Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 30: Astrid

It was times like these when Astrid knew her friends were the best.

It was also times like these when Astrid wanted to strangle them. Just a little bit.

"Again," Elsa panted, frost spilling from her fingertips.

"Must we?" Astrid adjusted the sleeve of her red sweater. It was too freezing to practice in leggings and a t-shirt, as she would have preferred, but Astrid was sweating too much to wear a jacket.

Elsa nodded, her braided ponytail rippling in the wind. "Come on, Astrid. I know you can do it."

Astrid felt that tug in her gut as the light bloomed from the palm of her hand. The pair of them had started off with hand-to-hand combat and basic sword-fighting from what Astrid had learned in Berk. Surprisingly, Elsa had mastered most of the basics within the first few days. They had then progressed to magic, which Elsa was teaching Astrid.

In her other hand, Astrid wore a metallic, reflective glove. Hiccup had invented it as a way to amplify her power. Astrid could now bounce her light off surfaces, blinding her enemies. 

So far though, she had managed to shine it in her face more than Elsa's. They had decided to practice with just one glove, until Astrid could get the hang of it.

With a practiced ease, Elsa threw a bolt of ice at her.

Astrid ducked, dropping into a crouch. 

She lunged forward, summoning the light—

Only to blind herself once more.

Cursing under her breath, Astrid waved a hand in front of her face, waiting for her vision to return.

"You did it!" Elsa said in delight. "I can't see."

"I blinded us both!" Astrid moaned. "I can't see either."

"You've leveled the playing field at least," Elsa replied. "Now both you and your enemies will be blind."

Astrid scowled, though Elsa couldn't see it. "Let's go again."

~ ~ ~

"We made progress today," Elsa remarked. "Astrid managed to blind us both instead of just herself."

"I'm glad the gloves are helping." Hiccup beamed, his arm slung casually around Astrid's shoulders.

Astrid smiled at Hiccup, adjusting her red headband.

"You know," Rapunzel began, striding over to where they were gathered on the deck, "Astrid's powers could be a lot more than just light."

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, interest piqued.

"I was doing some reading this morning, and Goldred isn't just the god of the sun and the dawn. There are stories of him wielding a substance called deus ignis, or in the regular tongue, heavenly fire. Heavenly fire is basically the essence of fire. Burning hot stuff that can be shaped and used in a variety of different forms," Rapunzel explained. "If your particular aegis was really made with Goldred's blood instead of a regular magic-user, it would explain a lot."

"Such as?" Hiccup pressed.

"For starters, Astrid's come in direct contact with the aegis, and it's left an imprint on her. Even if we were to destroy the dagger or remove the splinter from her, the powers would remain. It's permanent. And right now, Astrid's probably only brushing the surface of the magic. Hypothetically, she could wield a lot more than just sunlight."

"Sounds promising," Astrid said. "How do I unlock it? Can it help us fight Pitch?"

Rapunzel lifted a shoulder. "I have no idea to the first question. And probably to the second."

"Speaking from experience, it'll probably come over time as you become more in touch with your magic. And a few life-or-death situations help as well," Elsa offered.

"So more training," Astrid surmised, flexing her frozen fingers. Light skittered across them, slowly warming her hands up.

"Pretty much."

Astrid nodded, taking a few moments to distract herself. She peered out into the distance, where snow-covered plains stretched as far as she could see. The evening skies were clear, though according to Jack and Elsa, there was the promise of snow on the horizon.

"We've just passed the border into the kingdom of Moors!" Jack called from across the ship. He leaned carelessly over the side, eyeing the landscape below. "The guard posts confirm it."

Astrid peeked over, and sure enough, she spotted the distant glow of orange fire. Beacons, markers, borderlines.

"We'll be at the North Pole by morning," Elsa deduced.

Hiccup smiled. "I am so ready to meet Santa's elves."

"They can't be that exciting," Elsa sighed. "We've already met Santa. He's a real delight."

"A real boring delight," Astrid muttered, recalling North.

"That's because you haven't seen him drunk yet," Jack called, striding up to him.

Elsa turned to make eye contact, and the two of them had a silent conversation.

"I didn't need to know that," Elsa snapped after a moment, making a face.

"Know what?" Astrid asked.

Shaking her head, Elsa responded, "You don't want to know, trust me."

"It's all I'm going to think about now."

"Ignorance is bliss. Let me tell you that."

Astrid sighed, reluctantly giving up. "One day, I'm going to get it out of you."

"Is it just me, or are anyone else's fingers frozen?" Hiccup asked.

"Just you," Elsa and Jack replied in unison. Both were immune to any sort of cold.

Astrid laughed. "Here, give me your hands."

Gently, she extracted Hiccup's fingers from their gloves. Cupping his hands in hers, she reached out, drawing light from the threads of sunset.

Warmth blossomed in her hands.

Astrid focused, keeping the light concentrated, emanating as much heat as possible.

"Cool trick," Hiccup whispered. Astrid didn't thinking someone's whispers could be attractive until now.

Astrid glanced up. She noticed Elsa and Jack had discreetly snuck away and were now on a lower deck, giving them privacy. 

She also noticed that she and Hiccup were way closer than necessary. Astrid didn't pull away.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Hiccup murmured. Astrid nodded, carefully studying the olive green of his eyes.

"You look really pretty in red," Hiccup continued. 

Astrid let out a soft laugh, feeling herself blush slightly.

It's just the cold making my face red, she thought a little desperately. 

"Can I tell you a secret?" Astrid said, leaning even closer.

Hiccup flushed. "Yeah?"

"I really want to kiss you. Again," Astrid replied, not sure what was coming out of her mouth. She remembered their last kiss outside of a cave in Berk. The shock and beauty of it all.

"I really want you to kiss me too," Hiccup answered. He paused, as if he was mentally replaying what he just said.

Smiling, Astrid stretched up on her toes.

The kiss was sweet and sincere, like summer days and pink skies, but, at the same time, Astrid felt like she was flying. She reveled in the feeling, letting herself pretend for just a moment that this world was perfect.

A/N:

I know that this is supposed to be a Jelsa fanfiction, and I promise it's coming. I'm just taking it slow in the romance department. (Mainly because I really don't know what I'm doing.)

Thanks for reading! See you next chapter.