Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 27: Hiccup

"No. What do you take me for? I'm not letting you three run off to the Hidden World," Hiccup snapped, feeling his mood worsen. How could his friends even suggest something like this? 

"I'm trying to be reasonable," Elsa replied. "Jack, Rapunzel, and I have no choice. The Elites have charged us with the mission. You do. You should stay. Where it's safe."

Hiccup shook his head. "Don't do this. I have a choice. You can't take that away. I'm going with you. I don't care how dangerous it is."

"Well, we do. This isn't a game, Hiccup. You don't have to do this," Jack protested.

"Okay. Let's calm down," Rapunzel interrupted, reading Jack and Hiccup's faces. "Why don't we get Astrid, Merida, and Flynn before we start making these sorts of decisions."

"Fine," Hiccup fumed. "I'll wake Astrid."

Storming down the hallway, Hiccup knocked on Astrid's door. "You awake?" He tried to keep the anger out of his voice.

"Just a moment" came the shaky reply.

"Astrid?" Hiccup called, feeling his anger switch to concern. "You okay?"

"Yup," Astrid replied a little too perkily.

"Can I come in?" Hiccup asked, feeling his face turn red for no reason.

"Uh, sure."

Tentatively, Hiccup opened the door and peered inside. Astrid was standing at the edge of her bed, staring at it in shock. 

There was no other way to describe it. The bed was scorched. The sheets had been blackened, the pillows reduced to ash, even the bedframe was blackened wood. 

"What happened?" Hiccup demanded.

Astrid flexed her fingers, eyeing them suspiciously. "I was having a bad dream, and I woke to the smell of something burning." She paused and held out her hand. Sure enough, a ball of light began to glow. As Astrid focused, it grew more concentrated until Hiccup could feel the heat radiating off of it.

"The powers from the aegis," Hiccup murmured. "Why do you still have them?"

Astrid shrugged helplessly. "You tell me."

~ ~ ~

Hiccup and Astrid were the last to arrive. Hiccup watched Jack open his mouth — probably to suggestively ask what they were doing — until Astrid held up her hand and let her palm fill with light.

Stunned silence filled the room.

"I thought you lost the magic from the aegis," Elsa finally said.

"So did I," Astrid answered. "But I woke up this morning, and well..."

"I suppose we can just use it to our advantage. We have more pressing matters to discuss," Elsa decided.

Hiccup and Astrid took their seats as Rapunzel filled everyone in on the Hidden World mission.

"I'm in," Merida blurted instantly as soon as Rapunzel finished.

"We all are," Flynn added.

"Okay. Maybe we should slow down," Rapunzel mumbled.

"What Rapunzel is trying to say," Jack interjected, "is that we think you all should stay behind. Elsa, Rapunzel, and I should be the only ones to go."

"Like hell that's going to happen," Astrid fired back.

"Hear us out first," Elsa responded, sounding rather distraught. "As Elites, we have no choice. But you guys do. And we're asking you to make the right one. Please, just be safe."

"Hey." Merida reached across the table and squeezed Elsa's hand. "We are making the right choice. We're in this together. Don't worry about us. We will be safe."

"But—" Elsa stopped when she realized it was hopeless to protest.

"Alright," Jack said into the momentary silence. "I guess we can all die together."

"No one's going to die," Rapunzel chided.

"You can't see the future."

"Stop being so negative."

"Jack's not being negative," Elsa interrupted. "He's being realistic."

"So am I," Rapunzel answered. "As long as we're together, I think we'll stay alive."

No one argued with that.

~ ~ ~

Shortly after, they launched into planning.

"We'll need a skyship with a decent pilot, enough room of all of us, and plenty of supplies," Elsa murmured.

"It should be armed too," Flynn pointed out. "Some dragons are not friendly, and the Hidden World is probably chock full of dragons."

"Good point. You should probably head down to the library and do as much research about the Hidden World as you can before we depart. Take Rapunzel with you," Elsa replied. "Hiccup, Astrid, and Merida — do some calculations and figure out how much supplies we need and what kinds of things we need. Jack and I will speak to the Elites about acquiring whatever we need."

"Right away, Captain," Flynn said with a mock salute.

Hiccup nodded and turned, Astrid and Merida next to him. "Now that I think about it," he murmured, "this is going to be an expensive venture."

"Personally, I'm excited." Astrid grinned, smoothing her blonde hair into a braid. "Imagine it. The Hidden World."

Hiccup did. He saw starry skies and cascading waterfalls, rich forests and rolling plains. A world full of magic and dragons. 

The idea was wonderful, however fleeting.

"Come on," Hiccup said, breaking into a jog. "We have work to do."