elsa, Hiccup, Valka, Valka's dragon, and Toothless. It was tragic just how much had changed within a year.

These photographs reminded me of my tiny little secret. I walked to my desk and drew out one of the drawers. My hand dug deep into the end and grabbed a paper out.

It was a shot of Hiccup and myself. We took the shot when nobody was paying attention.

"Heh…"

I found myself giggling at the shot.

"I miss hi–"

"Good evening ma'am!"

I looked up to see Elsa entering the room. With haste, I hid the photograph back into the drawer and acted naturally. "Oh h-hey!"

Elsa froze in her place and suddenly smirked. "I am going to look in that drawer after we're done to see what you're hiding!"

My eyes bulged. "I'm not hiding anything! Urgh–" I grabbed half of my pile of paper and dropped it on Elsa's desk. "Let's go. We might as well sleep here."

My sister scoffed at me and shut the door. "As you wish, My Queen."

With the help of the chandelier above, we began sorting our files and papers. They varied from the most trivial matters to the most serious. Birthday party invitations, royal dinner invitations, harvest reports, imports, exports, you name it. If it took place within the kingdom, I needed to know that it did.

Once sorted, I placed some files into the drawer for later inspection. Once they were inside, I took the chance to take a look at that photograph again.

I sighed at it and whispered, "It's been so long since…"

"A letter from Berk. It's been so long!" Elsa exclaimed out of nowhere. Naturally, this piqued my interest.

"Oh!" I stood up from my seat and approached my sister. "When was it sent?"

It was to be my first question for every letter the Berkians sent. Since they no longer had dragons, we now exchanged letters with pigeons, a much less efficient method. We used to send each other letters on a particular blue Terrible Terror named Blue.

"Hmm… exactly a week ago. This letter arrived either today or yesterday," answered Elsa.

I frowned and crossed my arms. "That has to be the slowest time so far… Blue would only take a day or two."

Curious to see what the letter read, I pulled a chair next to my sister's and sat on it. "Oh well. Let's read it."

We took our time to read it carefully.

"They're essentially requesting a batch of ores. That's all there is," Elsa concluded and put the letter away. I picked up the letter, hoping that there was more to it. But as I read more into it, I noticed that it was not Hiccup's handwriting either.

"Very well. I'll arrange it tomorrow," I spoke, disappointment sounding in my tone.

Elsa scoffed at me. "Were you hoping that it was Hiccup who sent it?"

I felt my face redden a bit at the statement. "... Would it be wrong though? He's also your dear friend, is he not?"

Elsa only smiled and shrugged. "Indeed he is. Do you remember when we first met?"

I pondered briefly. "Hmm… Stoick paid us a visit, right? But father claimed that they had met before that formal arrival."

"Their first encounter was an informal one, after all," Elsa added. "Sadly, I kinda forgot about this story. It was one of many stories father shared with us."

I tried to remember what the story was. Unfortunately, it was to no avail.

I scratched my head, slightly frustrated. "I can't remember it either. Damn it…"

Right away, I switched gear back to working mode. I reached for a bite of another fries on my plate and looked through the first pile of files.

Suddenly, the door opened. It was Mattias.

"Queen Anna, forgive me for interrupting your dinner…" He excused himself while seemingly out of breath.

I placed away the paper I was about to read. "It's okay, General. What is it?"

"It's…" He snatched a breath. "Chief Hiccup. From Berk."

My eyes widened at the news. "Eh? Hiccup? He's here?"

"He is… but… he seems to have been tortured, judging from his scars and wounds."

I slammed the table, the papers and my dinner plate moved slightly. "HE'S WHAT?!"

Our general took us to one of the villagers' houses who happened to be a doctor. By the time we got to the front porch, Mattias halted us.

"Let's enter slowly. They're currently patching the chief, and I mean patching up," He instructed.

"Okay…" I replied.

We walked up the small stairs. Mattias took the lead and knocked on the door. It earned a response right away, "Come in."

We did as told and immediately looked to our right where the living room was. I gasped at the sight. Hiccup was there, lying on a table with multiple candles around him. Sitting next to his right was a woman in his forties patching up his exposed flesh. Standing next to this woman was a girl who seemed to be my age. She was providing lighting for the other woman to work.

