Honeymoon Viking-style

11.

By the time Fury released Astrid, the first light of dawn was already softly caressing the sky. They were in a small cave high on a cliff. The Viking dropped to the ground, dejected, while Elsa climbed down from the dragon, trembling, and sat in a corner, lost in her thoughts. Fury lit a pyre of clumsily stacked logs and lay on its side.

"Why haven't you went back for Hiccup!" Astrid exploded, pouncing on the dragon, who disposed of her with ease. "He was right there! We could have saved him!"

The dragon looked into her eyes and then sadly shook her head.

"Come now! You're a dragon! You could have given them a good beating yourself."

Fury raised her left wing and showed Astrid four deep furrows that ran through her body. Her wounds were crusted with doubtful color, but the dragon seemed fine.

"Toothless?" Astrid said, recognizing those marks.

The dragon nodded and dropped to the ground, curled into a ball.

"It can't be..." She shook her head. "Toothless would never do that..."

"And yet he had," Elsa replied from her corner, still looking half lost.

"No, Elsa, you don't know Toothless. He doesn't—"

"I know Anna," she cut her off. "She would never hurt me, but she is not herself, just as Toothless is not the one who makes the decisions."

"What are you talking about?"

Fury raised her head, interested.

Elsa sighed and told them everything she had discovered.

"So Hiccup..."

"Yes... Probably they subjugated him..."

"No..." Astrid said. "I won't allow it. I won't let him be one more puppet at the hands of you who knows who."

The Viking rose and started to leave the cave, determined, but a sudden block of ice blocked the entrance completely.

Fury winced, staring at Elsa in disbelief. Then, she cautiously approached the wall and probed it with her paw, making sure it was something real.

"What are you doing?!" Astrid turned angrily.

"Preventing you from doing anything stupid."

"Open it right now!"

Elsa stood still in the corner, watching her.

"Open it!!"

Faced with the Arendellian's refusal, Astrid raised her ax and slammed it into that ice wall, again and again, scaring Furia, who returned to her place. Despite the strong blows from the Viking, she barely managed to make a few small marks on the ice. Seeing that it had no effect, she went straight to Elsa, grabbed her clothes tightly at her chest, and forced her to get up, holding her against the wall.

"Get that damn wall off now."

Elsa looked into her eyes.

"No."

Desperate, Astrid clenched her teeth and her fists.

"If you want to hit me, go ahead, but even if I fall unconscious that wall will still be there. I'm not going to let you do such a stupid thing."

With a cry, Astrid let go of Elsa and, again, plunged into the arduous task of hacking her way through, burning all the rage out of her. Finally, exhausted, she dropped to her knees and cried. Elsa approached her, cautiously, and sat down next to her. He put an arm around her shoulders and drew her to her body, and Astrid allowed herself to be dragged. The Arendellian hugged her and stroked her hair tenderly, and for a while, only the crackle of the fire and the Viking's sobs were heard.