Here we go, the last establishing chapter and the story can finally start in chapter four. Please share your thoughts and I'll see you soon.

A fool off his guard

The bazaar in Arendelle belonged to the guilds. The four main guilds were Fisherman, Ice-Breakers, Hunters and Firewood. Below them were the Dig-Build guild which was the only one split in two groups within the guild, and the Light guild which specialised in creating the light-orbs that lit up the city during the dark half of the year.

Located in the upper part, where the ice above was the clearest, the bazaar had the constant, oppressing eyes of the palace watching them. Thus, despite being the liveliest location in the city, it was also the most subdued.

Still, this is where the guilds had stationed themselves. The four main guilds of course had their guild-houses built into the walls with their own gates into the cold world above. That way the food they brought back wouldn't have to pass through the city and under the noses of those hungry enough to commit murder. In was an agreement, with pressure from the royal vizier, that the food was free, and fairly portioned and handed out as rations. As long as this one input from the palace was followed, the vizier would leave them alone.

Mostly.

Bunnymund belonged to the build-side of Dig-Build. He was dirty and as thin as anyone else walking the streets, but he was happily chewing on a twig, payment he'd gotten from a family whose house had a draft they'd asked Dig-Build to cover.

A snake-like dragon appeared on the roof ahead of him, and then went on its way. The shadows of a school of nano-dragons passed overhead.

Bunny shivered and lowered his head, his back instantly bending at the reminder of the dragon-whisperer's eyes and ears. People all around followed his example and lowered their gazes, until there was a sound from above.

Windwalker's familiar shape was crossing the ice that covered the city, moving towards the castle. The builder frowned. It was quite early, enough for the food stands to not be open yet, and by the direction of the vizier's riding dragon, they'd come from the desert.

"What in Freya's name would he be doing in the desert?"

"Don't ask. Do you want to die?" someone whispered.

Bunny made a face at the old man that passed him and quickened his pace.

The bazaar was full of people, regardless of the hour of day, but right now they all moved very slowly, and a lot of faces were lifted in order to follow the shadow of the royal vizier above them. The atmosphere was muted.

Until a large crash startled the entire area and people started shouting. Dig-Build's guild-house was crumbling and Bunny's eyes darkened with fury.

"Catch them!" he roared and started forward.

From the corner of his eye he caught a shadow that ran into an alleyway, and Bunny immediately changed direction towards it.

"Hold it, you little…!" he couldn't finish the sentence as he slipped on a patch of ice and landed flat on his back, all wind knocked out of him.

Giggles filled the air and Bunny swore that one day he'd catch that little rat and enjoy every second of his hands closed around a thin, pale neck.

"Bunny, are you alive?!"

The builder tried to talk through his gasping as brown eyes entered his field of vision.

"Anything broken?"

"Fine. Catch that rat!" Bunny managed to hiss as he rolled over, every bone in his body creaking.

The boy ignored him and instead wrapped an arm around Bunny's middle and slid the older man's arm around his shoulders.

"Jackson," Bunny groaned.

"I can do more for you than about her."

Gritting his teeth in bitter resignation, Bunny gave in, knowing his son was right.

"Let's go back and check the damage on the guild then, and count how many of us are currently homeless."

"The diggers haven't come back yet. They'll arrive later today with enough material to fix the whole guild-house, better than before."

Bunny couldn't help but smile and straightened as the pain slowly subsided.

"Sure, little optimist. Better than ever."

The bazaar was a mess, but the people standing around assessing the damage were sighing more than anything. A small creature separated from the heap that had been the front of their guild-house and flew towards Jackson, a faint twittering filling the air, sounding upset.

"Calm down, Baby Tooth, we'll rebuild the house in no time! We just have to…"

Baby Tooth, a tiny snow-bird, flew straight into Jackson's clothes and hid there. A second later the sound of chattering dragons filled the air as a school of them passed over their heads. There was at least fifty, of varying sizes and colours, and Jackson found himself pressed tightly under Bunny's arm as he pushed into the nearest wall.