The girl looked up to us and gestured us to come closer. "Welcome, Your Majesty."

I responded in a low voice, hoping not to interrupt the doctor, "Hello... Please excuse us for the disturbance…" We walked closer to inspect our fellow Berkian.

He was unconscious. Mattias was right, he seemed to have been tortured. I spotted multiple wounds here and there: the left cheek, both shoulders, hands, sides, and calf. I shivered at them. I could not handle blood well, let alone exposed flesh, not to mention it was Hiccup.

I could feel myself about to shatter when Elsa reached my shoulders from behind. She connected her left temple with my right one to provide more comfort. This trick luckily worked. I composed myself.

What did this man go through, exactly?

"He was this terrible when you found him?" Elsa asked Mattias, sounding concerned in her voice.

The general cleared his throat, "Yes… Although, I have to regretfully inform you that the wounds on both shoulders are because of… our guard"

I turned to him. In fact, all of us did.

"What did you say, General?" I asked sternly, meeting his eyes with mine.

"Queen Anna, my subordinate, Kimi, shot his crossbow twice when he found Hiccup hanging by the watergate. It was shot out of a sense of duty," he explained.

To think that the shots landed on the shoulders… Kimi could have been aiming for the head. I was about to become more furious when Elsa captured my attention. She shook her head as a way to say, 'don't.'

I did not want to dim my fury, but since it was coming from Elsa, I had to. I calmed myself down and let my rationale return.

"We will get to that later," I stated and turned around to see Hiccup again. "So, the bow shots made him unconscious? Did he lose so much blood or something?"

"Oh no, Your Majesty," the doctor replied and stood up, turning around to me. "We gave him the shot. It's better for him to sleep through the entire process."

The doctor smiled at me and bowed. "Eva Magnus. Pleasure to meet you for the first time, Your Majesty. Though I sincerely wish we could've met under different circumstances."

I smiled at the politeness, and so did Elsa. "I agree. I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep."

"You've served us well, my Queen. It's time for me to return the favour. This is my daughter, Catherine," Eva gestured at her daughter. "She's studying to become a doctor like her mother. Even though there are more interesting occupations out there."

"Shush!" Catherine knocked her mother's elbow to knock the sass out. She then gave me a handshake. "Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty! Don't worry, my hand is clean for now!"

Exactly my worry. "Ah, okay then. Hello Catherine."

Catherine then gave her hand to Elsa and she shook it gently. "Queen Elsa… You strike me as someone very familiar."

I looked back at my sister, who looked a bit nervous. "Do I? Eheheh…"

Catherine looked very serious and then dropped it quickly. "Maybe I'm wrong. OH! I forgot one thing!"

The girl turned to a corner of a room to grab something from a table. When she returned, she showed us sleeping Bruni in her hands. My eyes bulged at him.

"OH! Where did you find this guy?" Elsa asked and offered her hand to accept the sleeping fire spirit.

"He was with Hiccup," General Mattias answered. "Perhaps Bruni had been involved when Hiccup was found in the water?... That one I can't be sure of yet."

I crossed my arms, pondering the idea. "It's pretty far-fetched… We lost track of Bruni when we welcomed Therondia this morning."

Eva took her seat again next to Hiccup. "I suppose we can ask the young man once he wakes up. Come on Cat, the sooner we finish, the better," she commanded her daughter.

"Alrighty," the daughter responded.

"I think it's also best that we give them room, too," Elsa proposed, nodding at me and Mattias. However, I wanted some more time.

"Wait for me outside. I'll be out in five minutes," I proposed. My sister had a good look at me before nodding in approval.

"Five minutes, Anna. Remember, we want Doctor Eva to patch him well."

"I know…"

With that, General Mattias and Elsa bid their farewells and left the house along with sleeping Bruni. I remained inside and pulled a chair to sit on the other side of Hiccup. Upon closer inspection, I discovered some more bruises here and there. There were battle scars. He might have been tortured at one point but he definitely fought back.

At least, that was what I hope he did.

