As it Was (Book 1)

Chapter 2

Hours of silence passed.

Elsa never spoke a word or even moved for that matter.

Hiccup motioned for Toothless to land on a small island. Toothless descended and made a soft landing on the grass meadow and Hiccup helped Elsa dismount the dragon, then got off after her.

"Why did you bring me here?" Elsa asked, louder this time. "I told you, he will find me and kill me. He will kill you too because of this!"

She began pacing.

"Well what did you want me to do?" Hiccup asked, raising his voice and throwing his hands up in the air. "Leave you there to die?"

"Yes!" Elsa yelled back.

Hiccup's eyes widened. Did she really just say that?

"What?" Hiccup asked, appalled.

"That's my purpose with him!" She exclaimed. "It's all a part of the deal! He told me if I ever fled without his consent, I would be killed the moment he laid eyes on me again!"

She slapped a hand over her mouth as if she said something she shouldn't have.

"Elsa, what are you saying?" Hiccup pressed. "You made a deal with him? What deal?"

Elsa paced, thinking about what she should say to save herself.

In defeat, she sighed and looked at the ground.

"He told me that he would keep my family alive, but only if I agreed to the deal."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"And the deal?"

Elsa sighed again, not wanting to answer his question. However, she knew he wasn't going to give up on getting an answer out of her.

"I devote myself to him fully." She began. "Listening to everything he tells me to do. If I disobey, he'd kill my family and when they're all dead, he'd kill me."

Hiccup was taken back. Did she really take this deal with this terrible man?

"Why would you agree to the deal?" Hiccup asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Elsa replied softly. "I love my family. My sister, my brother in law. I can't live without them."

Hiccup's gaze softened. He understood what she was saying.  He didn't say anything though. He just looked around.

They stood in silence for a little bit.

"Wouldn't you take the deal?" Elsa asked him, breaking the silence.

Hiccup looked at her.

"If it meant you got to keep the people you love safe?" Elsa continued. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself for picking such a selfish option."

"I wouldn't take the deal." Hiccup said. "Not in a million years."

Elsa cleared her throat and looked back at the ground.

"Let me see your arm." He said, changing the subject.

"Hiccup, I said it was fine." Elsa mumbled. "It'll heal."

"Nonsense." Hiccup said. He lifted her arm with his hands. "Not without anything to help it."

He looked around for something he could use to wrap it with.

He saw a plant that was long enough to cover the full cut and went to grab it.

"This isn't much, but it'll do for now." He said, wrapping her arm in the plant. "At least until we find something else."