The royal vizier had arrived.

From his forced hiding place behind Bunny, Jackson stared at the vizier, his frightening appearance in sharp contrast with that of his riding dragon.

"Where is Dig-Build's master?"

The master, a somewhat muscular man named North, stepped forward and spoke directly. "We are lucky, the beams inside are intact and only the front wall has collapsed."

"How long will it take for you to repair, and how many families will be homeless during that time?"

North looked towards the gaping hole in his guild-house, and despite being taller than the vizier, he seemed to shrink under the intense stare, and once he started speaking, it was with a stammer.

"If… if the diggers return today… and if we manage to reuse the old rocks into mortar… th-three days, vizier. And I believe twelve… eight! Eight families… might not be able to… fit in with the rest."

The vizier looked around, and Jackson followed his gaze. There were rocks everywhere, parts of the old wall were still intact and stood up with the metal rods that helped hold the wall together sticking out like fingers. The people were all completely silent, surrounding the bazaar and vizier in an uneven circle. The dragons were hissing at each other from the roofs.

The vizier's voice was clear.

"You will receive your rations as per usual, and I'll send four dragons to help you make mortar and reforge the metal." The dragon whisperer lifted his head towards the watching reptiles and made a few strange noises. The dragons bared their teeth at him, snarled and left.

"They will find the diggers and hurry them on. As for the homeless, there's space underground if you can't find anyone willing to house you for now."

North's jaws tensed.

"Thank you, vizier."

"Start working right away, I want every single builder on deck until this is fixed. The rest, continue with your day."

With that, the dragon-whisperer again swung his leg over Windwalker and turned away. The dragons followed him at first, but then spread about the city.

Bunny didn't release Jackson until he was sure the vizier was gone. Only then did he and the teen join the rest in cleaning up the mess.

"How can dragons help make mortar?" Jack asked with a sceptical look at his adoptive father.

"Some of them have powerful enough jaws that they can chew rock into sand, and their saliva is extremely sticky and solidifies when mixed with chalk."

Jack stared at Bunny's expression as he rolled rocks as large as his head into one pile to gather the old mortar into another.

"You don't look overly happy about… something other than this."

"I hate dragons!" Bunny spit through his teeth.

Jackson rolled his eyes. "I know that, I live with you, but that's not what I meant."

"I hate that man."

"I know that too, I can even recite your entire trial by heart with how many times you've cursed him out."

"And I wish that rat would…!"

Bunny stopped when North suddenly slapped his hand over the debris Bunny was working his way through. The master only looked at Bunny with piercing eyes and shook his head. Bunny swallowed and nodded. The master moved on without a word.

"Master," Jackson suddenly called. "Let me keep a lookout for… the one who did this."

"Jackson!" Bunny hissed.

"But we told the vizier we had to get this done in three days!"

"Which is why we need everyone on the job!"

"No," North cut in. "Jackson is right. The vizier promised we'd get rations for three days and he's the only one with authority to give that order and have it followed through."

The guild master glanced over towards the heavily guarded Hunters guild. From their gazes everyone could tell they were furious. Understandable. This exact thing had happened to their guild house two years ago, and back then the vizier had ordered everybody's rations to be halved except for Dig-Build who needed the energy to repair the damage.

"As long as the diggers return we can ask them to help too," Bunny suggested. "We'll get the job done."

"It will be no use if we have another incident," Jackson argued.

"I agree," North said. "We can't afford any delays. So from tomorrow on, I want Jackson standing guard by the castle gate."

The teen nodded slowly. "What if she comes back?"

"Not today she won't. The vizier dislikes disturbances in the city, so he'll most likely keep her inside for the rest of the day. I hope. By the way Bunny, do you have relatives or friends in the city who would house you for now?"

The queen stood in the ice window of the throne room and enjoyed the sunlight on her skin as she waited. Her dress was blue, thin and simple, woven of the finest hair of the giant animals the hunters brought back. She had chosen it with care this morning with a single hope in mind.