"What in the world could've happened to you…"

I reached for his hand but then realised the patch. The knuckle area was red, which I guessed was the area it received a blow. Therefore, I reached for his index and entangled it with mine.

"Is he… your significant other?"

I looked up to Catherine who apparently had been staring at me while holding the candle for her mother.

"Oh. Um… No."

"My queen, your face screamed worry. Worry over a loved one," Catherine cheekily stated. Her comment made my face steam a little.

"Oh Cath… You now know too much," I voiced my tone to sound a little threatening. Of course, I did not mean it. However, she received the message.

"I'm sorry, I'll be on my best behaviour from now on," Catherine said and stiffened her posture.

"You'd better be, young lady," Eva commented. "That's the queen for you. Grab me another thread."

Catherina obediently obeyed. It was a funny scene that earned my chuckle. After that, we remained silent again. I stared at Hiccup's face. Even when he was asleep, I could tell that he was tired. Whatever happened to him, it took a toll.

Just what happened? He was found right when Therondia left the bay by the watergate. What was he doing in the water? Or more like, what was he doing here in Arendelle? He asked us to send a batch of ores. There was never a letter about them sending us anything, so he would have no reason to be here.

"Queen Anna," Catherina called. "Sorry."

I looked up to Catherine again. "Yes?"

"Am I bothering you? I just want to say something real quick." Catherine asked politely.

"Sure, I'm fine. What is it?"

"While we were working, Chief Hiccup seemed to be dreaming. He seemed unpleasant. He was shaking and sweating, too. We wanted to wake him up but we already gave him the shot. The whole thing lasted for a good… two or three minutes."

Hearing that made me look at Hiccup with even more worry. "I see…"

"Yes, Queen Anna," Eva said and stood up, allowing me to see her this time. "My advice for you is this… Once we're done here, we take him to the castle so that the royal servants can look after him. Once he wakes up, don't interrogate him instantly. Assure him that he's now in safe hands. He needs to know that and be sure of it."

Eva now moved her seat closer to Hiccup's head, about to work on her cheek that had a tear. She continued her explanation, "We will also need a new prosthetic for his missing leg. I think I remember seeing him walk with a sophisticated one. If you can't recreate that, a normal wooden peg leg will do just fine. Just make sure to add padding in the slot."

I nodded in confirmation. "Got it."

Hiccup's POV

I sensed… warmth. And softness, on my head. In fact, my entire body felt something soft. It was almost as if I were sleeping on the most comfortable bed in the world.

When I opened my eyes, I was indeed sleeping on the most comfortable bed in the world, tucked under what could be the softest blanket I ever slept with. My sleep was nice and much needed.

Where else could I be other than Valhalla?

I turned around to see a large window with its curtain partially closed. From the unblocked part, I could see familiar villages sitting on the hill.

"Oh yes. I'm in Arendelle. Is this the castle?..."

After my vision cleared, my other senses kicked in. I sensed stitchings on my wounds which were professionally done. I now sensed less pain than before, certainly more manageable.

When my hands reached my eyes to rub them, I noticed my outfit. Apparently, someone had changed my outfit to a sleeping robe. A very comfortable one. Comfortable bed and comfortable robe; I was truly spoiled.

And it did not end there. I looked over to my right and was greeted with a food cart. On the top sat a covered plate, which I assumed was my breakfast. I opened it and there was, indeed, breakfast inside. A lamb leg, mashed potatoes, and condiments to complement them all.

I did not even mutter anything but my stomach certainly did say a lot about the sight of the food. My hands immediately reached for the spoon and fork.

I was glad that I was alone. If one of the royalties saw me eat like this, I would be embarrassed. My starvation was so great, I was sure I finished the entire meal in less than three minutes.

By the time I finished, I cleaned my mouth with a provided handkerchief. "Oh god… that was much needed."

I sat in silence, swinging my foot up and down. When I swung it down, I sensed something metallic touching it. It turned out there was an underarm cane under the bed. Surely it was provided for me.

"I am so spoiled… I must see Anna at once. And thank her."

With my foot, I pulled out the object and tried to stand up with it.

My muscles had to work hard to ensure I was balanced. Since I lost my left leg, I used the cane under my left arm to support my weight. It was so long since I last used this kind of cane so I took my time to adjust.

