Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 28: Rapunzel

Rapunzel stood on the deck of the skyship, running a hand over her newly-acquired scar. Though Elsa had somehow managed to save her, there was still a phantom remain.

Where the Changeling snake had entered her, there was a marking on her arm, scars that looked like scales.

Rapunzel shuddered. After forcing herself to take a deep breath, she strode across the deck, determined to put it out of her mind. They had a mission to focus on, and she had been assigned the title of 'Resident Healer'. 

The November wind lashed at Rapunzel, who pulled the lined hood of her purple parka lower. Her hair had been gathered into a pile, which she carried around so it didn't become snagged in the rigging.

It had taken nearly a month to become prepared. For their group to learn how to sail and navigate. A month of wasted time. Pitch's minions had struck at Rose, a small kingdom to the northeast. There were rumors that the Viking kingdom of Dingwal had been overrun, but the intelligence was restricted to the higher-ups, so Rapunzel had no idea. 

"At least Skyara is safe," she muttered, though it didn't feel like a consolation.

Eugene was fastening ropes to the deck, muttering something about the bad weather. Rapunzel made her way over to him, bending over to help.

"Hey, Punzie," Eugene said weakly. 

"Being at war sucks," Rapunzel answered.

Eugene ran a hand through his dark brown hair. Somehow, he managed to appear effortlessly attractive in a tan-colored coat and fur-lined boots. 

Astrid and Hiccup, who were more used to this sort of weather, were climbing the ratlines and adjusting something in the crow's nest.

Merida ran from the mizzenmast to the foremast, tying down crates of equipment. They had been given a sizeable skyship, big enough for three masts and sturdy enough to withstand the heavy storms they would be experiencing while searching for the Hidden World. 

Sometimes, Rapunzel wondered why the Elites were allowed a handful to children to do something so dangerous. She wondered why they trusted them to accomplish something so grand. 

Once she and Eugene had finished, they made their way to the stern where Elsa and Jack were. They were by far wearing the least clothing, but cold didn't really bother them.

Jack had a blue sweatshirt and brown pants on, along with a pair of sneakers. Elsa was in leggings and a long-sleeved white shirt. She had braided her hair back and was staring defiantly into the horizon.

"The Elites are placing an invisibility spell on the ship, so we can travel through civilization undetected. Once we enter open ocean, though, the magic won't have enough range, so it'll wear off. I doubt there's anyone to hide from that far north though," Elsa announced before holding up a map. "This is from Berk. Apparently, it's the most accurate map to where the Hidden World is rumored to be. There are no records of the layout of the Hidden World itself however."

Merida scrambled over to us. "North says the spell is finished. We're ready to take off."

"Roger that," Jack answered with a smirk as Astrid and Hiccup joined them.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Punzie, watch your hair. Flynn, Astrid, Hiccup, and Merida — hoist the sails. All three of them."

"This is so much more exciting than when we snuck out of Skyara on that kid Kristoff's ship," Astrid confessed and she dashed off. 

Rapunzel laughed, gathering her hair into her arms, both Elsa and Jack helping. 

There was an anticipatory grin on Elsa's face as they released the ropes holding the skyship down. She reached over and pulled a lever, and Rapunzel felt the hum of magic as the skyship began its ascent.

~ ~ ~

Two hours later, Elsa called a meeting on the deck. It had been smooth sailing so far, over wispy clouds and through freezing temperatures.

"Now that we're all here, Jack and I have a proposal." Elsa was sitting on a crate, holding the rolled-up map.

"Let's hear it," Eugene urged.

"We're going to somewhere potentially dangerous, and while some are relatively versed in combat, others are not. Jack and I were thinking that we should spend the voyage doing some combat training as well as other forms of preparation for the Hidden World."

"I like the sound of combat training," Merida announced. "And... what do you mean by other forms of preparation?"

"Research, memorization of said research, and charting our route in more detail, for starters," Elsa answered. "We're heading directly north. By the end of the week, we should reach the kingdom of Moors. We can drop by North's workshop and resupply there before we sail out into the ocean."

"We also need to assign shifts," Jack added. "We'll have to sleep at some point."

Rapunzel nodded along, only half listening as she braided her hair. For a moment, she shifted her gaze outward, staring over Astrid's shoulder to the sky ahead. 

A monstrous mass of stormy grey clouds was coalescing in the near distance. Rapunzel glanced left and right, but there was no way the ship could avoid it, unless they wanted to turn around.

They were sailing straight into a storm.