Glancing down at the outside world again, she noticed the shadows of dragons were now underneath the ice, within the city. So Hiccup hadn't gone straight to her? But she'd clearly seen him earlier heading straight for the castle gates. It could only mean one thing.

Elsa couldn't help rub her arms in slight anxiousness. Hiccup had left the castle last night, and the guards could only say he was looking into a disturbance. Elsa wanted to know what this disturbance could be that had kept Hiccup away all night. She didn't like that she had to wait for an explanation, and certainly didn't appreciate the detour.

The doors behind her opened and Elsa stiffened slightly before turning to face the bright grin of a young redhead.

"Good morning, sister."

"Anna, good morning."

The grin on the princess's face immediately fell. "You don't have to look that disappointed," she muttered.

"Good morning, queen Elsa!" Olaf greeted the queen with an oblivious face and cheery wave of his stick arm. "We've been out making people happy! We played chase!"

This time, the queen frowned. "I thought I told you not to play in the city. Hiccup has explained to me you're bothering the citizens."

"I'm not," Anna denied with emphasis, her voice taking in a whiney tone. "I liven things up. The citizens are happy when something happens that can save them from the boredom. Really, they have even less to do in the city than I have in the castle."

"Who said you have nothing to do? You have multiple classes to take and I would have let you help me with my duties if you weren't so undisciplined."

"But the classes are so boring!" Anna complained and flung herself onto Elsa's throne. "And you neglect your duties all the time too."

"It is not my duty to play with you."

The temperature in the room was dropping, but before Anna could retort and turn the argument into a full-on fight, a guard stepped off its post.

"The royal vizier has entered the palace."

Elsa calmed at the news, and the frost that had started to grow on the walls melted away,

"Tell him to meet me in the throne room. I must speak with him."

Anna opened her mouth. "About what? The stick up his ass?"

The queen's face stiffened, and she pulled back her shoulders. "Guards, take Anna to her room and lock her inside. She is grounded for the rest of the day!"

"You can't do that! Hey, release me! Elsa, please wake up. That Hiccup bastard is trying to…!"

"That's enough, Anna!"

The guards, made from snow and ice and alive through Elsa's magic, grew in size in response to the queen's mood, their steps grew longer. Anna kept screaming out her protests, but Elsa slammed the doors closed with all her might, as a statement.

She stood there for a minute, just breathing and glaring at the door. How dare she! When did Anna become so… arrogant? Not only that, but she strutted around like she owned the whole world.

"I've been too lenient with her," Elsa sighed and shook her head at herself. Their parents had put a lot of pressure on Elsa as the heir of the throne, but Anna had had freedom to say no and would face very few repercussions.

There was a knock on the door, and Elsa almost melted. Hiccup was here, finally.

"You wanted to see me, my queen," the vizier said with his smooth voice. Elsa struggled to not run straight into his arms and hold him close.

"Last night you left because of a disturbance. Is it solved?"

"There was a thief who had found a way to undercut your power, my queen. It is no longer a problem."

The queen stood still, staring at her vizier.

"Undercut… my power? How?"

"The world of magic is vast and has many paths. Nobody is ever safe since the fall of the Enchantress. Magic has started to appear in ordinary people. Thus far it is not much. A few of the diggers from Dig-Build guild have heightened senses, one may or may not be able to talk to rocks, a huntress can sense prey hiding under the snow, such things. But this thief had learnt a spell to melt ice, and had stolen a manuscript from me in order to learn more."

The queen nodded slowly, eyes wide and face pale.

"It backfired," Hiccup concluded quietly, eyes downcast.

"…So the magic killed them?"

"Yes, my queen."

This, Elsa thought, is was Anna couldn't see. She was blind to Hiccup's care about the people, how hard he worked to help as many as he could, and how hurt he was when he failed. But Elsa saw it, and sometimes she was even ashamed when she caught herself wishing they could just drop everything and love each other right where they were.