"Alright… I think I should wash myself before I leave," I looked to my left to see at a door. "That's gotta be the bathroom, right?"

I shot my guess and took one step. Right away, my calf emitted pain. Since I had to hold onto my cane, the muscle on my left hand had to work while it was still injured. So that also emitted pain. Responding to that, my torso bent ever so slightly, squeezing my injured side. It truly was a domino of pain after pain.

"Ouch! Aw! Aw!"

"Hiccup? What are you doing?"

That voice. That familiar feminine voice.

I turned around to see the figure who had entered the room under my awareness. Anna.

"A-Anna!" I smiled, but she did not return the smile.

"Don't be reckless, you're not ready to walk yet!" She approached me and led me to sit on the bed again.

"I'm doing pretty great here, don't you think?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Don't be stubborn. Sit."

I did as requested. Thus, Anna sat to my right. She noticed the finished breakfast on the cart.

"You were very hungry, I assume?" She turned to me, smiling.

I nodded. "Like a Gronckle who hasn't fed in weeks."

She scoffed. "I assume that's like a giant dragon with a very large diet demand?"

"Spot on!" I answered.

We shared a small laugh and remained silent briefly.

"What happened–I mean, how are you feeling, now?" Anna asked. I noticed the sudden change of question. She seemed to be holding herself.

"There are some pains here and there, but they're not as bad as they were. I'm guessing you're the one behind this," I smiled and took her hands inside mine. My eyes locked hers. "Thank you so much, Anna. I owe you one."

"Eheheh…" She smiled sheepishly. "I wasn't exactly the reason, but you're welcome."

"Still… Thank you. For the bed, the food, the shelter… I dearly wish that the current circumstances were different, but I owe you a big one for the hospitality."

Anna bit her lower lip. Now I could definitely tell that she wanted to say something.

"Are you okay, Anna?" I asked.

Her cheeks suddenly puffed and she exhaled quite the amount of air. The queen proceeded to stand up and waved her hands to fan her suddenly-red face. Soon, tears formed in her eyes.

"W-What on earth happened to you, Hiccup? Why did we find you by the watergate hanging for your dear life? With Bruni? Why? What happened? Oh god, when I first saw you, I almost collapsed. Almost! What the hell happened to you? The doctor told me that I shouldn't ask this just yet to prevent stress, but I can't help myself! I am stressed out here!"

Anna kept on rambling and crying and I saw no nearing end to it. Hence, I stood up with my cane and held her by the shoulder. Once I got a good grip, I locked my eyes with her teary ones.

"Hey… hey… It's okay, Anna. I'm here. Very much here," I assured, chuckling slightly. From her expression, I took it that Anna did not like my chuckle.

"D-Don't you laugh at me!" Anna frowned, very much still crying.

"Alright alright! Just calm down, Anna… I'll explain it to you, but I'm gonna need you to–"

I cut myself when Anna's sobbings and sniffles were louder than my volume. Thus, I pulled her with one arm into a hug and caressed her back.

"Shhh… There there…"

After a moment, apparently the gesture did the trick. Anna's breath steadied, her crying subsided slowly, and she returned the hug.

"Sit down for me," I requested. I crashed myself down on the edge of the bed and Anna obediently followed. While sitting down, I kept my hand on her back to caress it.

"I appreciate that you tried to abide by the doctor's order. But I think I'm fine…"

My sentence was cut short when I said the word 'fine.' I thought about it. Was I truly fine?

"Hiccup?"

I looked up, not knowing that Anna was staring at me.

"Oh, sorry."

"... You're not really 'fine,' are you?" Anna asked. Somehow, that hit the nail. "This is what the doctor meant, Hiccup. She assumes you must've gone through something traumatic. Bringing it up will not serve you well. W-We can talk about this later–"

"It's fine, it's fine…" I took a deep breath. "... It's Drago. He came back."

Anna's blue eyes bulged. "Drago?!"

"He came for revenge… I don't know whether he came to conquer as well or not… but…"

I could not continue. I did not know what else to say. I did not know a lot, truth to be told. Was revenge his sole motivation? Did he also mean to conquer? What was his next step?

