Honeymoon Viking-style

15.

"Retreat!" Elsa screamed.

But by then, many of the soldiers had already scattered in panic.

The dragons, at a command from Toothless, surrounded them without any difficulty and cut their retreat creating walls of fire. Kristoff's platoon arrived just moments later, breaking in forcefully.

The allied army crowded together to hold on, and they managed to overcome the initial onslaught. Elsa, who had never stopped looking at Oblivion, managed to create a wall of ice around her, separating her from the rest of the battle and leaving enough room to fight comfortably. Standing there, her ice armor shining from the sun, she stood waiting in the middle of that makeshift arena, challenging the spirit to a one-on-one.

"All this will not do you any good, Elsa!" The spirit told her from the dragon. "You have already lost!"

With a new gesture, Toothless gave a series of orders to the dragons, who prepared to attack together with their flames. However, the voice of another dragon echoed above Toothless: it was Fury.

"You have the king," Elsa answered defiantly, "but we have the queen."

The dragons, undecided, didn't attack for fear of contradicting one of their monarchs.

"Come on, are you the alpha or not?" Oblivion said to Toothless, annoyed. "Make them attack!"

The dragon tried again, but Fury again blocked his order. The dragons, in their attempt to obey both, ended up throwing their flames to the sky, or to some deserted place. Others simply stared at that battle of wills waiting for a clear winner.

Elsa shrugged and challenged her spirit by inviting it with her hand.

"Dammit! Alright! I will play with you! But only while my king gets rid of your queen."

Toothless came down so Oblivion could dismount, then took flight again and launched himself directly at Fury, who was waiting for him, ready for battle. The dragons battled themselves in a bloody aerial fight of flames, bites, and scratches, losing themselves in the heights.

With dragons out of the equation, Elsa listened with relief as the commanders gave precise orders, determined to win this battle.

"And now? Do you want us to solve this with a card game or do you prefer—?" The spirit began to say, but an ice projectile brushed past its cheek and created a small cut. "As you wish..."

* * *

Astrid looked back and saw the battlefield. All those little dots were risking their lives fighting against the fear of dying, against the fear of dragons, against the fear of an indestructible army. She couldn't help but feel the ephemerality of life. And thanks to them, she could be there, climbing the palace walls to search for Hiccup. Shaking her head to focus, she continued climbing meter by meter until she reached the top of that wall. She had left her armor behind to facilitate movement, but it had still cost her more than she expected, so she allowed herself a few minutes to rest her arms and legs as she carefully looked around for any sign of life. Apparently, the spirit had gone with everything and hadn't left any soldiers behind.

Even so, Astrid moved carefully through the palace, walking its empty corridors, following the directions that Elsa had given her until she finally found the dungeon area. There, she opened the cells one by one until she found Hiccup's but, to her despair, she didn't find him inside. There were traces of dried blood on the ground, probably from when he tried to detach Toothless's tail, but no sign of him. That could only mean that they had succeeded in taking his will. Holding back her tears, she headed to the battlefield to find him among all that crowd.