Elsa slowly retreated to her throne and forced herself to concentrate on the matter at hand. It wasn't even a small matter. Her family had ruled Arendelle peacefully for generations. To hear someone wanted to overthrow her rule was shocking.

"If that is the case, that the magic ran amok within the thief, do you think other people will face the same fate?"

"It is my hope this was an exception to the rule, though one can never be certain. If there is one, more are sure to come."

"More magic users, or more people who try to undercut their queen?"

"Both, I'm afraid. Food is getting scarce and hunger feeds dissatisfaction."

Elsa frowned, torn. She fully trusted Hiccup to keep any ill will towards her at bay, but it would be really bad for everyone in Arendelle if magic users suddenly popped up and challenged her, even worse if their magic killed them, it would start a panic. But ordering Hiccup to search for any other seeds of magic in the people… such a mission would keep him away from her for a long time. But it might prove necessary, and she had to figure out what to do about those Hiccup found, if he found any.

The queen straightened her back. "I want you to use the rest of the day to study subduing and containing spells. From tomorrow on, search the entire country for anyone else who might harbour harmful magic."

"Understood, my queen." Hiccup bowed and took a step back, preparing to leave.

"Hiccup."

He lifted his gaze, and Elsa saw how red his eyes were, how tired he was, and changed her mind. She'd clearly chosen the wrong dress this morning.

"Don't forget to sleep. Report in to me before you leave tomorrow."

"You escaped!" Ruffnut cried when Hiccup walked up to them. She happily took up her position on his arm and bit him.

"Didn't she ask for dick?" Tuffnut wanted to know as he flew onto Hiccup's shoulder and Toothless, the littlest dragon, took up his post on the vizier's head.

"She wanted to, but let me leave," Hiccup told the trio of dragons. Elsa accepted dragons as long as she thought Hiccup controlled them, but didn't want them near her. Thus Hiccup always left his reptile friends in a nish by the staircase, far away from the queen.

"T-T-Toothless is ha-happy. To-toothless fi-fi-fire is weakened."

"You're always weak," Tuffnut mocked, and the green dragon snapped after the other.

"I'll help!" Ruffnut called and joined the fight, all of them falling off the vizier's body. Hiccup ignored them and moved on. He couldn't bring them to the place he was going anyway.

He'd spent the entire trip back to Arendelle planning how to look for the "Warmth within the cold" so that Elsa wouldn't get suspicious. He'd be free to move in and out of the city from tomorrow on, but was still not set on how to deal with the situation once he did find his target. First things first. Elsa's order for him to practice specific magic spells was a good one, giving him another idea. Now that he knew what would happen if the wrong person tried to enter the cave, he had to find a fool proof way of finding the one who could enter.

"Oh! Hiccup, long time no see."

"Hey, Fishlegs. Going out?"

The room he'd entered on his way to the library was a boiler room with low lighting, empty of anything aside from a giant cage in the middle, made of dragon bones. Warmth spread about the room, the temperature in here much higher than anywhere else in Arendelle, and it was only thanks to that that the Enchantress' books were preserved.

Fishlegs, the keeper of the library, was a sturdy man who looked like he'd never seen a bathtub in his life but smelled like paper. Now he smiled at Hiccup and held up a faintly glowing dragon fire orb.

"Doing inventory. A couple of the light orbs had gone out in the library so I thought I'd take a look out here as well. What about you? I haven't seen you for at least six months."

"I found the other half," Hiccup shared and patted a hidden pocket.

Fishlegs tilted his head slightly, giving the vizier a searching look. Hiccup had always appreciated the man's sense of consideration. It made communication so much easier.

"And you're here now because it did work or because it didn't?" the keeper asked.

"Both; I found the cave but there seem to be requirements as to who can enter and I don't fit them. Now, new orders from the queen; I need to learn subduing and containing spells. Can you think of any book about such magic?"