I began to think of what could have happened to my people. How many Berkians made it? Drago's men knew that they were heading underground, what was the result of that? Did he also prepare men by the water?

Growing overwhelmed by the unanswered questions, tears began to form in my eyes as well. As I was about to raise even more questions mentally, Anna gently raised my head by my cheeks. "One step at a time, Hiccup. We can talk more about this later."

I insisted, "No, I can do this. You also deserve to know the truth."

Anna stared at me briefly. "Are you sure?"

"Mhm…"

"Very well… Oh, before you start…"

Anna reached for the drawer next to the bed and pulled out something. It was a box of tissue. She placed it between us. "I-I have a feeling we will have two adults ugly-crying soon enough in this room, heheh…"

Anna had a point. And a joke. An appreciated joke. I smiled warmly at her. "Heh… Very thoughtful of you."

The queen took a tissue and wiped her eyes clean. "Whenever you're ready, Hiccup."

And so, I began my tale. Sharing a fresh traumatic experience was, safe to say, an uncomfortable experience. The bloodbath, the cruelty, the losses, the responsibility, all was tossed into a mix of ugly memories. My lips inevitably quivered as I shared my story and more tears made their way down my face. Fortunately, the tissue was there for us to use.

Anna found herself joining the emotion. As friends, we got along very well, but this was the first time for me to see her show such great empathy. The queen shed tears, gasped, and shook her head in disbelief multiple times.

For someone like her to be concerned about me was an honour.

"And that's why… you guys found me by the watergate," I ended my story.

Anna took her time to process my story. Her eyes merely stared at the bedsheet for a good minute or two. In the meantime, I stared elsewhere to wait for her response.

Without me looking, Anna reached for my hands with hers.

"... I-I'm glad that you're here. With me," Anna said. "To think that you avoided death multiple times recently…"

I scoffed at that statement. "You're right…"

"And to think that… they have been evil people behind my back. The facade they put up fooled me," she shook her head and sighed. "I have to cut my alliance with them. I don't want them in my kingdom anymore," the queen looked up to me abruptly. "What if Arendelle is their next target?"

My brain processed the idea for a moment. "I think it's safer to pretend that we don't know each other, Anna."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

I began to explain my proposition, "I think they don't know we've been allies for the past twenty years. By now, they must've learned that they have a loose prisoner. They will return here and send a search party. We can use the element of surprise once they do."

Anna was silent for a moment and then nodded a few times. "I can see that happening."

I turned to the window that gave the view of the town of the kingdom. "Maybe they will return today, or tomorrow. Gather your sister, royal servants, and the guards and brief them. Tell them not to trust Therondia. But also tell them to pretend that we still do."

"Good plan," Anna smiled. "You really are the Chief of Berk, aren't you?"

"Last time I checked… I still am," I sarcastically replied.

We both laughed about it simultaneously. Despite having shared tears together, warmth finally defined the atmosphere. One could say that life was treating us well at the moment, but I feared it was too soon to say that.

"Hiccup… so… what are you going to do? For your next step?"

This question was so simple. However, I never thought about it. It took me a while to come up with the very obvious answer. The one thing every chief has to do.

"A chief protects their own. I have to return to New Berk at once," I answered. Anna frowned at my answer.

"At once? As in right now?"

"Hmm… Yes. Do you have a spare ship I can buy? I'll definitely pay you back once I settle down. And then, I'm going to hire a crew. I think I'll–"

Anna shushed me and waved her index at me. "No no no. You can barely stand. You need to recover first."

This time, I frowned at her. "I am fineee, Anna. As long as I have this cane, I will manage just fine–"

"Don't lie! I saw how you struggle with your current condition! The doctor says you need at least two weeks to recover!"

I sighed. "Two weeks and God knows what will happen to my people by then. Anna, my people are dying as we speak. I have to return soon."

"And what do you plan on doing once you get there? When you can't even walk properly?" Anna argued back.

I was about to counter back but then I had nothing. Seeing that I did not reply right away, Anna took the opportunity to continue. "I'm willing to bet that they have fleets of ships surrounding the island by now. There is simply no way you can just park your ship next to theirs and sneak in."