Fishlegs rubbed his stubby chin. "Of all the things the Enchantress left behind, there are a few containing spells. You will have to decode them though. For the other thing, I must know what you want to subdue."

"Magic users. There should be a few spells like that here. The Enchantress whole purpose was to control magic and the usage of it."

"My point is, Hiccup, that ninety five point four percent of this library is deducted to exactly that," Fishlegs pointed out. "Which is why you need to be more specific."

"Right."

Hiccup sighed and walked further into the room, towards its heart. The fire worm dragons looked up when he got closer, and immediately grew hotter in an attempt to drive him away from their enclosure.

Fishlegs watched, concern gnawing at him, as the vizier actually hugged the giant cage without a care for the dragons that snapped at him through the bars. The keeper himself had to back away due to the extreme heat.

"I don't know," Hiccup said at length and turned, leaning back against the cage. "I asked the queen to let me search the city for magic users and she asked me to learn spells to subdue them."

"Why are you suddenly looking for magic users? If that's one of the requirements, how could you not enter?"

"I don't know if that's it or not but it was the best I could think of. The exact words the cave said was 'Only…"

"What? Wait! Said? Who?"

Hiccup smirked a little at his friend's expression. "Don't forget it was the combined efforts of several Enchantresses that created the cave, so it's named Cave of Wonders for a reason. In retrospect, I should have figured it wouldn't be so easy."

Fishlegs gaped. "…are you saying the cave itself could talk? How?"

"Sorry Fishlegs, I did not pay attention to that specific detail."

"Not funny, Hiccup. Now get over here so those fire worm dragons can calm down, I can barely breathe."

The vizier stepped away from the cage and followed the keeper through the room and into the library.

Olaf felt that the pillow must be innocent. Surely it was not guilty of murdering Anna's parents like the princess was treating it as. When Anna was done, Olaf decided he would pick up the pillow and take it away, care for it and treat its wounds.

Princess Anna had no qualms taking out her frustration on the innocent pillow. After all, she couldn't touch the fucking vizier!

Screaming, Anna threw the poor cushion across the room.

"It's so unfair!" she cried and started pacing the length of the room in front of the wide windows.

Olaf quietly strolled over to the beaten pillow and hugged it, hoping he wasn't hurting it further.

"Why can't she see it! Hiccup, you bastard!"

Anna grabbed a snow globe and hurled it at the wall with all her might. There was a quiet sound of impact, before the globe was absorbed into the walls and a new pattern grew outwards. It was Elsa, Anna's older sister and last living family, who had created the globe and held their ancestors' castle together with her magic. It eased some of Anna's anger to see the beautiful swirls grow before her eyes, the proof that Elsa was still in complete control. But how long would that last?

"How can I make her realize Hiccup is trying to steal the throne?! Can you hear me, sister?! Hiccup is screwing you for power! He doesn't love you! In fact, he can't love at all!"

The princess stomped her foot and turned towards the window. Elsa couldn't see it, but Anna could, and it was only thanks to her Hiccup hadn't managed to overrule her sister yet.

"I was foolish to think Hiccup had left for good last night. But he's never been gone all night before!"

Olaf returned from hiding the pillow in his little nest.

"Vizier Hiccup feels love towards dragons and fire," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Exactly. Hiccup only loves fire; the opposite of Elsa. I even saw him down in the boiler room last year. The room was so hot I couldn't even enter, and that asshole stood right in the middle of the room holding himself like he was cold!"

"Queen Elsa also loves warmth, so she loves Vizier Hiccup."

Anna glared at the snowman. "I know; you've told me a thousand times, and I'm still utterly disgusted that you know something like that."

"Queen Elsa created me," Olaf informed his friend, as if he hadn't said that about a million times since the queen had made him for Anna.

"I know, but keep your knowledge about my sister's unrequited love life to yourself. I don't want to know about it. And as soon as the doors open tomorrow we're going into the city. If I don't liven up at least their lives, I'll feel like mine is a waste."

Olaf smiled excitedly. "Will we play chase again?"