An idea popped inside my mind. "The Therondia ship! The one I was onboard! We can definitely use that! We need to catch up to that ship today."

"Oh there's that word again. Today. At once. Hiccup, prioritise yourself first," Anna begged, holding my forearms firmly.

"My people are out there–"

"Your people will want you to recover first! And then we can execute our plan," Anna cut again. Her tendency to cut me mid-sentence was starting to get the best of me.

"My wellbeing will mean nothing if my people are DEAD!" I exclaimed.

A despaired sigh escaped Anna's gritted teeth. "Have some hope, Hiccup! You said that they've gone underground and is that not a shelter?"

"For how long can they shelter themselves there?" I asked back.

We stared at each other with fury. It did not seem like either of us was backing down.

Almost like a comedic timing, the door of our room opened. Both of us turned to see the former Queen of Arendelle walk in.

"My apologies, you two, but I have to jump in," Elsa excused herself. "Calm down."

We said nothing. At this moment, Elsa walked over to her sister's side.

"Hiccup, sadly, I'm with Anna for this argument. You need to recover. We'll do weekly checks with the doctor and wait for her approval to declare you healthy once again. It's often overlooked, even I had experience with it, but serving your people also means serving yourself well. You can't serve your people if you can't even walk to them in the first place. Your people will want you to get back on your feet properly first. And let's be honest, what use can your people get from you with this condition?"

I clicked my tongue. I hated that Elsa had a valid point.

"And I need to remind you again, Hiccup. It's honestly a good idea to steal Therondia's ship and use it to infiltrate New Berk. But who's going to man the ship? Who's going to supply it? No, who's going to take that ship in the first place?"

Elsa brought even more valid points. I hated that I could not respond. Seeing that I was silent, Elsa knelt in front of me to make eye contact.

"You need our help, Hiccup. You need us. But we are not without our own terms."

I scoffed at the term. "Terms, is that what our friendship is about?"

Elsa pointed her index at me and responded, "Terms born out of compassion. We genuinely care for our fellow Vikings and we'd like to show it. And why did you bring up our friendship, anyway? Do you view friendships as transactional relationships? Give and take in return like two countries trading goods?"

"I-I don't… I'm sorry," I looked away to avoid Elsa's glaring eyes.

With that, Elsa took a seat next to Anna and rubbed her shoulder. Possibly to emphasise her presence by her. "I'm sorry, Hiccup," she looked at me with pity, the kind of expression I least expected. "I don't mean to be hostile, but I'm trying to protect you. Unfortunately, right now, I'm trying to protect you from… yourself."

"She's right," Anna added. "You're not thinking clearly. You're not rational. You come up with unrealistic plans that could only succeed in imaginations! Believe me, Hiccup," Anna placed her hand on her left side of her chest where the heart was. "I care for you. We both do. You have the heart of gold but you need to temper it with the brain as well."

Her words touched me. Greatly touched me. It was only by then when I realised that they meant well with their reasons.

To accept defeat with grace, I took a deep breath, held it for two seconds, and let it go. "... Very well."

The sisters smiled in unison. They looked very relieved. Though some guilt remained as I chose to prioritise my wellbeing over my people's, I did look forward to walking properly again.

I turned to see the view from the window. "We have to prepare for their return…"

"You're right," Anna replied.

"A meeting is in order, then," Elsa added. "Hiccup, some servants will come here to help you with your basic needs. In the meantime, you can wait."

I nodded to the information. With that, the Arendellians stood up, about to leave the room. It was at this moment where I felt the need to say something before they would leave.

"Anna, Elsa," I called. The duo turned to me. There was a brief moment where I could not find the right words to express myself.

"I uh… Thank you," I scratched my hair. "And… Sorry, too. Umm…"

Another pause of silence. After having our previous argument, I somehow became really awkward at expressing myself. It was the guilt that made it hard for me.

"We get it, Hiccup," Anna cut my messy train of thoughts. I looked up to see her smile. "It's okay," she assured.

Once again, I let out a sigh. "Okay."

"We'll see you later, Hicc," Elsa said.

And the sisters left the room. Once they did, something popped inside my mind.

"Ah, I forgot to ask them to show Bruni again."